The Terminal Man (1974) – Film Review

Director: Mike Hodges
Cast: George Segal, Joan Hackett, Richard Dysart
Certificate: 15

By Sarah Morgan

If all you know about Mike Hodges is that he made Get Carter and Flash Gordon, you’re well overdue a delve into his impressive back catalogue.

Pulp, Croupier and I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead are among his finest work, but one film that had eluded me until recently is The Terminal Man, which was originally released – well, sort of – in 1974.

Back then, Hodges was on the rise. He’d cut his teeth on TV before Get Carter and Pulp, both starring Michael Caine, came out. The Terminal Man offered him his first chance to work in Hollywood, on a script he’d adapted himself from Michael Crichton’s novel.

“A scientist turned violent”

The plot involves Harry Benson (George Segal), a highly intelligent computer scientist who developed epilepsy after a car accident. During his blackouts, he has violent urges that have left him estranged from his family.

Harry accepts the opportunity to take part in an experimental procedure to implant electrodes into his brain that will spot the early signs of a seizure and stop it via an electrical impulse.

Initially, the operation appears to have been a success, but when Harry’s brain becomes addicted to the impulses, he escapes from hospital and embarks on an uncontrollably violent spree.

Sadly, the film failed to find an audience in 1974; it didn’t even have a cinema release in the UK. Perhaps now, in a world where humans and computers have a closer relationship than ever before, it’s time for a reassessment – something it certainly deserves.

Shot around LA, with locations including the remarkable Ennis House, The Terminal Man is rather reminiscent of the work of artist Edward Hopper, whose depictions of urban loneliness are far more popular now than they were 50 years ago. Hodges stumbled upon them in a book and deliberately paid homage to their style, giving the film a bleak outlook, mirroring that of Harry’s life.

“A thought-provoking and chilling film”

If you’re looking for a happy-go-lucky movie, then this isn’t it. But if something thought-provoking that has resonance today is more your thing, then your search is over – just brace yourself for the chilling final line…

Visual essays and an archive interview with Hodges are among the must-see special features. After that, you may even be inspired to see more of the auteur’s work.

Sarah Morgan

Sarah Morgan studied film journalism at post-graduate level with the BFI and has been writing about TV and film for PA Media’s newspaper, magazine and new media customers since 1996. She’s also written for a wide range of other publications, both online and in print, including the book Offbeat and Intermission magazine, and is a regular contributor to the Talking Pictures TV podcast. When she isn’t watching movies, she’s collecting and reading vintage crime and horror paperback books or, for her sins, watching her beloved Sheffield Wednesday.

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