Mindwarp

• USA • 1992 • 91m •

• Directed by: Steve Barnett. • Starring: Bruce Campbell, Angus Scrimm, Marta Martin, Elizabeth Kent, Mary Becker, Wendy Sandow, Brian Brill, Bekki Vallin, Matt Hensley, Keith Rodenberger, Gene McGarr, Roger Perkovich, John Thorpe. • Music by: Mark Governor.

In 2037, after a nuclear disaster has just about destroyed the Earth, the planet's remaining dwellers retreat to Inworld, an enclosed biosphere where computers control all aspects of life. But a beautiful young woman rebels against the Inworld's pre-fabricated existence and demands the right to experience "real" life. So the biosphere's System Operator exiles Judy to the mutant-ridden outside world. Once there, she is kidnapped by deformed cannibals who want her to breed with their evil leader. Will Judy be able to escape the horrors of this futuristic, toxic wasteland?

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Review:

Mindwarp is set in the near future where most of the population lives underground & spend most of their time in a virtual reality simulator called 'Infinisynth' as Earth in reality is no more than a desolate wasteland (are you sure this is the future?). One such user Judy Apple (Marta Alicia) rebels & decides she wants out & experience the real world outside instead of a computer simulation. The Systems Operator detects her rebellious inclinations & to prevent any unrest he decides to give her what she wants & banishes her to the outside world. Once there she encounters a harsh landscape where she instantly runs into trouble as she is sucked underground by quicksand & is then rescued by mutated cannibals known as Crawlers. Luckily for Judy she is saved by Stover (Bruce Campbell) & he takes her in, unfortunately they are both captured by more Crawlers that night & taken into their underground caves in which they live. Stover is put to work & Judy has an unexpected meeting with someone from her past, they must find a way to escape. But even if they do where do they escape to...

Directed by Steve Barnett I thought Mindwarp was an OK sci-fi horror mish-mash. The script by John D. Brancato & Michael Ferris starts off as a straight laced sci-fi taking place in a post apocalyptic world but then shifts into horror territory, the film takes itself pretty seriously & after a slightly slow start has a fairly decent pace. My biggest problem is that everything is decidedly average, the character's, the dialogue, the 'twist' ending, the set-pieces & the basic story are both undistinguished & left me feeling indifferent. Most of the film seems to take place in caves & the future civilisation is represented by one white room & a cup of green drink & their state-of-the-art technology looks dated even now! Check out that chunky green text on the monitors that a Spectrum ZX would be embarrassed about. There are a few decent scenes & it's OK to sit down with & pass 90 odds minutes but it's nothing special or outstanding in my opinion.

Director Barnett does OK with obviously limited sets, the cave scenes which make up the majority of the film look like they were all filmed on the same set but from different angles. There is one good aspect to Mindwarp though as there is some pretty good gore scenes, there's slashed throats, machete's in heads, severed hands & arms, impalings, people chopped up by a huge propeller, a bit of cannibalism, mutants & scenes of some blood sucking leeches that burrow under people's skin.

Technically Mindwarp is OK, the sets are limited but it's obvious that the filmmakers were working on a low budget. Apparently filmed in a place in Michigan called Gay, insert your own joke here. Horror icons Campbell & Angus Scrimm make appearances, Campbell is somewhat wasted in my opinion & isn't given much to do.

Mindwarp was produced by the horror magazine Fangoria along with Children of the Night (1992) & Severed Ties (1992), I suspect that's why there's a fair amount of gore & why Campbell & Scrimm are in it. It's worth a watch if you have the time to spare but don't expect anything brilliant, not too bad but not that good either.

Review by Paul Andrews from the Internet Movie Database.