Aaron1375 I got this film because I read about it from others and it sounded interesting. A horror film that I thought I had never seen! Well, I did indeed see this film as a kid. As soon as it opened I recognized it as the opening scene of the dude putting rocks in his jacket and walking into a lake sparked the memory rather quickly. Well, I kept watching as it has been forever since I had seen this film and it had some good moments, but it could of been a lot better too.The film does start with a young man trying to commit suicide. He is promptly taken to one of the worst mental health facilities I have ever seen. This is mainly due to what they do throughout the film, I mean all it is missing is that nurse from "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" to make it the the absolute number one worst facility. Well a female doctor wants to assist this man who is suffering from amnesia while another doctor wants to use every extreme method of treating patients hoping to zap the young man out of being suicidal. Well, this young man has certain powers...it seems when he dreams or has nightmares he has very powerful telepathic abilities. These abilities make the doctor trying to help him and others in the facility see horrific things. Add the man's mother who appears from time to time seeming to want to help, but her motives are not clear.The film has its moments, it really is not a hardcore horror film though. In fact, if one were to rate it now it would probably get a PG-13 rating except for one scene near the end involving the young man and another patient after the young man tries to beat up a television. Still, it keeps you wondering where it is going...I am just not entirely satisfied where it ended up. I just find it hard to believe they would have done what they did at the end to the young man as it seems pretty obvious he still needs some guidance. The gore is minimal, and you get scenes with rats and insects as well. The most disturbing scene was one involving a procedure being done on him as the cut look really good.So this film had its moments, but it was just an okay film to me. Nothing super great or anything. It just seems like it needed more of a point or something. The thing with the mother that was revealed at the end was a bit too obvious as well. Still, it is a lot better than a lot of horror films and it does feature deadly dreams before the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise launched.

lost-in-limbo Never really heard of "The Sender", but it turned out as quite a surprise. A solid refined production with dependable performances and an innovative concept with jarring psychological tension and grisly haunting imagery. A young man is admitted to a mental hospital after attempting suicide and the doctors know nothing about him, due to him having no memory. Dr Gail Farmer becomes his doctor and soon discovers that he has uncontrollable telepathic powers that begin to affect the minds of his fellow patients and the hospital staff. This happens whenever he seems threatened, hurt or upset by transmitting those visions. Farmer goes about seeking answers and these might lie in John Doe's #83's mother. A warm-hearted Kathryn Harrold brings a functional sense to her character Dr Farmer and Zeljko Ivanek creates an uneasy presence by shrouding his character with brooding mystery ("Why can't I control it?"). Accessible performances by Shirley Knight and Paul Freeman add some class. The narrative is completely offbeat and slow-boil, manipulating its characters and the suspenseful/mind-scratching situations they find themselves in. The harrowing mother and son relationship is interestingly staged and running through it is an ambiguous edge. Atmospherics are sombre and clinical with an excellent musical score by Trevor Jones. It's melodically eerie and unhinged with its cues… like the striking opening sequence with its elegant camera-work. A chilling, under-seen little supernatural horror gem from the 80s.

moonspinner55 Fitfully effective creep-out, one that sneaked in and out of theaters but managed to find a small audience once it premiered on cable in the mid-1980s. Lovely Kathryn Harrold is very good as a dedicated doctor attempting to understand a handsome young mental patient (Zeljko Ivanek) who is both telepathic and wildly unbalanced. An odd, off-putting piece, though certainly a curious one filmed quite well on a low-budget; its predilection for smashed glass and marauding insects and rodents may turn many viewers off however, and Shirley Knight's performance as the sender's mother nearly lapses into camp (though I actually welcomed this!). ** from ****

peegeedee3 I have watched this movie, with interest, at least 5 times. My daughter, also sends me images telepathically, and so I know this is possible. We have had subtle psychic powers among ourselves, since birth. So, I enjoyed this film tremendously. I would have been afraid if her abilities had of been as developed as the character in this film, but as it is (it continues to this day sporadically), it is merely amusing. Since, in the movie, no one was in fact injured by his telekinesis, it would have been infinitely more interesting if there had been more investigation into his abilities. As it was, the film seemed kind of bland, and not nearly as unique as it could have been, if only the writer/screenwriter, had of proceeded into that vein of inquiry! The doctors seemed only interested in his oddness, and not in the fantasticality, (my own word), of his telepathic abilities!!! I was amazed, (each time I watched), that they hadn't applied all the means necessary to make this a truly remarkable film. All in all, a pleasant and moderately "scary" movie.