Mind Thief

I just love this film. It's filled with joy, suspense, surprises and a quirky sense of humor. And it's incredibly well crafted! The writing holds up, the directorial choices are great and the entire cast delivers excellent performances. Angelique Pretorius who plays the lead keeps you glued to the screen with her great comedic timing and expressions that resonate with a depth and authenticity that is rare and special. She has classic movie star charisma. The story is a whimsical, psychological mystery that keeps you on the edge of your seat to find out what happens next - its tone brings to mind an edgier Amelie. And the ending delivers a cool twist worth waiting for. This is the kind of film that makes you remember why you love movies.

I actually really enjoyed this one. It starts off pretty chilled, but then this complex and intertwined tale unfolds that kept me engaged throughout. I'm a huge fan of mystery and syfy and this film is a great combination of both genres, plus I had some real laugh out loud moments too. The director knows how to create and maintain suspense and uses it really well throughout the film. You think you know where the movie's going, but you get these twists and turns that end up being a very fun ride. The acting was phenomenal by the lead actress, I remember her from Black Sails. And the baddie too. Their grounded and authentic performances makes the craziness happening in the world around them that much more relatable and truthful. The ending was a complete shock to me, one I definitely didn't see coming. If you feel like a nice little indie film I highly recommend it!

First the movie poster, a creative, but weird, cartoon, gave no clue as to what movie was about. I had never seen Angelique Pristorious before, and at first thought the lead actress was Mischa Barton. But wow, Angelique was great. And saw afterward that Angeliqu also wrote the movie. Her humor made the character a combination of air-head, but with common sense. A unique combination. Also Angelique was great at the physical comedy/stunts. And Angelique is H-O-T. Yes, suspend disbelief, but was fun not knowing who was good or bad. This movie is ripe for a sequel. As most of the characters, both good and bad survive.

Most of the actors were new to me. Which also lead to some suspense.

Novelist Christine Wilde is struggling with her latest book. Unable to write she starts to notice strange things going on around her. People are acting strangely and she feels compelled to get to the bottom of it. In the process she uncovers a plot, involving mind control experiments, which put her in danger of being killed or becoming a killer!

I thought this was rather fun. It probably helped that I had no real idea what to expect. Early on a light tone is set with comic moments; the way our protagonist writes while hanging upside-down from the ceiling tells us this isn't going to be too serious. Once the mystery starts it is intriguing and far from obvious what is going on... has she discovered a conspiracy, is she imagining things or is it something else altogether? The cast, led by Angelique Pretorius as Christine do a solid job, keeping the balance of humour and drama just the right side of being silly. While there are some moments of violence they aren't too disturbing, in fact some are done in a way more likely to elicit laughs than shock. Overall I thought this was a decent film; not a must watch but I thought it passed the time well enough.

Many reviews of this film on IMDB are fake; same date, only one review from the author. This is for both the good and bad reviews.

What starts off as a Hallmark-esque sunny romp, slowly but surely leads to darker waters. And the end is quite unexpected and a bit disturbing.

Well acted, well filmed, despite the obvious budget restrictions, and competently delivered. There are a few weak performances, but they do not detract from the overall experience.

While it's no masterpiece, it does what it does well, and does not pretend to be anything other than a comedic murder mystery.

Sunday afternoon on the sofa.