Eli Roth’s History of Horror: Psychics (S3EP3 AMC Fri 15 Oct 2021)

Psychics: What’s the downside of having psychic powers? The idea of being able to read minds or manipulate objects without moving a muscle is an attractive fantasy. But what if those powers showed you things you wished you hadn’t seen? What if people wanted to exploit your gift for their own sinister ends? Worse than that: what if someone with psychic abilities turned their powers against you?

Movies about psychics play on the ego of our species – humans rose to the top thanks to their large, multilayered brains – but they also exploit our insecurities. We understand little about cognition and the nature of free will, and we know we’re just a brain tumor away from radical personality shifts and psychotic behavior. The fear of psychic powers gone wrong is the fear of our own turbulent minds.

This episode features a wide range of psychic films made by superstar creators, including David Cronenberg’s Scanners and The Dead Zone, Mike Flanagan’s thrilling adaptation of Stephen King’s Doctor Sleep, Brian DePalma’s The Fury, Sam Raimi’s The Gift, Peter Jackson’s The Frighteners and Tim Burton’s horror/comedy masterpiece Beetlejuice.

Airdate: Fri 15 Oct 2021 at 22:00 on AMC

Season 3 Episode 3

Featuring A-list storytellers like Stephen King, Quentin Tarantino, Jordan Peele, Jason Blum, Robert Englund, Linda Blair, Tippi Hedren, Rob Zombie, Haley Joel Osment, Jack Black, John Landis, Jamie Lee Curtis and more, Eli Roth’s History of Horror brings together the masters of horror – icons and stars who define the genre – to explore its biggest themes and reveal the inspirations and struggles behind its past and present. Each one-hour episode will take viewers on a chilling exploration of how horror has evolved through the eras and impacted society, as well as why loyal fans remain addicted to fear.