The Shadowed Mind

(This Film Rates a C+ ) A woman in an old Packard arrives at this really bizarre mental institution. She has a compulsion to show her breasts and just can't help herself. Some of the other patients have their own weird sexual compulsions. Group therapy has some truly WTF moments (14 min mark) as does the group dance (1 hour 10 min mark). The staff mingle with the patients a little too freely which makes you wonder what kind of crazy place this is? Drugs, alcohol and sex run rampant. Suddenly the patients are stalked and murdered by someone we don't get to see. The killings are brutal, long lasting and bloody (but not crazy over the top). Of course, the doctor and his assistant cover up the dead bodies and with good reason. Which patient is the killer or is it someone else? It doesn't matter as it is often times overly bizarre. Actually, nothing makes sense and apparently nothing has to. This is slow moving with some interesting characterizations and plagued by a total unbelievable storyline. There are plenty of T&A, both male and female. The cinematography is pretty brilliant. There are many examples of all the little things that seem to hit the right visual notes. This is a highlight to the overall film. The soundtrack is dark, atmospheric and blends perfectly to each scene. As a whole, this film is a bit different, however, it just misses the mark. This is mainly because the short comings really impacted the overall production and execution.

Stephanie (Adrienne Pearce), a young girl with an overwhelming desire to bare her breasts arrives as a patient at a private clinic for those suffering from sexual dysfunction, run by Dr Hildesheimer (Towje Kleiner) and Nurse Helen (Trish Downing). Other patients include the inhibited Paul (Rufus Swart), the sinister Kurt (Ewan J.Klisser), the neurotic Julia (Hayley Dorsky), the teddy-bear fixated Matthew (Simon Poland) and the radically deluded General (Simon Sabela). Stephanie and Paul begin a tentative affair while a killer stalks the institution, knifing the blonde sex-addict (Deborah Kay), Kurt and Julia, before the shocking conclusion where sexual appetite and necrophilia merge.

Banned for several years in South Africa, this intriguing confection of sex and horror takes place in a private clinic for the sexually disturbed where the staff are more disturbed than anybody else. Composed with the stateliest of camera movements by director Sundstrom (Suffer Little Children, Saxman) who turns on the screws as the killings and sexual couplings proliferate. With a climax reminiscent of Oshima's In the Realm of the Senses and a scenario that is clearly inspired by the Citizen Kane of South African films, Jans Rautenbach's Jannie Totsiens, this is a very strange film indeed.

A story about a "horny" jail and a mysterious string of murders after a certain new patient got in. The staff tries to hide the murders - afraid their grant would be taken away, resulting to a cat and mouse run whilst trying to solve the case.

An interesting film. Its style is akin to that Baghdad Cafe meets low fi Italian Giallo, very saturated and hued (with Yellows and Red). It aged the film graciously. The acting is nothing to write about nor does the writing, though the film is a quirky concept. I wished it tried to do bring anything new with its narrative given its approach visually.

Overall, just a forgettable obscure quirky film.