User reviews

First time I saw Mindwarp on the TV, I kinda hated it. Mostly because I thought it was a cheap and gaudy film, made grotesque by the excess of blood and gore, with ideas that were interesting but never profound. Despite disliking the film, however, it stuck with me, partly because it did have scenes and ideas that were inherently interesting and worth watching, and mostly because this is actually one hard film to find on home video. I have never seen a DVD release for this film; it's currently only available on VHS, or, shockingly, as a limited-edition Twilight Time Blu-Ray. That brief showing on TV was my one and only exposure to this movie, up until I got my mitts on Blu-Ray #471 of 3,000.

To be fair, the movie makes for a fine piece of pulply schlock sci-fi, the likes of which could make for a great comic strip in the Heavy Metal magazine, or a short story in some anthology. As a film, it has some promise; the bulk of it takes place in a nightmarish post-apocalyptic wasteland, full of bloodthirsty cannibals, parasitic fish, and sick cults. This hard-edged adventure is book-ended by a really slick bit of utopic cyberpunk, for even though the world has been nuked, a number of inhabitants spend their time in a virtual dream-world. Sound familiar? It makes me wonder if Mindwarp could have been an influence on the Watchowskis when writing The Matrix saga...

The film is neat, and its story is inherently sound. What makes it work are its characters; it is interesting to watch the main heroine get a serious dose of reality when she's expelled from her utopic home and forced to confront the harsh realities of a nuclear wasteland. Things come in full circle by the end, thanks to a neat little plot twist, but the overall message never felt right to me (almost an antithesis to The Matrix, which was all about liberation). That's really the only problem I see with the plot: a certain lack of refinement, for despite the key themes of reality and fantasy, and the coming of age, the film seems really small in scale and it seems like some things could have been better.

The film is as I remember: gaudy and ugly. It's filmed with adequate photography and editing, but most of the settings, props, and locales appear cheap, drab, and somewhat ugly. Even the futuristic scenes in the utopic city are rather ugly-looking. Acting and writing are rather weak all around; Bruce Campbell is a pretty standard hero guy here. Despite a few iffy lines, I was rather fond of Marta Martin. Angus Scrimm steals the show throughout. Music for this film is rather gaudy too.

To me, this film has always been the pure definition of a B-movie: cheap, ugly, gory, strangely hard-to-find, and strangely somewhat hard to forget. For those who have an interest in such low-grade cinema, or are a fan of the actors, or just want a good piece of trashy pulp sci-fi, Mindwarp should be worth a look, if you can find it.

3/5 (Entertainment: Pretty Good | Story: Average | Film: Poor)

The story in Mindwarp is interesting but the budget for this movie was just too low. It's a pity because it had potential to be a good sci-fi post apocalyptic horror movie but now it's just a bit cringing to watch. Maybe one day they will remake this one with a decent budget and then we could have something. The costumes, masks and other attributes looked like they've been purchased in the cheapest costume shop, the acting is mediocre and that despise I like Bruce Campbell normally. It looks like he always plays in stuff where at one point somebody gets his hand chopped off. I wished I liked this movie more, but even for a distant 1992 movie it still looks too amateuristic.

I can't believe I'm saying this, but I believe that director Steve Barnett's low budget B-movie Mindwarp was an influence on Cronenberg's excellent eXistenZ AND the groundbreaking sci-fi action classic The Matrix. Of course, it's nowhere near as good as those films, but the similarities are hard to ignore.

Like eXistenZ and The Matrix, the main character, 'dreamer' Judy (Marta Martin), plugs into a virtual world which is impossible to distinguish from real life. Like eXistenZ and The Matrix, the body requires a 'port'-an interface with which to connect the human mind to the digital realm. And like The Matrix, the real world seems a lot less appealing than the computerised alternative, where you can live out your fantasies.

Unfortunately, Judy's electronic existence comes to an end when she is granted her wish to experience reality and is exiled to a post-apocalyptic world where cannibals roam the wastelands. It's not long before flesh-eating mutants have Judy trussed up ready for slaughter, but help comes in the form of passing good samaritan Stover (Bruce Campbell), who saves her from a grisly fate and takes her to his home. From this point the film becomes rather repetitive as Judy and Stover are captured by the cannibals and taken underground, where they escape, get captured, escape again, and get captured again.

