The Sender (1982) on Netflix
R19821h 31mHorrorSci-FiThriller
Rescued from a lake, a young man cannot recall his name or his past. Dr Gail Farmer treats him, and while he sleeps she sees visions she cannot explain.
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- Netflix3.7/5
- IMDb6.0/102,653 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes86%
Trailer
Plot summary
A young man is woken by traffic at the side of a road and walks into a lake, his clothes filled with rocks. Rescued and committed to a mental hospital, he cannot remember his name or his past, and with no identification he is filed as an unidentified patient under psychiatrist Dr Gail Farmer. He behaves strangely, and a fellow patient nicknamed The Messiah becomes convinced that the new arrival intends to behead him. That night Gail hears glass break and sees the young man take a necklace from her nightstand, but the police find no sign of a break-in and the staff say he is asleep in his dormitory. Visions come to her while he sleeps, and she tells her boss Dr Joseph Denman that the patient sends his dreams into other minds.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Sender (1982)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Studio executives found Roger Christian's first cut of the film "overly slow" and "artsy" and ordered it re-edited to start with the ending and tell the story in flashback. Editor Alan Strachan sided with Christian, and after an argument the film was put back in its original sequence.
- The Sender is often cited as an influence on A Nightmare on Elm Street, particularly its third film Dream Warriors, which shares its mental hospital setting and surreal, dream-like imagery. Nightmare writer-director Wes Craven was a fan of Thomas Baum and asked him to co-develop his television series Nightmare Cafe.
- Screenwriter Thomas Baum based The Sender on his own experiences growing up with an agoraphobic and overly protective mother.
- During filming, several scenes from the script were changed or cut, including a different ending in which Gail Farmer seemingly develops telepathic powers of her own.
