REVIEW DATE : 2/10/99

And so we enter the realm of that little known, seldom reviewed subgenera know as the Drive-In Movie. Drive-In Movies cover a wide variety of sci-fi/horror movies, most of which were released in the 70's and 80's and most all have disappeared into the black hole if entertainment. Come to think of it this genre isn't so wide after all. . .

Regardless of it's diversity Drive-In Movie's are usually totally dismissed by reviewers and movie watchers alike. They are, in fact, the kinds of movies I mentioned in my Mission Statement, ones that you pass by in the video store, casting a wary eye at them. They look so interesting but you can't help but wonder, "What the hell is that movie? What if it sucks?"

The Fury is such a movie. Directed by Brian (Mission: Impossible) De Palma and written by John (I don't know what he's done) Farris. It begins with Peter Sandza (Kirk Douglas), head of an institute for the study of ESP. One look at his kid Robin (Andrew Steens) and you'll know why anyone would waste their time on an institute for the study of ESP. Seams Robin is a boy wonder in his own right, and possesses lots of cool telekinetic powers. Since we must have conflict Robin is abducted in the first ten minuets of the movie by people who want to use his powers for evil. Peter, being a former spy, wont take this siting down, and spends the rest of the movie running from and/or shooting people in an attempt to get Robin back.

We now switch you to our secondary character's story all ready in progress.  Gillian (Amy Irving, star of that other Brian De Palma/telekinetic flick, Carrie) is having problems keeping her own powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men under control. Instead of causing nose bleeds in her classmates for the rest of her life she decides to check into a clinic that supposedly helps kids with ESP. . .the same one Peter worked for. And the same on that is now using Robin's powers for evil, EVIL!

The snivily government agent/new head of the institute, Childress (John Cassavetes) dissuades that two telekinetic kids are better the one so he makes a play to use Gillian's powers for evil! too. Luckily Peter is there to stop him, and he and Gillian (who has developed some sort of psychic bond thing with Robin) join forces to rescue Robin before his powers can be used for evil, EVIL!

But not all is well with the boy wonder. Seams that all those tests to find out just how is powers can be used for evil have driven him to the dark side of the force. This creates some much appreciated carnage and chaos as he starts using his powers against Childress' (with a name like Childress, he has to be evil) forces.

Like I said, you've probably never heard of this movie (though it was on Monservision Saturday night) but you'll probably be able to find a copy collecting dust in your local "horror" section. And what sweet horror it is. The really stand out scene in this movie being a scene in which Robin levitates a doctor and then causes her to bleed from almost every poor in her body, totally ruining the wall paper on his room.

Surprising the acting is actually good. I say "surprisingly" because, as a rule, Drive-In Movies tend to suffer from ether a) rancid acting or b) crappy special effects. It is a rare Drive-In Movie in which I have seen neither. Particularly good is Kirk Douglas playing a kind of Fugitive role, spiced up with some James Bond. Amy Irving is easy on the eyes and doesn't sound like an idiotic cheerleader (which is more then can be said from most 70's teenage actresses).

Since Kirk Douglas is the hero we have to find someone even more evil to play the villain. Such a man is John (Rosemary's Baby) Cassavetes. He's just plain evil man. Unfortunatly the weak spots in this movie come out when you examine that evilness more closely. Exactly why does he want to use telekinetic powers for evil? Who knows. John Farris sure didn't.

And that's the problem with the rest of these characters too: they just aren't well developed. The script is so focused on it's action sequences and it's overall plot (which is kind of like Carrie and a James Bond movie fused in a horrible teleportation accident) to slow down and develop any of it's characters. *Sigh*.

But despite that I still liked it. It has some good gore, some liberal action and lots of stuff thrown around by the human mind. Its to bad this movie was buried after the critical dubbing it got since its a hell of a lot better then most of De Palma's recent work. Do I even have to mention Snake Eyes?

RATING (OUT OF A POSSIBLE FIVE)

THEY KNEW HOW TO MAKE 'EM IN THE 70'S, SORTA.

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