There's a fair bit of gore to liven up proceedings, and horror icon Angus Scrimm turns up as the leader of the cannibals, who has created a form of religion to keep the mutants in hand, but it does get pretty tedious. The film rounds things off with a not-totally-unexpected twist ending.

5.5/10, rounded up to 6 for iMDb. Better than Alien Apocalypse, but not by much.

I normally hate post-apocalyptic science fiction, but I'll make an exception for Mindwarp. Despite gratuitous gore and a cast with some weak members, the film manages to be entertaining. Good use is made of a low budget, and an intriguing (if ugly) world is created. If you're a science fiction fan, this movie should be at least a little more satisfying than most genre entries.

Although not really having "enjoyed" Mindwarp, I must admit it's a fairly competent movie with a handful of disturbing images and a whole lot of blood-spurting gore. The popular genre magazine Fangoria raised the necessary funds for this film and they pretty much know what their target audiences adore as well as whom they like to see in horror films. So we've got a story with some really dark topics and two respectable icons starring in important supportive roles. I'm sure many horror fans would blindly pick up a copy of "Mindwarp" only because the names of Bruce Campbell ("the Evil Dead") and Angus Scrimm ("Phantasm") are displayed on the cover. Unfortunately, however, the script is weak and very incoherent and it too often feels like the outrageously nasty gore was only put in to compensate for the lack of content. Somewhere deep into the 21st century, our planet has become a completely uninhabitable wasteland and the remaining humans live in underground rooms where their days are filled with mind-controlling computer games that induce personal fantasies. Judy rebels against this dull way of life and she's promptly exiled to the dangerous upland, where she teams up with solo-warrior Strover (Bruce Campbell) and battles a community of mutated cannibalistic creatures. The opening sequences involving hi-tech computer mumbo-jumbo are boring, confusing and pretentious and the film only becomes somewhat interesting as soon as we're in the uncanny post-apocalyptic surface settings. The Crawler's liar is creepy and sinister, and their leader (Angus Scrimm) has some gruesome hobbies like gouging people's eyes out and throwing the rest of their bodies into propellers. Nice. One-time-actress Marta Alicia doesn't bring her lines very convincing, but she sure has an athletic body and at least she had some quality time with the almighty Bruce Campbell. Good for her! "Mindwarp" is okay entertainment, but if you're looking for really good post-apocalyptic Sci-Fi movies, check out the "Mad Max" trilogy, "Damnation Alley" or "Hardware".

Chaucer this ain't! Mindwarp is a low budget horror flick that makes no pretensions, and delivers no surprises. Starring the always reliable Bruce Campbell, and a very weak Marta Alicia, the movie is your basic post-apocalyptic romp with monsters, mutants, evil wizards, etc. Higher on the gore content than many of its compatriots, the movie also lacks the tongue in cheek humor that makes some of these flicks fun to watch (Sam Rami's Army of Darkness comes to mind).

The movie does elicit good performances from Bruce Campbell, who has made a successful career fighting heavily made up extra's in movies and Rami's Herc/Xena series. Campbell knows the score and delivers the deadpan hero mode needed to make these pictures bearable. Surprisingly good back up work by supporting actors Angus Scrimm and Elizabeth Kent, doing something with very little in the dialogue department, also add to the film. The one big problem is the female lead, Marta Alicia, who has obviously forgotten that she is no longer in Grade 10 drama, and delivers her lines in a one note (ie. - whiny) tone. Forgetting that her major role is to scream, look frightened, and lose most of her clothing at strategic intervals, Alicia instead appears to be trying to ACT, mainly by looking annoyed and whining a lot.

Overall, the flic ain't bad. The writing is better than expected, with several plot twists at the end and even a hint of an Electra complex (shades of Freud) along the way. The special effects aren't, and the budget was obviously stretched in the makeup department, as most of the 'mutants' look like trick or treaters wearing Holloween masks from Walmart.

I rented this at Blockbuster for 99 cents. That's about the right price.

I never heard of that movie before. The fact that Bruce Campbell starred in it was also pretty shocking. And yes in fact it was a B-Movie. But I have to admit they used this low budget pretty well. The story is quite nice although the ending will probably confuse you. The main feeling is some kind of mixture between despair and being afraid, it's pretty brutal and heartless. The acting was good although the dialogs were a little too cheesy. Whoever made this flick had some nice ideas. And if you like post apocalyptic movies - this is one you shouldn't miss because it's really one of them better ones. Yeah just give it a try if you like cheesy B-Movie stuff like that.

