Synopsis
As the result of a head injury, brilliant computer scientist Harry Benson begins to experience violent seizures. In an attempt to control the seizures, Benson undergoes a new surgical procedure in which a microcomputer is inserted into his brain. The procedure is not entirely successful.
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Cast
- George SegalHarry Benson
- Joan HackettDr. Janet Ross
- Richard DysartDr. John Ellis
- Donald MoffatDr. Arthur McPherson
- Michael C. GwynneDr. Robert Morris
- William HansenDr. Ezra Manon
- Jill ClayburghAngela Black
- Norman BurtonDet. Capt. Anders
- James B. SikkingRalph Friedman
- Matt ClarkGerhard
Recommendations
- 80
Empire
Hodges takes a cool, detached approach, designing most scenes in monochrome with disturbing flesh-colours, and manages to make Segal's semi-android a strangely sympathetic monster. - 70
Time Out
Opening with a brilliant sequence in which Segal is reborn on the operating table, and building towards a finale in which the scientists realise that they can do nothing to control this hi-tech monster of their own making, the film's bleak futuristic vision also benefits greatly from some extraordinary sets, and from writer/producer/director Hodges' confident direction. - 60
Village Voice
I'm not sure I can accept these chilling extremes of "sick" and "well," but Mike Hodges renders them with some of the same grim beauty and sense of absurdity he brought to Get Carter. [17 Jun 1974, p.82] - 50
TV Guide Magazine
An aimless and unexciting science-fiction story about a computer scientist, Segal, who undergoes brain surgery and is transformed into a maniacal murderer. - 30
The New York Times
The picture moves as slowly as a glacier—an image that's reinforced by the repetitive shots of long, white hospital corridors, white bathrooms and home décor—in fact, it's a white-on-white movie. There's no suspense; the only frightening moments occur when you fear it may last forever, especially during the seemingly endless operation and an interminable manhunt. - 30
New York Magazine (Vulture)
Even George Segal gone bananas, courtesy of an out-of-whack computer in his head, chopping a lady and her waterbed into slow-motion streams of diluted blood that makes pretty patterns on white tiles, doesn't alleviate the excruciating boredom and intermittent nausea produced by The Terminal Man. [24 Jun 1974, p.59] - 30
The New Yorker
One of those errors-of-science thrillers; it's an even worse error of moviemaking.
