Written and directed by Joe Begos (Almost Human 2013, Why Horror? 2014), The Mind’s Eye incorporates some of the best special effects in cinematography while at the same time looking incredibly real. Paying homage to the famous 1981 David Cronenberg Horror film Scanners, in which a scientist sends a man with psychokinetic powers to look for others like him, The Mind’s Eye made its US debut on August 5th. With a cast that includes Graham Skipper (Late Bloomers 1996, Dementia 2015) as Zack, Lauren Ashley Carter (Premium Rush 2012, Jug Face 2013) as Rachel, John Speredakos (Inside Man 2006, The Innkeepers 2011) as Dr. Slovak, Larry Fessenden (Habit 1995, I Sell the Dead 2008) as Mike, Matt Mercer (Contracted 2013, Contracted: Phase II 2015) as David Armstrong, and Noah Segan (Looper 2012, Breaking Bad 2013) as Travis, these are just a few of many talents this film brings together.
- Still from The Mind’s Eye
It all starts after Dr. Slovak learns that there is someone else with psychokinetic powers connected to a girl name Rachel who is already in custody. That being known, Dr. Slovak brings in Zack with the false promise that he will get to see his beloved girlfriend once again. Now, months have passed and that promise has not yet come true. Zack and Rachel are constantly being put on situations that tests their powers and Dr. Slovak injects them at the same time so that he can control the psychokinetic couple. Unbeknownst to Dr. Slovak, Zack is slowly taking control of his powers, and when he has enough strength, he enlists David’s help to save Rachel and run away together. Rachel and Zack are able to escape and travel back to Zack’s old house where they meet up with his father Mike.
Everything seems to fall in order until Dr. Slovak orders Travis and another one of his workers to go bring back the couple after finding out their location. To Mike’s misfortune, he answers the door and tries to get rid of Travis only to end up in the wrong side limbo. Most of the action happens when Travis and Zack come face to face, urging Rachel to tap into her powers at its peak in order to defeat one of the bad guys. Travis goes back to Dr. Slovak thinking they have won, but Zack surprises them by showing up at their facility. Before Zack can do anything dangerous, Dr. Slovak injects a secret serum he has developed made in part by the psychokinetic patients the facility recently had. This makes him as strong, if not stronger, than Zack and the ultimate battle begins. Two dangerous minds clash together, but only one will come out on top. Who will it be?
- Still from The Mind’s Eye
Overall, super-human powers are usually represented the same way in every movie dealing with that subject matter, but Joe Begos knew that in order to catch the audience’s eyes, he needed to bring more organic ideas into the mix, so he did. There has been a variety of movies representing super-human abilities, but they all lack originality. The way their cinematography works and the way special effects are filmed are usually very similar to one another, but not in The Mind’s Eye. In The Mind’s Eye, the characters are not afraid to show that in order to use their powers, a large amount of pain has to be dealt with. Their heads hurt and they even bleed in order to even move a piece of furniture from one place to another. They do not just fling their hand in the air and make it happen, there is an increasing pain that could even lead to death if pushed too much.
- Still from The Mind’s Eye
Oftentimes, movie goers bypass these types of things, but it is always nice to see that directors can still have originality and common sense when it comes to building a character’s storyline. This film did not disappoint when it came down to theatrics and fight scenes and even make-up artists did a wonderful job with the allotted time. Available August 5th on VOD and on Blu-ray/DVD October 4th via Image Entertainment, The Mind’s Eye is worth making the time for. CrypticRock gives The Mind’s Eye 4 out of 5 stars.
- RLJ Entertainment
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