Customer Reviews

Mind Warp [VHS]

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

One of a handful of low-budget films produced by Fangoria magazine, this film certainly delivers the expected genre violence and gore, but beyond that, is a surprisingly inventive little sci/fi film as well. A young woman living in an underground post-holocost society where everyone spends the majority of their lives hooked into a virtual reality dream system, rebels and is banished to the frozen wasteland of the surface. Bruce Campbell is excellent, as always, as a sort of low rent Mad Max who's learned to survive in the wasteland, and becomes involved with our heroine, only to find himself and her taken to another underground world, this one a sort of oddball hell run by canibal mutants. The set design (all built in a small town in Wisconsin!) is extremely inventive and impressive-looking for such a low budget film, and there is no shortage of really oddball characters to liven things up. Some real clever surprises along the way too, that really justify the film's title.

As a fan of low-budget sci-fi and horror, I've found that in most cases poor plot and poor acting can provide worthwhile entertainment if one keeps an open mind. I maintained this open mind when I popped Mindwarp into the VCR and was pleased with how entertaining and good this movie turned out to be. Set in post-apocalyptic times when most of humanity lives in a virtual-reality dream-state, it features a woman who desires a "real" life and, as a result, is outcast to a hostile wasteland. Bruce Campbell is excellent as the "hero" who rescues her from the elements and the wasteland inhabitants -- cannibals. Angus Scrimm (from the Phantasm films) is delightful as the demented underworld cannibal leader. It may sound strange (text on the back of the box gives little insight about the film), but the movie has a very good plot, good special effects and some surprises that easily place this movie in the "own" category.

Mind Warp is a very fun movie to watch, it stars Bruce Campbell(Evil Dead), and Angus Scrim(Phantasm). Mind Warp is a very unusual movie. It takes place in the future and all or most of mankind is living in a dream. Until one courageous women breaks free and discovers Bruce Campbell in the "Dead Lands" and then the two are caputured mutant cannibals, and brought to become slaves for Angus Scrim(the leader and father of the girl). Some parts in the movie are rather gross, but this movie is very entertaining.

Mindwarp is one weird little film. It sounds like it might be a precursor of sorts to The Matrix, but it really isn't. It's got the whole virtual reality world thing going for it, but the whole tenor of the film changes with the introduction of Bruce Campbell. Campbell is always worth watching, and he brings his usual few truckloads of slime and goo with him here. There's a lot of gore, but it's a little too nasty and gooey to be completely satisfying, plus the film is so dadburned dark most of the time that it's hard to see exactly what you're looking at. The whole cannibal subplot is a little disappointing, though, as no humans were actually eaten in the making of this movie. Midway through, the film seemed to be going nowhere, but it picked up steam at the end and threw a few plot twists in the mix to make things interesting.

Apparently, there was some kind of nuclear war, and now the survivors live their lives inside a place called Infinisynth, jacked in to a super virtual reality system that allows them to be and do whatever they want. You get kicked offline to take care of bodily needs and eat green gloop, but other than that it's a dream come true. Of course, there's always someone out there who doesn't like making all of her dreams come true in a realistic fashion; no, she wants something truly real. Well, she gets it, as the Sysop eventually kicks her out for mucking around with the system. Judy (Marta Alicia) finds herself on a barren world that is half-desert and half-glacier (those nukes really screw up the environment, don't they?). She quickly discovers some quicksand, and you almost want to see her die because she is just really annoying. Stover (Campbell) saves her from the zombie cannibals that pull her out of the sand, and the whole "only man and only woman on the face of the earth" things gets them all cozied up. The good times don't last long, though, as they are both then pulled down underneath the earth by the zombified "crawlers." These guys live underneath a landfill, so you can imagine just how disgusting a world this is. The plot gets pretty weird at this point, but you basically get a whole lot of gore from here on out - no actual cannibalism, but there is blood drinking. Lots of blunt instruments get swung around, meat hooks are put to good use, there's a great big saw for the most important sacrifices, and one kid's eyes get gouged out (even though we don't actually see the eyes removed, darn it). There's also a certain little critter that lays its eggs on a person's brain stem, and the journey to that destination ain't a pretty one - neither is the birth of the little darlings and their exit from the host.

