the plot: Former government agent Peter Sandza (Douglas) and his son, Robin (Stevens), are on the verge of starting a new life. Robin possesses extremely powerful psychic talents and he’s slated to attend the Paragon Institute, a private school in Chicago where he can hone his abilities. Peter’s former partner, Childress (Cassavetes), has other plans for the boy. He uses an elaborate murder plot to seemingly kill Peter and spirits Robin away to Chicago, where the young psychic is tortured and coerced into becoming a living weapon. A year later, Peter, still alive, resurfaces in Chicago in search of his son. The only lead he has is Gillian Bellaver (Irving), a teenage psychic at the Paragon Institute whose power rivals Robin’s. Peter infiltrates the institute and recruits Gillian, who has been having visions of the torture Robin has suffered at the hands of Childress. The two make their way to the country estate where Robin is being held, but neither is prepared for what Robin has become.

why it’s good: Mousy teen girls with raging psychic powers must have had a strong hold on Brian De Palma in the late 1970s. “The Fury,” released just two years after De Palma helmed an adaptation of Stephen King’s novel “Carrie,” is essentially the same as its predecessor, but with some spy antics thrown in. The spy angle sets “The Fury” apart but the needlessly elaborate psychic plot trips things up. Kirk Douglas looks like he should be packing an AARP card instead of a revolver, but he’s suave and ruthless here, bedding ladies and shooting bad guys with relative ease. He’s fun to watch, particularly early in the movie, when he uses a makeshift disguise to start an elaborate car chase through a foggy construction site and elude Cassavetes. Douglas’ espionage grudge match with John Cassavetes could have easily carried the movie. Unfortunately, it doesn’t, and screenwriter John Farris (adapting his own novel) packs the film with a barely understandable subplot about teens with psychic powers. Robin and Gillian both have some sort of super mind power, but the only practical application for these abilities seems to be making people bleed excessively. The two telepathic teens are supposed to be the focal point, but neither is fleshed out enough to be compelling. Mind bullets are neat, but nothing compares to an incognito Kirk Douglas popping some real caps with true fury.

why you should own it: “The Fury” is furiously mediocre and De Palma’s stylistic touches and Douglas’ performance are balanced out by an obtuse story and some goofy dialogue. It may be worth renting just to see Cassavetes explode in a shower of gore, but even that payoff lacks the necessary punch.