12

A British TV sci-fi drama, perhaps a one-off or short miniseries (2 or 3 parts). BBC or ITV around 1970-80.

A foreign power, probably Soviet, has developed some kind of advanced fighter plane. Lightning fast control is achieved by hardwiring the pilot's actual brain to the plane's systems.

The plane crashes somewhere in the British countryside. Violent killings are reported. The authorities investigate and find the wreckage of the fighter with wiring ripped out. Forensic techs discover brain matter.

There follows an all-out search of the country all around to find the injured pilot who has evidently been driven insane by brain damage.

Some of the footage is seen distorted through the eyes of the deranged flyer. Hand-held camera stuff which is what I mainly remember.

I think he dies at the end.

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16

Probably "The Nightmare Man" (BBC 1981) It's a mini submarine but the rest seems to match

From Wikipedia:

The serial is set on a small Scottish island, where the population is gripped by fear following a series of savage murders and the discovery of a strange craft on the local beach.

A more extensive review on this is horror mentions ”Most of the killer’s actions are viewed from its point of view, through a blood-red haze, accompanied by rasping, slobbering breaths” and "a nuclear accident and malfunctioning cybernetic equipment have turned a Soviet submariner into a homicidal madman"

(I saw it at the time, but my memories of it are a bit fuzzy - just enough for me to recognise it ... The online reviews seem to match)

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  • 1
    That would be it. I didn't remember the marine elements but the rest seems right. I remember seeing it at the time too and I thought the killer's pov stuff made it quite effective and pretty scary. I hadn't realised it was adapted from a book "Child of Vodanoi" by David Wiltshire. Thanks.
    – PotatoCrisp
    May 10 at 22:53
  • 6
    Cybernetics for lightning fast reflexes in... a submarine?
    – Mr47
    May 11 at 8:31
  • Gotta watch out for great white sharks, @Mr47!
    – FreeMan
    May 11 at 14:57
  • Maybe the OP's memory of this movie got mixed up with the "Firefox" story about a Soviet Plane that has a "thought guided" weapons system en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firefox_(novel)
    – user2705196
    May 11 at 15:29
  • Wow, vague memories of this programme popped into my head yesterday and I was going to post here asking the very same question!
    – Robin Elvin
    May 11 at 17:38

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