The Mind’s Eye starts out like a lot of other films. It is not like other films.
Zack vagrantly wanders through the wilderness until he is set upon by two cops. Pretty standard, until he sends them hurtling through the air with his mind.
Zack is tired. Zack is alone. Zack is angry. Zack has telekinetic powers and he’s not afraid to use them, nor are the band of telekinetic assassins lead by shady government figure Dr Slovack who is harvesting powers from Zack and his compadres.
And those aren’t even the strangest things in this literally mind-blowing film.
There’s a lot to recommend The Mind’s Eye; the classically hammy acting, low-budget effects and choice cuts only some elements of the clear affection for the gore and schlock characteristic of decades-past. Replete with CIA-type conspiracy theories and lo-fi chic, there’s more than enough to enamour the 70’s horror tragics.
Inevitably, the No.2 in the assassin’s squad tracks Zack down, eye-patch intact – just in case you weren’t sure if he was a bad guy or not, but he’s no match for Dr Slovack, pursuing any and every means to become more powerful. To be sure, there are deaths, and true to the film’s roots they are never understated. Limbs are ripped, blood flies in all manner of directions and bodies go boom as the filmmakers continue to find new ways to kill of minor characters.
The telekinetic stand-offs are the most entertaining, and suspenseful parts of the film, heralding more tensity than Neo trying to bend a spoon or Magneto trying to lift a submarine ever could. Resulting in several fun sequences where the adept music choice is the film’s best friend, the repetitiveness of the psychic slayings doesn’t detract from the actors’ visible efforts to put as much potency and concentration into each scene as they possibly can.
If you’re still reading, and you don’t mind stilted dialogue and a negligible plot, this might just be your type of movie.
The Mind’s Eye is screening as part of the Sydney Underground Film Festival – for more information head to the Festival website
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