The Astral Factor

Forget about the nonsensical other title "The Astral Factor"… In just two words, "Invisible Strangler" perfectly summarizes what this low-keyed 70's Sci-Fi horror movie is all about! There's a strangler on the loose and he happens to be invisible, which makes it all the more easier to practice his macabre hobby of killing beauty queens. The lamentable screenplay doesn't really bother to enlighten us about how exactly mommy-obsessed psychopath Roger Sands renders himself invisible or why he goes after five women specifically. All we know is that he spent more than enough time in prison to gain supernatural powers and, after his escape, he uses them against everyone who testified in his court trial. There's absolutely no mystery surrounding the serial killer's persona. For example, macho police lieutenant Barrett (Robert Foxworth) doesn't discover the connection between the strangled victims himself; he just hears that Roger Sands peculiarly escaped from his cell and automatically assumes he's the culprit. And since we're never informed about the crimes that put Roger in prison the first place, it remains unclear exactly how obsessive his quest for vengeance is. Most of all, nobody seems to be really astonished about the fact they're dealing with an invisible maniac! Like it's the most common thing in the world to witness a woman, surrounded by an army of police officers, getting strangled by invisible hands! The lack of background info and character drawings makes "Invisible Strangler" a suspenseless and often tedious film, and it's really no surprise it took another five years after finishing the film before it got released. However, it's a not a complete waste of time, since the murders – albeit gore-free – are sometimes imaginatively staged. The film is also (unintentionally) comical because the characters often say the craziest things at the most inappropriate times. Especially Candy, the luscious girlfriend of lieutenant Barett, appear to live in another universe, as she wishes her lover to have fun catching his maniac. She's also the world's absolute worst cook and doesn't like to wear pants. Candy hasn't got anything to do with the murder investigation, so it's rather awkward Stefanie Powers received top billing for her role. Then again, it certainly isn't the only awkward aspect about "Invisible Stranger". Why is Roger the killer so obsessed with his mother? How come becoming invisible is reminiscent to a bad-quality TV broadcasting? Why on earth does Roger not abuse his power to spy on them naked ladies before killing them? Why am I asking so much questions about a bottom-of-the-barrel 70's horror production?

The Astral Factor contains dialogue that limps its way through the plot. The cast is full of actors I've enjoyed watching on screen for years but none of them managed to get past the wooden interaction of the characters. The dialogue is just that bad. This movie is so stilted in places that it competes with my all time really bad but fun favorite, "The Attack of the Killer Tomatoes."

This one in my opinion is a little bit to bad for casual weeknight watching. Elke Sommers character, however, has the correct idea by only appearing on screen with a drink in her hand. This is good advice for anyone interested in watching this gem on a Saturday night. Heck, with enough scotch and soda and the near nude scenes of Stephanie Powers to help it out; you might like it.

This movie is kind of like the more famous 70's cult horror film "Psychic Killer" in that it deals with a prisoner who develops psychic powers which he uses to escape and take revenge on his enemies. But while in that movie the convict was an innocent man taking well-deserved revenge, the psychic killer here is a grade-A lunatic out to finish the job. In an interesting back-story he is revealed to be the disturbed illegitimate son of a famous actress/sex symbol who kept him isolated from her social circle to avoid scandal, and ended up being strangled by him. (This might have been inspired by the real-life Hollywood murder of B-movie actress Susan Cabot in the 1960's, allegedly by her troubled, illegitimate dwarf son). It's never really made clear whether his psychic "powers" actually involve astral projection(thus the alternate title "The Astral Factor") or if he is simply able to appear invisible somehow (thus "The Invisible Strangler"). The inept cops are powerless to stop him regardless, even when he is obviously in non-"astral" form and has rendered himself decidedly visible by putting on a scuba suit.

What really makes this movie though is the all-star cast(or, as some wag might say, the "all has-been and never-would-be cast"). The lead detective is played by Robert Foxworth, who appeared most memorably in the ridiculous 70's mutant bear/environmental horror flick "Prophecy". German actress Elke Sommers appears as a "special guest star" (as opposed to the other actors who were apparently "regulars"). She plays a sexy former "Miss Galaxy" who the cops try to protect while she lounges around her mansion in skimpy bikinis. Sue "Lolita" Lyon has a five minute role as an early victim without uttering a word of dialogue (which is probably for the best as acting was never her strong suit). Mariana Hill ("Mrs. Fredo Corleone" in "The Godfather Part II") appears also, in accordance with an apparent law that she had to appear in every low-budget exploitation/horror movie made in the 70's and early 80's. The best though is Stefanie "Hart to Hart" Powers, who is VERY sexy as Foxworth's bimbo girlfriend "Candy". She routinely refers to herself in the third person, and buys herself an expensive fur coat on HIS birthday (which he doesn't object to since she's obviously wearing absolutely nothing underneath it). Some will probably tune in for Powers' "nude scene" (if you don't blink you might get to see the top part of her bare butt), but frankly her whole performance is downright wood-inducing (even if, like me, you don't usually go for the whole Marilyn Monroesque dumb bimbo thing). So what, if her entire character is completely superfluous. . .

This actually seems kind of like a 70's TV movie or series episode--it would not have been out of place as an episode of "Kolchack, the Night Stalker" actually. But since I like "Kolchack" and 70's TV movies I found it pretty satisfying overall if, admittedly, not all that great.

Morrison's supermarkets are currently selling this movie in their bargain DVD bin. I decided to risk picking it up on the off-chance that it might be a forgotten SF classic. It isn't. The print was awful. It looked like it had been fished out of a sewer and then sand-blasted. I gave up trying to watch the film itself as it just seemed so ridiculous. What I could make out of the acting and direction, which wasn't much, brought to mind a bad episode of Prisoner Cell Block H.

Don't take the risk! Learn from my mistake! I had to have a big argument with one of the managers at Morrison's before they would give me my money back.

A convicted strangler, studying the paranormal in his jail cell, learns to make himself invisible. As an invisible man, he escapes from prison to stalk and strangle the five women who testified against him at his trial.

This film is interesting in that it seems to be like "The Invisible Man" or "Hollow Man", as it follows a criminal who can become transparent. But the plot is quite different -- he can turn solid or clear through the power of his mind, and is actually already in prison when the film begins. This does not involve any sort of scientific experiment, but rather more of a spiritual ("astral") approach.

Although this is a low-budget crime mystery thriller, it is certainly entertaining and better than I would have expected. I actually found it pretty clever, and really enjoyed the unique angle. Does the killer leave fingerprints? How does he turn his clothes invisible?

Although I saw the movie on Netflix, it is readily available for anyone who wants to track it down. The DVD has been released into cheap box sets and I think you might even be able to watch it for free online. Whether or not it deserves a new DVD or BD release with features is debatable, and if it is in the public domain, it would probably be hard to convince anyone to do that.

Bonus: Genre fans might be happy to see Elke Sommer ("Lisa and the Devil") and Marianna Hill ("The Baby").