Minds of Terror was shot on a low budget (we're talking less than $100,000 here). That, however, does not slow it down or hinder filmmaker Mark Adams, who does a splendid job here. The performances are terrific, especially that of Joe "Don't Call Me Martin Sheen" Estevez. Once you've seen Estevez in drivel like The Catcher or Blood on the Badge, it's somewhat easy to discount his ability. That, however, would be wrong. With some real direction here, Estevez delivers a powerful performance that would make brother Marty blush. Newcomer Randy Allen is also interesting here as he seems to somehow channel The Hills Have Eyes's Michael Berryman. (Something about his misshapen head and crooked ears makes him creepy indeed.) He comes across as something like Berryman playing the Angus Scrimm Tall Man character from Phantasm...
Minds of Terror is an extremely creepy atmospheric film. Similar to films like The Others and the original Robert Wise version of The Haunting, director Adams works wonders with shadows and darkness--implication if you will--but without any real special effects. This little film is brilliant. At times the performances are a bit wooden and some scenes are a bit too slow, but make no doubt, Minds of Terror is the real deal. If there was anything I didn't like it might have been the title, which fails to properly convey just what the film is about. Had a friend not showed me the film I doubt I would pick it up in the video store based on the title alone. That, however, would have been a big mistake. Don't let it happen to you, horror fans!
