The Medusa Touch

So this might be the inspiration for Shyamalan’s masterful Unbreakable. In terms of screenplay and direction, The Medusa Touch is not only an excellently escalated thriller, but also intelligent, chilling, atmospheric, disturbing and pessimistic. And thanks to Lino Ventura operating in London, it also has a nice pan-European feel. By the way, doesn’t this actor kind of look like a muscly version of Robert de Niro? :-) (27/09/2010)

This highly intriguing genre piece, which tightly grips a crime and supernatural thriller in its pincers, is based mainly on the impressive work of an old-school French detective who uses the long conversation method to unravel the mystery of the "evil gaze," only to have his own pragmatism increasingly undermined. The anticipation of upcoming events, the excellent Lino Ventura, the demonic Richard Burton, the chilling atmosphere, and the unreal finale make this slightly forgotten work an incredible film that will definitely make you have trouble falling asleep. 4 ½. (22/12/2008)

After a second viewing, it definitely deserves five stars. The Medusa Touch is an incredibly escalating film that creeps stealthily from the chilling beginning, hissing like a snake, occasionally sticking out its imaginary horns (yes, I know a snake doesn't have horns), but only attacking you with all its force in the final 20 minutes. The thrilling experience of Burton's and Ventura's performance is underlined by the essentially brilliant music, Gold's direction caters to it all and makes it TRULY one of the most thrilling films of all time. (21/03/2010)

This movie is pleasantly sinister and mysterious at the start, and then, towards the end it is very chilling and pessimistic. Richard Burton and Lino Ventura are both great and propel this forward, and they pretty much do not share any dialog on screen in the entire movie. While watching this, it is quite possible to predict where the whole thing is heading, but the entire conclusion is the most sound, astonishing, and surprising point of the movie. For the overall thickly horror atmosphere, I felt like putting it on again the day after, so why not incline towards giving this a higher rating? (17/04/2019)

Old school. When you show a statue in the first scene, it’s obvious that in the next scene someone is going to get hit over the head with it. A horrifying jigsaw puzzle where each piece has its place and the resulting picture of ruin is soul-destroying. Richard Burton’s presence gives the key scenes the right timbre, making revelation of the victim’s past all the more powerful. Lino Ventura came across a little like a French De Niro (maybe because of the dubbing) and the role of Brunel fitted him like a glove. Most of today’s would-be mystery hybrids come nowhere near it. This was superb. (20/05/2011)