The Kirlian Witness

The Kirlian Witness is a 1979 American thriller/supernatural film written and directed by Jonathan Sarno. The film stars Nancy Snyder, Nancy Boykin, Joel Colodner, Ted Le Plat, Lawrence Tierney and Maia Danziger. The film was released on June 6, 1979, by Paramount Pictures.[1][2]

The Kirlian Witness
Directed byJonathan Sarno
Produced byJonathan Sarno
StarringNancy Snyder
Nancy Boykin
Joel Colodner
Ted Le Plat
Lawrence Tierney
Maia Danziger
CinematographyJoão Fernandes
Edited byLen Dell'Amico
M. Edward Salier
Music byHarry Manfredini
Production
company
CNI Cinema
Distributed byParamount Pictures
Release date
  • June 14, 1979 (1979-06-14)
Running time
75 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Plot

Rilla's sister, Laurie, is dead, murdered on the moonlit rooftop above her apartment. There are no clues and no fingerprints. Yet there is a "witness". If Rilla can communicate with it, she can expose a murderer, but that communication could cost her her marriage, her sanity and her life.

Laurie's childhood affinity for plant life had developed into a remarkable telepathic bond, one that she had been researching exhaustively. When she is murdered, the only "witness" is her favourite houseplant. Rilla insists that the plant holds the key to the killer's identity. The police are openly skeptical of her theory. So Rilla becomes a one-person private detective agency.

Through the use of Kirlian photography, - a type of X-Ray process that can reveal the psychological aura of its subject - she compiles persuasive evidence. Still, her obsessive investigation is alienating her husband and upsetting her life. Her own telepathic communication with the plant is triggering a series of terrifying dreams of her sister's death and what she cannot distinguish in the prophetic nightmares is the face of the murderer who is about to kill again.[3]

Cast
  • Nancy Snyder as Rilla
  • Nancy Boykin as Laurie
  • Joel Colodner as Robert
  • Ted Le Plat as Dusty
  • Lawrence Tierney as Detective
  • Maia Danziger as Claire

Background

Among the wilder branches of pseudoscience to gain popularity during the 1970's was Kirlian photography, which supposedly allowed researchers to document emotional reactions from plants during exposure to stimuli.[4] Kirlian photography is rumored to be the inspiration and basis for the film.

References
  1. Canby, Vincent (June 14, 1979). "The Kirlian Witness review". The New York Times. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
  2. Thomas, Kevin (June 12, 1986). "Movie Review : 'Kirlian Witness' Rooted In Languor". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
  3. Gibraltar "Panorama" weekly newspaper; Issue No. 1171; 10/04/1989
  4. Hanson, Peter (November 20, 2016). "Every 70s Movie: The Kirlian Witness".


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