Mindwarp

I can't believe I'm saying this, but I believe that director Steve Barnett's low budget B-movie Mindwarp was an influence on Cronenberg's excellent eXistenZ AND the groundbreaking sci-fi action classic The Matrix. Of course, it's nowhere near as good as those films, but the similarities are hard to ignore.

Like eXistenZ and The Matrix, the main character, 'dreamer' Judy (Marta Martin), plugs into a virtual world which is impossible to distinguish from real life. Like eXistenZ and The Matrix, the body requires a 'port'-an interface with which to connect the human mind to the digital realm. And like The Matrix, the real world seems a lot less appealing than the computerised alternative, where you can live out your fantasies.

Unfortunately, Judy's electronic existence comes to an end when she is granted her wish to experience reality and is exiled to a post-apocalyptic world where cannibals roam the wastelands. It's not long before flesh-eating mutants have Judy trussed up ready for slaughter, but help comes in the form of passing good samaritan Stover (Bruce Campbell), who saves her from a grisly fate and takes her to his home. From this point the film becomes rather repetitive as Judy and Stover are captured by the cannibals and taken underground, where they escape, get captured, escape again, and get captured again.

There's a fair bit of gore to liven up proceedings, and horror icon Angus Scrimm turns up as the leader of the cannibals, who has created a form of religion to keep the mutants in hand, but it does get pretty tedious. The film rounds things off with a not-totally-unexpected twist ending.

5.5/10, rounded up to 6 for iMDb. Better than Alien Apocalypse, but not by much.

Mindwarp is just great! Its just one of those fun movies that are just entertaining from start to finish. IT's very original and has a quick pace that doesn't let up. The cast led by Bruce Campbell(Evil Dead), Angus Scrimm(Phantasm), and unknown Marta Alicia is great. I have no clue who she is, but Elizabeth Kent of plays the supporting role of Cordelia is awesome! If your a fan of gory sci-fi/horror than I totally recommend Mind Warp. It is hard to find and I first saw it when I was 11 and couldn't find a copy again until I was 17. This film should have gotten the attention it deserved! See it today!!!! JUST DON'T TAKE IT SERIOUSLY

I Just finished watching an imported DVD from Germany of this film with the title of Brainslasher, and i tell you what..... it is one of if not the best horror movies i have ever watched.

It has everything, Bruce Campbell, Angus Scrimm, blood, loads and loads of well done gore, a decent story, and for once a movie that dosen't slow down you never know what is comming next.

Anyway this is great, check it out you will not be dissapointed. i'm off to watch it again.

Although not really having "enjoyed" Mindwarp, I must admit it's a fairly competent movie with a handful of disturbing images and a whole lot of blood-spurting gore. The popular genre magazine Fangoria raised the necessary funds for this film and they pretty much know what their target audiences adore as well as whom they like to see in horror films. So we've got a story with some really dark topics and two respectable icons starring in important supportive roles. I'm sure many horror fans would blindly pick up a copy of "Mindwarp" only because the names of Bruce Campbell ("the Evil Dead") and Angus Scrimm ("Phantasm") are displayed on the cover. Unfortunately, however, the script is weak and very incoherent and it too often feels like the outrageously nasty gore was only put in to compensate for the lack of content. Somewhere deep into the 21st century, our planet has become a completely uninhabitable wasteland and the remaining humans live in underground rooms where their days are filled with mind-controlling computer games that induce personal fantasies. Judy rebels against this dull way of life and she's promptly exiled to the dangerous upland, where she teams up with solo-warrior Strover (Bruce Campbell) and battles a community of mutated cannibalistic creatures. The opening sequences involving hi-tech computer mumbo-jumbo are boring, confusing and pretentious and the film only becomes somewhat interesting as soon as we're in the uncanny post-apocalyptic surface settings. The Crawler's liar is creepy and sinister, and their leader (Angus Scrimm) has some gruesome hobbies like gouging people's eyes out and throwing the rest of their bodies into propellers. Nice. One-time-actress Marta Alicia doesn't bring her lines very convincing, but she sure has an athletic body and at least she had some quality time with the almighty Bruce Campbell. Good for her! "Mindwarp" is okay entertainment, but if you're looking for really good post-apocalyptic Sci-Fi movies, check out the "Mad Max" trilogy, "Damnation Alley" or "Hardware".

Chaucer this ain't! Mindwarp is a low budget horror flick that makes no pretensions, and delivers no surprises. Starring the always reliable Bruce Campbell, and a very weak Marta Alicia, the movie is your basic post-apocalyptic romp with monsters, mutants, evil wizards, etc. Higher on the gore content than many of its compatriots, the movie also lacks the tongue in cheek humor that makes some of these flicks fun to watch (Sam Rami's Army of Darkness comes to mind).

The movie does elicit good performances from Bruce Campbell, who has made a successful career fighting heavily made up extra's in movies and Rami's Herc/Xena series. Campbell knows the score and delivers the deadpan hero mode needed to make these pictures bearable. Surprisingly good back up work by supporting actors Angus Scrimm and Elizabeth Kent, doing something with very little in the dialogue department, also add to the film. The one big problem is the female lead, Marta Alicia, who has obviously forgotten that she is no longer in Grade 10 drama, and delivers her lines in a one note (ie. - whiny) tone. Forgetting that her major role is to scream, look frightened, and lose most of her clothing at strategic intervals, Alicia instead appears to be trying to ACT, mainly by looking annoyed and whining a lot.

Overall, the flic ain't bad. The writing is better than expected, with several plot twists at the end and even a hint of an Electra complex (shades of Freud) along the way. The special effects aren't, and the budget was obviously stretched in the makeup department, as most of the 'mutants' look like trick or treaters wearing Holloween masks from Walmart.

I rented this at Blockbuster for 99 cents. That's about the right price.