Sunday 26 July 2009

Mindwarp

Dan once wrongfully accused of watching any movie that featured Nicholas Cage. He then tried to cover by saying I'd watch a movie just because it stared a certain actor. Again, this was a false accusation. An actor will get me interested in a movie, but my final decision is based on trailer and plot. All that being said, I convinced my roommate to watch Mindwarp on the strenght of Bruce Campbell. He'll tell you it was because it also stars Angus Scrimm.

In 2037, people spend all their time plugged into Infinisynth, a computer system that lets you dream happiness. Judy, however, finds no peace in her dreamworld and begs the system administrator to let her experience something real. When she wakes up, she is exiled from her home and dumped on the edge of the nowhere. Stuck on the outside, Judy faces terrible dangers and is saved by Bruce Campbell. But even he can't protect her from Angus Scrimm, the leader of the subterranean, cannibalistic Crawlers.

Mindwarp is a weird movie. Some might say not very good. It begins kind of sci-fi, and then stalls a bit, spiraling downward into romance when Judy meets Bruce Campbell's character, Stoker. Finally, when Judy and Stoker are taken underground, the film transitions to horror and I'd like to say this is the point at which things finally pick up, but really it's pretty standard fare. Everything you expect to happen does, including a predictable but no less gruesome child murder.

Bruce Campbell plays it straight in this one; the film takes itself seriously, commenting on freedom, religion, and the preciousness of life. Ironically, Crawlers are dispatched left and right as Judy and Stoker fight to maintain their own freedom and independence from the oppressive and bloody reign of Angus Scrimm.

To the film's credit there are some surprising gore effects, but not nearly enough to make us forget that what we're watching isn't a horror movie through and through. Bookended with sci-fi, Mindwarp is a sort of film-within-a-film, and ends exactly the way you expect it to. There's an odd little twist right at the very end, however, that throws everything off-balance a bit. It's not nearly enough to negate the entire movie, but it begs the question: What the hell?

Seriously Mindwarp, what the hell was that?

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