Mind Warp (1991)

Mind Warped

"Mind Warp" is an early '90s version of The Matrix. After a nuclear holocaust,a young woman named Judy&her mother live underground. They are plugged into "Infini-Synth" to explore virtual worlds. Judy wants to go into the "real world" (in contrast to her mother who,for some reason,fantasizes about being in an opera-to each their own)

Judy finds herself in a place that's at once desert&tundra. She's hunted by deformed cannibals,but Stover (Bruce Campbell) saves her. She seems young for him, so their relationship is at once paternal, romantic, or plain creepy. Of course, Judy's "first real experience" is sleeping with Stover. Their idyll is shattered when the cannibals rampage. Stover is forced to be a slave, while Judy is taken to the menacing beauty Cornelia. There's plenty of suspense- Judy has many near-death experiences.

Be warned, there's plenty of gore&splatter, so don't pair this movie with eating unless your stomach is really strong. Judy finds her long-lost father, who happens to be murderous&incestuous. He's the leader of the cannibals' religion, and has no problems with having people juiced. Judy makes her great escape, with Stover's help.

"Mind Warped" is creative with its endings. And unexpectedly poignant. "Mind Warp" has the fun B-movie acting of Bruce Campbell, but it's too gruesome for my tastes. "Mind Warp" is...warped. August 30, 2008

all hail bruce campbell!

to describe this movie in one word, it would probably have to be "interesting". i would say it is about a 6 or MAYBE even 7 out of ten. definately not evil dead or army of darkness- but it is still a good watch, if you like bruce campbell and sci-fi. does tend to drag in a few areas of the film. NOT for children...NOT for sensitive viewers. August 18, 2008

Low-budget gorey fun with Bruce Campbell

Mindwarp is one weird little film. It sounds like it might be a precursor of sorts to The Matrix, but it really isn't. It's got the whole virtual reality world thing going for it, but the whole tenor of the film changes with the introduction of Bruce Campbell. Campbell is always worth watching, and he brings his usual few truckloads of slime and goo with him here. There's a lot of gore, but it's a little too nasty and gooey to be completely satisfying, plus the film is so dadburned dark most of the time that it's hard to see exactly what you're looking at. The whole cannibal subplot is a little disappointing, though, as no humans were actually eaten in the making of this movie. Midway through, the film seemed to be going nowhere, but it picked up steam at the end and threw a few plot twists in the mix to make things interesting.

Apparently, there was some kind of nuclear war, and now the survivors live their lives inside a place called Infinisynth, jacked in to a super virtual reality system that allows them to be and do whatever they want. You get kicked offline to take care of bodily needs and eat green gloop, but other than that it's a dream come true. Of course, there's always someone out there who doesn't like making all of her dreams come true in a realistic fashion; no, she wants something truly real. Well, she gets it, as the Sysop eventually kicks her out for mucking around with the system. Judy (Marta Alicia) finds herself on a barren world that is half-desert and half-glacier (those nukes really screw up the environment, don't they?). She quickly discovers some quicksand, and you almost want to see her die because she is just really annoying. Stover (Campbell) saves her from the zombie cannibals that pull her out of the sand, and the whole "only man and only woman on the face of the earth" things gets them all cozied up. The good times don't last long, though, as they are both then pulled down underneath the earth by the zombified "crawlers." These guys live underneath a landfill, so you can imagine just how disgusting a world this is. The plot gets pretty weird at this point, but you basically get a whole lot of gore from here on out - no actual cannibalism, but there is blood drinking. Lots of blunt instruments get swung around, meat hooks are put to good use, there's a great big saw for the most important sacrifices, and one kid's eyes get gouged out (even though we don't actually see the eyes removed, darn it). There's also a certain little critter that lays its eggs on a person's brain stem, and the journey to that destination ain't a pretty one - neither is the birth of the little darlings and their exit from the host.

The ending, or should I say endings, is what I would all predictably unpredictable, but it works. Mindwarp is a lot of fun to watch if you're not doing anything for an hour and a half. It's certainly not my favorite Bruce Campbell film, but it is a Bruce Campbell film - and usually that's enough to make a movie worth watching. Bruce got an extra bonus from the making of this film, as he met his wife, costume designer Ida Gearon, on the set. June 27, 2004

Bruce Campbell makes this work

it starts off with a women and a mother in this virtual reality thing and you can be anything. the daughter is bored and goes into her moms mind and ends up killing her. so the mindwarp creator puts the woman into the desolated wasteland called Earth and she has to survive and she meets a stranger who saves her life and brings her to her place, the stranger is Bruce Campbell(who is simply great), then they fall in love and are captured, they are brung to an underground world where Campbell is tortured and the villians put him into this cage in water, with these creatures that burrow into his skin(ehhhh). the escape is deadly. when they escape theres something wrong with Campbell and the girl starts to trip out and wakes up back into the mindwarp game and with her mother still alive. weird, lowbudget, nonthearetical release b horror movie sparks only because it has an interesting premise and of Campbell's wacky and good role. dont find logic in the villian's lair. the makeup and effects of the creators are way dumb. October 21, 2003

Very Entertaining

Mind Warp is a very fun movie to watch, it stars Bruce Campbell(Evil Dead), and Angus Scrim(Phantasm). Mind Warp is a very unusual movie. It takes place in the future and all or most of mankind is living in a dream. Until one courageous women breaks free and discovers Bruce Campbell in the "Dead Lands" and then the two are caputured mutant cannibals, and brought to become slaves for Angus Scrim(the leader and father of the girl). Some parts in the movie are rather gross, but this movie is very entertaining. April 27, 2002

More reviews at Amazon.com ...