MINDWARP (1991) aka BRAIN SLASHER

Brain Slasher, Mindwarp (1991)
Directed by: Steve Barnett
Written by: John Brancato, Michael Ferris
Starring: Angus Scrimm, Bruce Campbell, Elizabeth Kent, Marta Martin, Mary Becker, Wendy Sandow

MINDWARP (1991)
aka BRAIN SLASHER
Available on Blu-Ray

Judy and her mother are dreamers; humans who spend their daily lives plugged into InfiniSynth – an artificial reality where they can live out their own fantasies and play God in their own world. Disconnecting just to eat and go to the toilet, Judy grows tired of being connected to a virtual world and wants to live out a real experience for the first time in her life. Her non-compliance finds her drugged and kidnapped and when she finally awakens, she discovers she’s in a barren landscape, riddled with cannibals who live underground. Fortunately for her, a true human survivor named Stover finds her but how long will they be able to avoid the clutches of the cannibalistic Crawlers?

Set in the future, Mindwarp is a post-apocalyptic sci-fi horror featuring the acting chops of the greatest chin in the business, Bruce Campbell, and everyone’s favourite tall man, Angus Scrimm. This is a film that you could describe as a blend between Mad Max and The Matrix as one woman, played by Marta Alicia, attempts to break out of her virtual shackles and experience life for the first time, no matter how harsh and grim that reality may be.

There’s something quite fun about Mindwarp as it plays out more like an adventure you’d see in an Indiana Jones film at times, which makes the horror scenes that more shocking when they do come. Eyes being gouged out, children being fed to a conveyor belt of doom in order to quench the thirst of the brainwashed cannibal Crawlers, and people being impaled on hooks feel almost out of character for this film as it doesn’t feel like the movie could be so harsh – but it is! Even the prospect of incest is toyed with and you begin to realise just how disturbing this film is despite its non-threatening demeanour as these mutant Crawlers dig around in the dirt, looking for old, discarded human objects they can make use of, from hub caps to broken mixers.

Marta Alicia leads the way in one of her early film roles as rebellious dreamer Judy. She’s a spunky character, full of life, and isn’t afraid of fighting for what she believes in or cares about. A disagreement with the InfiniSynth systems operator finds her getting her wish but has she bitten off more than she can chew and will she regret it? Alicia stars alongside Bruce Campbell as the dashing Stover who comes to Judy’s rescue. Initially hidden behind a load of rags to protect him from the harsh weather conditions, Stover is like a fantasy come true and he really does change her world, allowing her to experience many things for the first time 😉 The chemistry between the two is evident quite quickly which works well when our two protagonists are pulled apart. Like most films, the battle is to reunite but that’s easier said than done, especially with the Seer on the warpath… I didn’t think Angus Scrimm could get any creepier than his role in Phantasm but in Mindwarp he manages to become more human yet more despicable with it. He commands the screen whenever he’s in front of the cameras and excels in his role as the cruel Seer.

MINDWARP is pure entertainment from start to finish. It is a budget horror at heart and isn’t afraid to throw itself 100% into that idea with old school FX and makeup which will please most horror fans. It’s quirky and proud of that fact, with a tremendous cast to back it up including some great supporting roles from Elizabeth Kent, Mary Becker and Wendy Sandow. A film full of surprises right to the very end…may be not a surprise coming from the writers who brought us The Game.

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