Blu-ray Review: Mind Games (1989)

March 1, 2020

Written by DanXIII

Daniel XIII; the result of an arcane ritual involving a King Diamond album, a box of Count Chocula, and a copy of Swank magazine, is a screenwriter, director, producer, actor, artist, and reviewer of fright flicks…Who hates ya baby?

The Lund family are exactly one pussy hair from heading straight into a divorce, so what do they do? Cram themselves into an RV and go on a jaunt through every campsite straight through California way.

At one such wooded wonder the youngest Lund, Kevin (Matt Norero), encounters a man, Eric (Maxwell Caulfield) messin’ with his flute… surprisingly a real wood wind and not the “skin” variety you may assume. Anyway, this kid is desperate for a friend, so he immediately becomes infatuated with the dude, and before long the handsome hitchhiker is along for the ride.

Small problem, Eric is a complete psycho that loves breaking into people’s homes while they are away and thrashing the place six ways to Sunday… and he uses a combination of threats and charm to get Kevin to join his passion project.

As is the way of things, ol’ Eric soon begins slippin’ the D to the family matriarch Rita (Shawn Weatherly), and has designs on offing her husband Dana (Edward Albert)… will the family have enough sack to survive this ordeal?

Full of cheese, broad acting, and a bit of suspense here and there, Mind Games is an entertaining, if standard, watch. The main attraction here is Caulfield, who provides plenty of charm, but can turn into a completely believable maniac at the drop of a hat… it’s a great performance that elevates this Lifetime movie of the week material to a higher level.

While we are jawin’ about acting, Norero is no slouch as young Kevin either. This dude has solid acting chops, and his emotions are well presented in each facet of this joltin’ journey… plus he won’t get on your nerves like so many tykes in a terror tale.

Also of note is the suitably nutty reason that Eric is doing all of this debauchery, as well as the moments of real tension generated here and there… but as I said up yonder, blazing originality is not the order of the day here, so don’t expect too many surprises in the narrative.

As relatively solid as the picture is, MVD Entertainment (under their MVD Rewind label) have provided some nice bonus materials on this Blu-ray release, and though they may seem slight, their quality is pretty damn astounding.

First up we get a brand new “making of” retrospective… a retrospective that runs nearly two mother fuckin’ hours!!! This thing is an in-depth look, warts and all, at how the film came to be and features interviews with cast and crew. After that comes a look at how the film’s director, Bob Yari, has gone on to a successful career as a Hollywood producer. The film’s theatrical trailer is also included.

Bottom line; if you’re looking for a taut and fairly twisted lil’ thriller, Mind Games will tickle your pickle quite nicely indeed!

 

 

 

 

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