The Terminal Man (1974)

Directed by Mike Hodges. Starring George Segal, Joan Hackett, Richard Dysart, Donald Moffat, Jill Clayburgh, Michael C. Gwynne, Matt Clark, William Hansen, Norman Burton. [PG]

Scientist Segal, afflicted by delusions and epilepsy, undergoes a radical brain-implant procedure, but he predictably goes crazy as a result, leading to blackouts and uncontrollable fits of violence. A potentially interesting sci-fi/horror premise on the page, and maybe it worked in the source novel by Michael Crichton, but the movie is a cold, drearily slow bore. It strains to replicate a feeling of alienation and sterilization, but I don’t suspect many viewers will be applauding it for achieving that goal. Even those who do will have to make peace with the thudding inevitability toward which the narrative crawls. Screen adaptation by director Hodges, who also produced.

42/100