The ending, or should I say endings, is what I would all predictably unpredictable, but it works. Mindwarp is a lot of fun to watch if you're not doing anything for an hour and a half. It's certainly not my favorite Bruce Campbell film, but it is a Bruce Campbell film - and usually that's enough to make a movie worth watching. Bruce got an extra bonus from the making of this film, as he met his wife, costume designer Ida Gearon, on the set.

Very good low budget film starring Bruce Campbell. Most reviews cover the plot, so i'll just say it needs a DVD release, NOW!

"Mind Warp" is an early '90s version of The Matrix. After a nuclear holocaust,a young woman named Judy&her mother live underground. They are plugged into "Infini-Synth" to explore virtual worlds. Judy wants to go into the "real world" (in contrast to her mother who,for some reason,fantasizes about being in an opera-to each their own)

Judy finds herself in a place that's at once desert&tundra. She's hunted by deformed cannibals,but Stover (Bruce Campbell) saves her. She seems young for him, so their relationship is at once paternal, romantic, or plain creepy. Of course, Judy's "first real experience" is sleeping with Stover. Their idyll is shattered when the cannibals rampage. Stover is forced to be a slave, while Judy is taken to the menacing beauty Cornelia. There's plenty of suspense- Judy has many near-death experiences.

Be warned, there's plenty of gore&splatter, so don't pair this movie with eating unless your stomach is really strong. Judy finds her long-lost father, who happens to be murderous&incestuous. He's the leader of the cannibals' religion, and has no problems with having people juiced. Judy makes her great escape, with Stover's help.

"Mind Warped" is creative with its endings. And unexpectedly poignant. "Mind Warp" has the fun B-movie acting of Bruce Campbell, but it's too gruesome for my tastes. "Mind Warp" is...warped.

i have it now i,am set only have 20 more bruce movies to get and i will get them here where the price is right!

THIS DOES CONTAIN SOME SPOILERS

If somebody came up to you and started describing a sci-fi film where people plug themselves in to a virtual reality through inputs located on the back of their neck, but then followed that up by saying that it wasn't The Matrix then you'd probably think that it was some sort of bad riddle. In retrospect, it probably is in a way but a little film called Mindwarp used this concept seven years before The Matrix did. While Mindwarp isn't nearly as flashy or anywhere near the same category of success as The Matrix (or as good), it can probably pass for one of those sci-fi films you catch sporadically during a fit of insomnia while flipping through channels during the infancy of the day and enjoying more than you thought you would.

The similarities to Total Recall will make themselves apparent right away, but Mindwarp doesn't take long to throw you into a post-apocalyptic world you'd expect to see The Road Warrior loitering around looking for an opportunity to relish what was thought to be a dried up natural resource. While Mindwarp can be considered a sci-fi film on the surface, it's most likely a horror film at its roots and that becomes apparent as soon as you realize who's a part of the cast. Bruce "don't call me Ash" Campbell plays the love interest for Marta Martin's Judy while The Tall Man himself, Angus Scrimm, portrays the villainous Seer. While the uniting of these two actors in one film is exciting to horror fans, aficionados may be disappointed when they realize that both Campbell and Scrimm basically have glorified cameos in the film. Neither of their parts seem very large once the film ends, but at least you get to see Campbell get infested by leeches and basically no-sell throwing up his intestines.

