Enter the Dangerous Mind

It's not as brutal as I thought it would be, but it's fairly exciting. My wife and I both enjoyed this movie. Directed well. Excellent acting. Great story (I was speculating and anticipating for much of the film). A pinch of shock value. What more could you ask for?

If I had a "must watch" list this could be in the top 10. I've read some poor reviews of this film, and I simply can't wrap my head around that. I'm assuming these were bias reviews by viewers who dislike horror/thriller films. Even if you don't enjoy them, this movie is still refreshingly well put together. I was never bored at any time. The casting was also very good.

These reviews make this film sound entertaining.

The movie is slow.

The backstory is more interesting than the main story.

Meanwhile, no one wants to explain to these characters that everyone has "voices" in their head?

Enter the Dangerous Mind had a great concept that was refreshing and extremely cerebral, honestly, it sounded great. Unfortunately for anyone looking forward to this film, this was quite possibly not only one of the worst films I've seen in a while but it also features some of the worst acting I've seen since Troll 2. The only way to describe this film in a nutshell is that it is like watching Uwe Boll emulate Nicolas Winding Refn. It is horrendous. The story follows a young dubstep DJ by the name of Jim who falls for a beautiful social worker only to have voices in his head drive him insane. While this sounds like a nice blend of cerebral psychological romantic drama mixed with a bit of horror, it is anything but. It is essentially a terribly acted film about the outcast getting the pretty girl only to have his nerves get the best of him in the form of inner demon voices that tell him to do terrible things by the end of it all. The acting in this film is abysmal, starring a slew of B-movie actors such as Jake Hoffman, Thomas Dekker, and Nikki Reed, it sinks in a matter of seconds as the acting gets to be so bad that you start to question whether this is supposed to be a hard hitting psycho-drama or a really bad comedy. My biggest problem with this film is Hoffman as Jim. He is unbelievable in every frame and approaches his character's musical tendencies as if he doesn't have a clue. Now, I'm not sure how Hoffman prepared for this role but judging from what we see on screen, I doubt he even knew what dubstep was let alone how to make it. Nikki Reed wasn't as bad as the rest of the pack, but it still would have been nice to see her try just a little bit. The true artistic criminals here are the directors, Youssef Delara and Victor Teran, the latter being the screenwriter as well. Delara and Teran have absolutely no idea how to keep up the pace. Just because your film is a brisk 88 minutes, doesn't mean that it is automatically going to be paced well. Quite the contrary, this film is paced terribly and has no balance to it whatsoever. One minute we're in a love story, the next minute we are plagued by Delara and Teran's half assed attempts at cerebral cinema, it makes for a brutally and painfully boring film that never clicks. Overall, if you have the chance to see this film, don't...run as far and as fast as you can and if you think you're far enough, you're not, keep running until you forget the name of this terrible, ridiculous attempt at a really cool concept.

Jim Whitman (Jake Hoffman) is constantly hounded by an imaginary character (Thomas Dekker) who always questions his manliness. He is a socially-awkward IT guy who creates music in his apartment. He goes to do IT work for student social worker Wendy (Nikki Reed) and her boss Kevin (Scott Bakula). He connects with her and begins a tentative relationship.

Right from the hot librarian, it's obvious that this is an imaginary character. There isn't much of a mystery there and Wendy's best friend is not that difficult either. The movie's strength is based on a realistic portrayal of mental illness. That does depend on personal experience and I have none with that. I do feel for Wendy, but less for Jim. I don't really like the last act where there is suddenly a bunch of new characters. I would prefer to keep the final confrontation between Jim and Wendy along with any imaginary friends. The movie seems to be building up to that instead of jamming in some new people.

Maybe Biting a bit more than They can Chew, these Low-Budget Filmmakers are on Shaky Ground when it comes to the Conceit Proclaiming its Ability to Convey the Inner-Workings of a very Troubled Psyche.

But, the Movie does Manage to be somewhat Intriguing and somewhat Complex for such a Minimum working Budget. The Movie Looks Good and the Soundtrack is Reflective of its Pathological subject matter.

It is want to Give Us more than it can Deliver. Combing, Stalker, Serial-Killer, and Horror Movie Tropes, the Film manages to Touch these Things for an OK Entertainment, there just isn't Enough Time or Money to Due any of it Justice and it Ends Up being an Average B-Movie at Best and a big Disappointment at Worst.

Still, Worth a Watch for Fans of the Psychological Thriller and B-Movies, it is more Emotional than Visceral, so those expecting a lot of the Red Stuff will No Doubt come Un-Glued and Eviscerate.