Mindwarp | Fangoria Films’ 1990’s post-apocalyptic sci-fi starring Bruce Campbell and Angus Scrimm on Blu-ray

Throughout the 1980s, Fangoria was my go-to fantasy, sci-fi and horror mag, remaining a subscriber for many years. Such was its success with genre fans, the company went on to host conventions and awards shows before trying its hand at producing its own films. Only three ended up being made before they switched tactics to become a film distributor. The first one produced by Fangoria Films was Mindwarp (AKA Brain Slasher), which is now being brought out of the vaults for a UK Blu-ray release from Eureka Entertainment.

Set in a post-apocalyptic 2037, it centres on Judy (Marta Alicia), an Inworlder who lives entirely plugged into a computer running virtual reality fantasies. When she gets the chance to be released by its System Operator, she ends up in radioactive wasteland populated by Crawlers, cannibalistic underground dwellers who mine garbage dumps for their overlord, the Seer (Angus Scrimm). But her troubles really start when she’s captured along with Stover (Bruce Campbell) one of the last human Outworlders.

With Evil Dead‘s Bruce Campbell and Phantasm‘s Tall Man Angus Scrimm on board, Fangoria had high hopes for some box-office gold. Strangely, it slipped under my radar when it was originally released in 1992, and having watched it now, I can see why. It’s a bit pants really, and what I call ‘a running film’ where not much happens except people run around – a lot.

It’s also ludicrously staged around the gore set-pieces – which are actually the film’s main highlight (aside from Campbell and Scrimm of course!). I sum it up as a bargain-bin Alice in Post-Apocalypse-Land.

But one reason you should consider adding this to your collection is for the 1990 convention footage included in the extras. Scrimm is terrific and does his ‘BOY!’ act to much acclaim (while also reciting some poetry), while Campbell really works the room once he turns the questions onto the audience about the difficulties involved in the independent film-making process.

SPECIAL FEATURES
• 1080p presentation on Blu-ray
• LPCM 2.0 audio and optional English SDH
• Feature-length audio interview with Tony Timpone, former editor of Fangoria Magazine
• Fangoria’s Weekend of Horrors 1990: Footage from the horror convention, with Bruce Campbell and Angus Scrimm
• Reversible sleeve artwork featuring original poster artwork for both the original US release and the international ‘Brain Slasher‘ artwork
• Collector’s booklet featuring a new essay by film scholar Craig Ian Mann; and a reprinted article from Gorezone