For most of the movie, the pretty female lead (who has some rather admirable musculature in her arms) is exiled from her apparently post-apocalyptic underground lair where most time is spent in virtual reality, to the barren Earth's surface, mostly sand and snow. Mutated human beings try to capture her, but Bruce Campbell saves her. However, they both get captured and pulled under the Earth's surface where Campbell is put to work mining for pre- apocalyptic items like Cuisanart blenders, and she has more in store for her than that.

However, that's not where the movie starts or ends. It is bookended by some confusing scenes in the underground lair and in the virtual reality. It's unclear what's real and what's not, and I didn't understand the ending at all, I'm afraid.

For those looking for gore, there is some and it is pretty good, but I wouldn't say there's a lot of scenes with it.

The prospect of seeing Bruce Campbell doing battle with cannibalistic mutants in a future underworld may sound fun. Well - despite a generous offering of gore - it isn't. This is a terrible movie, not to mention too ambitious for its budget. At least halfway though you'll get a chance to admire the heroine's impressive physique (it's the scene where she gets tied up) - be sure not to miss it, because you are certainly not going to admire her inept acting anytime. (*1/2)

I've been watching nothing but apocalyptic movies for about a month now, and this is definitely one of my favorites. It is a little gory, mainly to show the depravity of the mutants, but not overly so. Possibly Angus Scrimm's finest acting. Good Atmosphere. Give it a try.

A weird Fangoria-movie w horror icons Scrimm and Campbell. Scrimm is miscast but OK. Campbell is great. The story is pure nonsense. There are a lot of rubbery monster FX on hand which resemble members of GWAR. This is pretty gory and will satisfy gore-hounds. The plot is totally ludicrous and sports a totally out of place happy ending which is totally out of place the the rest of the dark and gruesome film but who cares? This is an underrated gem for trash horror enthusiasts. Totally worthy of checking out and wasting an hour and a half of your life.

I Just finished watching an imported DVD from Germany of this film with the title of Brainslasher, and i tell you what..... it is one of if not the best horror movies i have ever watched.

It has everything, Bruce Campbell, Angus Scrimm, blood, loads and loads of well done gore, a decent story, and for once a movie that dosen't slow down you never know what is comming next.

Anyway this is great, check it out you will not be dissapointed. i'm off to watch it again.

Not even the very likeable actor Bruce Campbell can save this horrifyingly crappy movie. The premise: A girl gets bored living a fake reality inside a computer and gets cast out from the innerworld. The surface is populated by cheap rubber mutant cannibals who moan a lot and wear hubcaps.

Don't watch this unless you really hate yourself.

Look, I know it's low budget. But that's never an excuse. Mindwarp has what other, much more expensive movies don't have: atmosphere and some images you won't forget.

Add in The Bruce, and you got something that you just have to like - if you're a genre film fan at all, that is.

There are portions of this film that could have been taken from an "Evil Dead IV", and I'm sure that someone with a lot of time and some serious skills could actually turn this film into that.

Sure, the music is corny, the production design looks cheap at times, but I didn't really care. I want to see someone making a film like this today, and then we can talk.

All in all, this is a very enjoyable little gem, and if you have the opportunity to see it (as it seems to be kinda hard to find), you should take it.

Mindwarp is a relatively early effort by Steve Barnett (Director) and Henry Dominic (writer). Barnett is chiefly known for post-production work, which, surprisingly, is not a major feature of Mindwarp. His few directorial efforts have been limited to fairly dubious material like Scanner Cop II. Dominic has done some more high-profile writing in recent years, including Terminator III. Given this team's background in sci-fi, and the timing of the film (1992), it should not be surprising that Mindwarp blends plot-heavy cyberpunk, horror, and hardcore sci-fi. What is, perhaps, surprising, is how well it does so with an obviously low budget.

Several years before the Matrix began shooting, Mindwarp presented the story of Judy, a smart, precocious but sheltered young 'in-worlder' who wants to experience real life, rather than simply plugging into the seemingly utopian synthetic fantasy world she can access through a serial port in the back of her neck. She just has the feeling that there must be something more to life. Of course, she has no idea what might await in the "deadlands". Most of the film follows her adventures in captivity among subterranean cult of mutant land-fill denizens and the struggle she shares with hero Bruce Campbell as they try to free themselves from the evil grip of the cult leader, Scrimm. Despite the straightforward action, however, Mindwarp is anything but a straightforward story.

