By Robert Scucci
| Revealed
I’ve no difficulty admitting that after I write film evaluations, I spend a while on Wikipedia and IMDb as a result of I’m higher with faces than names. I wish to make sure that I get the expertise straight after I discuss in regards to the characters that expertise is portraying, in addition to refresh myself on the story. Within the case of 1991’s Mind Twistersnonetheless, I needed to seek the advice of the web simply to determine what story it was even making an attempt to inform within the first place, as a result of it actually doesn’t make any sense in any respect.
Conceptually, Mind Twisters has a cool R-rated premise, but it surely limps alongside like it’s aiming for a PG-13 score. It needs to be attractive, however there isn’t a nudity. It needs to hold itself like a slasher, however there isn’t a actual violence. It needs to play out like a sci-fi thriller thriller, however as an alternative seems like a made-for-TV crime drama about a pc program that forces folks to go on homicide sprees. At the least, I feel that’s what it’s going for.
None Of This Makes Sense On Any Degree
From what intel I’ve gathered, I’m not alone in my evaluation of Mind Twisters. The primary story facilities on Dr. Philip Rothman (Terry Lenderee), a college professor who runs thoughts management experiments on scholar volunteers involving sensory deprivation tanks and a wall of televisions a la A Clockwork Orange. Then a string of murders occurs, drawing the eye of Detective Frank Turi (Joe Lombardo), who turns into concerned after certainly one of Dr. Rothman’s college students, Ted (Shura McComb), commits suicide. This by some means leads to a custody battle over his corpse.
Dr. Rothman needs Ted’s head for analysis functions, whereas Detective Frank is extra involved with determining whether or not Ted was concerned within the homicide of his girlfriend, Denise (Heather Ann Barclay). Because the movie slowly meanders alongside, we be taught that Dr. Rothman’s experiments are emitting radio waves, or one thing near that, which trigger his college students to kill one another or themselves.
The issue is that Dr. Rothman is outwardly unaware of this aspect impact as a result of the software program firm financing his experiments by no means disclosed that info to him. This rationalization instantly collapses beneath scrutiny, since he spends many of the second and third acts behaving in an more and more unhinged and overtly evil method that implies he is aware of precisely what is occurring.
In the meantime, scholar Laurie Stevens (Farrah Forke) turns into romantically concerned with Detective Frank after he cooks her boxed spaghetti, whereas her promiscuous buddy Michelle (Donna Bostany) makes an attempt to seduce Dr. Rothman in alternate for a greater grade. That’s it. That’s the complete film.
Not Even Charming In A Shlocky Method
Once I search out films like Mind TwistersI genuinely attempt to establish their redeeming qualities. I’ve devoted an unthinkable variety of hours to scraping the underside of the Rotten Tomatoes barrel and logging onto Tubi in the hunt for hidden or underappreciated gems that weren’t totally understood on the time of their preliminary launch. As a rule, I’m pleasantly stunned, and I report my findings right here in case anybody else needs to take a look at one thing that was not on their radar however nonetheless suits their style. It ain’t a lot, however it’s sincere work.
Mind Twistersnonetheless, has no redeeming qualities, and it rightfully earns its seven % viewers rating on Rotten Tomatoes. It’s barely sci-fi, barely horror, and doesn’t even have sufficient schlock to provide it the sort of B-movie allure that allows you to recognize it as a diamond within the tough. Second-rate manufacturing values might be forgiven if there’s a compelling story beneath them.The unlucky fact about Mind Twisters is that there’s not.
If you wish to see what Mind Twisters is all about, you’ll be able to stream it totally free on Tubi. Or you’ll be able to jam toothpicks beneath your fingernails if you’re searching for a extra productive option to spend your time.