He is suffering from retrograde amnesia, unable to remember his name or details of his personal life, other that he lives in a house within several miles and has no father to speak of.

Almost immediately, John begins to display odd behavior, with a fellow patient nicknamed “The Messiah” suddenly developing a delusion that he intends to behead him.

Denman dismisses Gail's hypothesis as her developing a maternal bond with the young patient, and plans to have him treated with electroshock therapy against her wishes.

Before the operation begins, the local Sheriff arrives to tell Denman and Gail that they found John's house and mother, but that she's been dead of carbon monoxide poisoning for five days, indicating that he killed her and not the other way around.

Some time later, John has regained his memory and tells his story – his mother tried to kill him, and when he realized what was happening, he fought her and inadvertently knocked her unconscious, leaving her to suffocate while fleeing the house.

The script was first purchased by 20th Century Fox, who were hoping for a quasi follow-up to Brian De Palma’s The Fury (1978)—a box office hit about another youth with devastating psychic powers—but the production floundered and was dumped before it got off the ground.

[1] Several of his previous collaborators, including composer Trevor Jones, cinematographer Roger Pratt, and special effects supervisor Nick Allder, were retained by Christian for the film.

Dissatisfied with Christian's initial workprint cut as “overly slow” and “artsy”, studio executives ordered the film re-edited to start with the ending and tell the story in flashback.

"[6] The Atlanta Journal's Eleanor Ringel similarly felt the film failed to achieve its promise, but noted that it "shows unmistakable signs of care and craftsmanship" and bears "some arresting special effects.

"[7] The Boston Globe's Michael Blowen praised the film's cinematography as "stunning" but felt that its screenplay lacked direction despite having a "fascinating premise.

"[8] Jack Mathews of the Detroit Free Press deemed the film "visually effective," though ultimately assessed it as "one of the silliest psychological thrillers to come along in years," comparing elements of it to Carrie (1976) and The Fury (1978).

Elm Street writer-director Wes Craven was known to be a fan of writer Thomas Baum, asking him to co-develop his television series Nightmare Cafe.