It's not often I get to be the first person to write a review of a film on this site but I guess that's a mark of how obscure THE PSI FACTOR really is. It's a science fiction/government conspiracy cover-up type movie in which a renegade scientist manages to make contact with an extraterrestrial lifeform only to find himself pursued by both aliens and sinister men in black intent on covering up the incident.
What this all boils down to is a low budget, shot-on-the-cheap sci-fi thriller with a similar atmosphere to the Leslie Nielsen starrer, THE RESURRECTION OF ZACHARY WHEELER. Long-term character actor Peter Mark Richman is a good choice as the hard-headed lead who refuses to take no for an answer, and the supporting cast are all well picked for their various roles. Those looking for an effects extravaganza will no doubt be disappointed - the 'aliens' are limited to a superimposed light on the screen, used to represent a UFO - but those hunting for low budget thrills and weirdness might just enjoy it.
Inevitably, comparisons can be made to the great paranoid sci-fi TV shows such as THE X-FILES and THE INVADERS and I think THE PSI FACTOR holds its own against them. Richman even looks a little like Roy Thinnes and his character is more than a little similar. My favourite scenes are the home invasion-type scenes of buildings being invaded by the sinister lights, which have a little found footage grittiness to them. THE PSI FACTOR might be obscure but it's worth a look for fans of the genre. The director Bryan Trizers is unknown, but writer Robert Emenegger carved a short-lived career for himself making zero budget sci fi oddities at the turn of the 1980s and this is one of the best he was involved with.
What this all boils down to is a low budget, shot-on-the-cheap sci-fi thriller with a similar atmosphere to the Leslie Nielsen starrer, THE RESURRECTION OF ZACHARY WHEELER. Long-term character actor Peter Mark Richman is a good choice as the hard-headed lead who refuses to take no for an answer, and the supporting cast are all well picked for their various roles. Those looking for an effects extravaganza will no doubt be disappointed - the 'aliens' are limited to a superimposed light on the screen, used to represent a UFO - but those hunting for low budget thrills and weirdness might just enjoy it.
Inevitably, comparisons can be made to the great paranoid sci-fi TV shows such as THE X-FILES and THE INVADERS and I think THE PSI FACTOR holds its own against them. Richman even looks a little like Roy Thinnes and his character is more than a little similar. My favourite scenes are the home invasion-type scenes of buildings being invaded by the sinister lights, which have a little found footage grittiness to them. THE PSI FACTOR might be obscure but it's worth a look for fans of the genre. The director Bryan Trizers is unknown, but writer Robert Emenegger carved a short-lived career for himself making zero budget sci fi oddities at the turn of the 1980s and this is one of the best he was involved with.