Mindwarp is gloriously grotesque, as well. It doesn't even try to shy away from blood or gore, which is fantastic for bloodthirsty horror fans. A perfect example is the meat grinding device the Seer uses as punishment to individuals who disobey him. The device is made from parts you'd find in a garbage dump along with a plethora of human skulls. After the unfortunate victim goes through the machine, their blood is spewed into a bathtub where the Crawlers, a deformed cannibalistic civilization that lives underground, drink the victim's blood. But with all the comparisons to horror come many of the same downfalls many films of the genre have. Mindwarp was made in the early 90's and the leftover cheese from the 80's makes its way into the film practically effortlessly. That means the few attempts at humor in the film will probably make you verbally groan. The acting is also over the top, Campbell and Scrimm have their moments but the wild card is Marta Martin. Her acting is really terrible early on in the film, but slowly gets more tolerable as the film progresses.

Although you'd probably expect more from a film starring legendary horror icons Bruce Campbell and Angus Scrimm, Mindwarp blends the horror, sci-fi, and thriller genres fairly well. The film still has enough cheese injected into it to make it feel like it was made in the eighties; when horror films were at their peak. So while the acting sometimes leaves something to be desired, the concept is surprisingly great and would even go on to influence sci-fi films you're probably more familiar with like The Matrix. Mindwarp is half Mad Max and half The Hills Have Eyes with a little bit of Total Recall thrown in for good measure. This quirky, blood-soaked post-apocalyptic gem is worth unearthing if you're a hardcore fan of horror or sci-fi cinema.

This B-flick is truly amazing, I cannot for the life of me understand why this thing hasn't been released on DVD! It NEEDS to be...

The story is so good, I'm surprised nobody's tried to remake it...

I just caught this movie not too long ago and felt compelled to write a review here. Originally I watched it for Bruce Campbell, the king of current B-movies and cult classics. I have been a big fan of Bruce Campbell since his Evil Dead days even though his acting skills are limited and his movies outside of the Evil Dead series are subpar; his charisma and personality are the main draw.

Enter Mindwarp. It is like an early low budget vision of The Matrix where Judy (Marta Alicia) manages to escape her computerized Utopia and enter the harshness of reality. Well she didn't exactly escape, she rebelled and was kicked out. Bruce Campbell plays Stover, a wanderer of the "outworld" who does all he can to survive, not disimilar to Mad Max. Their paths cross and they spend some time together in the post apocalyptic wasteland. To not spoil anything I won't get into the plot any further but will mention that the conflict in the film involves what are called "crawlers", a mutated breed of human that cannibilizes human flesh.

Bruce Campbell is not the star of the film but plays a secondary role to Marta Alicia's character. I have never seen her in a movie before and now I know why, this is her only movie role. Her acting may not be Oscar worthy but it's certainly better than a lot of what you see on television these days or in a high budget Michael Bay film. She also happens to be very sexy but in a girl next door sort of way. She isn't some playmate thrown into the role, she's an athletic, cute and smart actress who I wish I could have seen more of back in the 90's as a teenager. Bruce Campbell is rather low key in this film and it is obvious this is not one of those B-movies specifically written for him to capitalize on his cult following. His performance is one the best I have seen from him. He is believable in his role and helps you ignore the somewhat distracting low budget. I love Campbell when he is doing comedy but he comes across very well in this film by turning it down a notch.

The film is certainly limited in budget which may distract some but they did a very good job for what they had to work with. There is plenty of gore in the film which may turn some off but it helps add a horror element to this Dark Science Fiction piece. Most important is the story and the underlying themes. You have what is perceived to be Heaven, the virtual world where Judy comes from and what is perceived to be hell, the underground world of where the Crawlers dwell. Inbetween, where Bruce Campbell lives, is like a sort of purgatory. What is of particular interest is how Judy feels trapped in her "heaven" and yearns to experience true reality while those in that reality dream of being in the virtual paradise where Judy comes from. Those in Heaven are curious about hell and those in hell are curious about Heaven. The grass is always greener on the other side.

It's worth a watch, you might like it. Had this been given a higher budget the themes might have been able to be explored a bit more but as it is, it works well enough as a Dark Sci-Fi horror.