With a cast featuring B Movie legends Bruce Campbell and Angus Scrimm (Phantasm)you might expect Mindwarp to be an archetypal B film. Not only does Mindwarp exceed the B film standard but it also manages to entertain on more levels than most of Bruce Campbell's films do - no mean feat. Unlike many films in which he appears, Campbell does not dominate the screen throughout the film and does not have many opportunities to utter any of his hallmark clichés. Instead, we have Marta Martin (AKA Marta Alicia) in her second major role. Martin plays the immature yet very headstrong Judy very well, and would subsequently land many returning roles on popular TV shows. Their nemesis, Angus Scrimm, as of 2010, is 84 years old and still acting. He plays essentially the same role he has had countless times - a big, menacing, old, creep. Only a few other actors have speaking roles in this fairly intelligent mutant gruntfest.

Recommended for Sci-Fi and Cyberpunk fans.

On 90's the movie might be slayer/suspense. But for 2020 it is old fashioned illogical movie. The suspense was easily predictable as we have watched movie like total recall.

Movie start and stop without any background explanation about what is really going on and how they getting food, water. There is more plot holes. But as 90's movie, the effort is remarkable one. That's why 2 stars.

Anyway, I won"t recommend this movie.

Well, it was almost three AM and then I saw Bruce on the telly - need I say more?... then there were dozens of gooey skulls all around the place... and a pretty girl... and it was late and then ghouls or zombies or mutants or something and so of course I had to watch. This is a bad movie, make no mistake - but if you are a Bruce fan and like his other work and Army of Darkness it is good for a late night bowl of popcorn that would be for certain. The set design and costumes are really interesting... everything from old football helmets to eyes sewn in capes and a fresh blood water fountain (that would be blood drinking fountain I guess)... expect light gore and no more and have a colder... I would have to recommend this for fans of the genre!

I'm as big a Bruce Campbell fan as anyone, and he plays his standard character in this... whatever it is, but it commits two cardinal sins: 1) Bruce isn't his funny, wisecracking anti-hero, and 2) it's incredibly predictable. Lots of time wasted on side trails that go nowhere. Just disappointing.

OK, Barely Evil Dead references aside and my clearly fandom of Bruce Campbell causing me to give most of his films a 10. This is still a REALLY good movie, if you view this from the eyes of 1992 or modern 2019 - I still think it does what it intends to do. We get gore, creepy and disturbing human-mutants and an interesting story (even if by today's standards it would be considered cliche)

There were a few things I thought could have been done better to add to its "scary" side, like a better score and lighting that suited the mood, but that's me in 2019 having seen a lot of other movies.

Now let's get to what EVERYONE whow see''s list post 1999, it's basically the matrix meets mad max meets Apple (yes APPLE). There's also a bunch of things thrown in here to reference Bruce''s evil dead success, which was fun to see him go along with.

As for the film as a while, it seems very self aware, I think it does a great job of making fun of itself as well as giving some absolute hard-to watch gore and tension.

All in all, I loved it.

Now excuse me as I need to pee in the garden as there is a HUGE spider on my stairs that I don't want to pass when going to the toilet.

This is a great horror movie with a little action. I enjoy to watch it. There was so many disgusting things, like blood and some ugly bugs coming out off guy's mouth. This movie is about girl named Judy who was living in small room with her mother. And all other normal people were living the same. Outsaid there was happening horrible things and because of that all people lived in virtual reality. The main bad guys were zombies drinking blood and looking horrible. This movie is real cool. Marta Alicia was good actress and I would like to know more about her. All other actors were also good. I also liked the idea of this movie. It's really better than nowadays horror movies. If you want to see really scary film, you should watch it.

Mindwarp sucks!!! First of all, the whole film plays as an illusion which indicates that whatever I watched was meaningless. I hate that stupid ass $#!+!!!! Another thing I hated is how misleading the title and cover art is which lead me to believe this was going to focus on technological dependency but the majority of the film is wasteland post apocalyptic crap which never happens. The only thing good about this movie is the gore which never happened!!!!!! You know what? Screw this waste of life.