Shadows of the Mind

Shadows of the Mind is a completely obscure and hard to come by title, and indeed I'd never heard of it when I first got my gritty, sleaze ridden hands on a copy. It's not difficult to see why this film is so obscure, as it really doesn't have much to recommend it for. The plot is derivative of a number of other films, although the plotting itself stumbles more than it should and the storytelling isn't exactly brilliant. Director Roger Michael Watkins is best known for the fact that he directed the seminal cult shocker The Last House on Dead End Street, although this film has none of the gritty gruesomeness that Watkin's earlier effort had, and everything; from the short running time to the uninspired performances, feels rather flat. There is a good atmosphere on display, however, and while the picture on the copy I saw was too dark for most of the film; Shadows of the Mind is a creepy film with a good score and a handful of good horror moments. I didn't track this film down purposely; I was given it, and that is the only reason I can give for seeing this film. It's not a terrible movie, but it's not very good either and I would recommend The Last House on Dead End Street, and a number of other films, over this any day.

"Shadows of the Mind" gained a sort of modest cult status since 2005 because, suddenly, it was discovered that director Bernard Travis was actually a pseudonym for Roger Watkins, and he's the crazy guy who also made the notorious low-budget snuff-shocker "Last House on Dead End Street". Cult movie or not, the film always remained very obscure and hard to find, but where I live - in Belgium - there are a handful of VHS-copies in circulation. It certainly isn't the worst psycho horror flick I've ever seen, thanks to a few nasty murders and twisted moments, but particularly the first hour is slow, long, and unendurably repetitive.

Elise Halsted is a twenty-something girl residing in a mental institution since many years, because she helplessly witnessed how her daddy and stepmother drowned in the pond at the estate surrounding the family mansion. Her doctor thinks she's cured and sends her back to the mansion, but he clearly didn't earn his PhD in medicine, as Elise is obviously still mentally unfit. The first hour is an endless series of blurry flashbacks of her parents drowning, dialogues playing over and over in her head, and the poor girl literally begging the good doctor to stay at the asylum. Finally, back in the house, someone is committing grisly murders (one with a scythe!) but it isn't too difficult to figure out who's the culprit. Occasionally atmospheric, but mainly very dull and predictable, the only highlights in "Shadows of the Mind" are the few gory kills and the role of the doctor's nymphomaniac fiancée.

An obscure effort from the director of the infamous "Last House on Dead End Street", I expected more from "Shadows of the Mind" than what I wound up getting. As a child, Elise witnessed the drowning deaths of her father and stepmother. Racked with feelings of guilt, she's been institutionalized ever since. That is until Dr. Lang decides she's ready to return to the outside world. Hesitant and alone, Elise heads back to the old family estate. Before long, her estranged stepbrother stops by to visit and various murders begin to occur.

For the first 40 minutes or so, this is a mostly dull and repetitive affair. Elise wanders around the estate as the same lines of dialogue replay over and over and over in her mind. I'm a very patient individual, but this was a bit much. For a film with such a short running time, they sure padded it out. It doesn't help that Marion Joyce (who co-wrote the picture) is pretty annoying in the part of Elise. Fortunately, the proceedings are enlivened considerably by G.E. Barrymore's smarmy portrayal of Leland, the scheming stepbrother. When he arrives on scene, things finally pick up a little. Another plus is the gorgeous Bianca Sloane as Dr. Lang's fiancée, Diana.

The run down estate makes for a moody setting, and there's an effective scene of a body being discovered in an elevator shaft. However, the plot developments are as predictable as they come, including the twist that the film ends on. Combining that with a grating lead performance and the ridiculous amount of padding, "Shadows of the Mind" never comes off as anything above mediocrity. Worth a one time watch for curiosity's sake, but that's about it.

This rare horror film, is very new to me. It was never advertised in any way. Kinda of a reversal version of "Psycho", only cornier. You have a woman who was institutionalized after seeing the deaths of her father and mother. But the real mother died when she was young. That trauma seems to never go away. Her doctor takes her back to the big house she's inherited. Her stepbrother comes by to visit. He is a big schemer. He wants to have the house all to himself. The woman has issues with the stepmother. She never connected with her. Takes a picture of her shrink with her. Like her stepmother, she had issues with the fiancee. Turns out that she was a victim of herself. Her father and stepmother didn't drown accidentally, they were murdered. Cheesily made, and I saw a part of the prop in the film being seen. That film could use a lot of work. It was something. Great for a rainy day. 2 out of 5 stars