Review of The Mind's Eye (2015) by Brett B — 12 Aug 2016

An affectionate homage (though some less charitable viewers might be more likely to consider it a rip-off) to the psychokinetic horror films of the 1970s and '80s; things like CARRIE, THE FURY, SCANNERS, and even FIRESTARTER are pretty explicitly part of this story's vocabulary.

This isn't a modernization of the concept, or a deconstruction, it's a genuine and serious attempt to make a movie with that tonal flavor, and it's mostly successful. The telekinesis subgenre has mostly been dormant for the last few decades, which gives THE MIND'S EYE an interesting and unique flavor to offer.

It's a very low-fi movie, but that feels appropriate both for the subject matter and the aesthetic approach being implemented (which seeks to remind viewers of the early works of Cronenberg and Carpenter).

The movie is well-shot (from a camerawork perspective), despite the obvious ultra-low budget. Skipper and Carter are very solid leads, both being emotionally convincing. THE MIND'S EYE isn't perfect (at times it might feel way too familiar to those well-versed in the back catalog of similar movies), but it's a fun attempt to bring back a kind of movie that hasn't been made in a long time.