Mindflesh [DVD] [2008]

Writer / director Robert Pratten first made his mark on the horror genre with festival favourite London Voodoo (2004). He gave a familiar premise a fresh spin and whilst not completely successfully - it loses its footing towards the end - there was enough promise evident to mark him as a name to watch. Rather than stick to a formula, as most horror movie makers do, Pratten has changed direction with his second feature, moving away from voodoo and the supernatural and towards a genre that acclaimed director David Cronenberg left hanging to go making movies with Viggo Mortensen - body horror.

A big fan of writer William Scheinmann's short stories, Pratten was all too keen to get his hands on the writer's 'Buddhist horror novel' White Night and found himself not disappointed. He decided to option it straight away. Pratten adapted the story, re-titling it to MindFlesh and changing the location from San Francisco to London. Released through Pratten's Zen Films, whose motto is to produce movies that are 'entertaining, thought-provoking and irreverent,' the movie's trailer caused a bit of a fuss on the internet, being banned from both Facebook and YouTube due to its nudity content.

Nudity in movies always causes a bit of a fuss. It has always been perfectly acceptable to show people being shot, stabbed, whatever but just don't think of having naked flesh parading around in your movie. It raises the censor's shackles and outrages people - rather odd when you consider that it's just people in their most natural state. The movie's nakedness is never sensationalistic and much like Cronenberg's treatment of the same, the camera worships the flesh rather than exploits it.

Pratten is clever enough not to play his cards too early with the plot, keeping the viewer hooked throughout. MindFlesh has a dreamlike quality with little in the way of dialogue to move things along outside of the odd bit of exposition. Pratten is proving to be a unique voice in today's horror climate, and as he did with London Voodoo, is doing something that isn't currently in vogue. It isn't a remake, a re-imagining, or torture porn. Pratten takes familiar genre strands and does his own thing with them and by his own admission has come up with something far more adventurous than his first feature.

MindFlesh is a complete mind fxxk that is not afraid to take the viewer to some unexpected places with a sudden peek of a middle aged woman's privates proving an unexpected shock, just one of a number of striking images. Complimented by an excellent score courtesy of Arban Severin, whose partner Steven (founder member of Siouxse and the Banshees) provided the score for London Voodoo, the overall experience is kind of trippy and surreal.

Given how reliant the movie is upon visual effects, it is pleasing to report that they are of an acceptable standard. The aliens, a kind of an amalgamation between a severed human head and a developing cow's udder, took the effects team three months to create. Electing to go with prosthetics the monster feels more palpable, more real than it would have done had Pratten preferred the CGI route.

The most recognisable member of the cast is Christopher Fairbank whose wealth of experience in TV and movies - such as Batman, The Fifth Element and Alien 3, rather than Aliens as the marketing blurb states - that stands him in good stance for shouting out explanatory dialogue to the lead character and the audience so we can keep up with what's going on.

Elsewhere the cast play second fiddle to the effects and the mood created. That is not to say that they are lifeless or are badly acted, it's just not the sort of film where a level of performance is applicable.MindFlesh is deliberately limited in dialogue allowing the visuals and the atmosphere to carry the film to its resolution with the cast merely ciphers in its sensual web.

With its art-house vibe and Facebook / You Tube upsetting nudity MindFlesh will not be for all tastes but for those with a penchant for something different to the present horror status quo this is one to delve into and delve into again. EatMyBrains

Taxi driver Chris Jackson(Peter Bramhill) is experiencing visions of a ghostly female around the streets of London. He records these sightings on a map. Chris, who is convinced this apparition is real, also has a deep trauma from his childhood that blights his adult life. One night, the woman, in fact a Goddess, pays Chris a visit. Chris indulges in his wildest fantasies, but in turn puts his friends in danger, as the Guardians of different dimensions of time and space are very angry indeed...
Director Robert Pratten first became known to the horror film fraternity with the excellent London Voodoo. A very skillful, imaginative British horror, London Voodoo is very unfairly forgotten when recent triumphs of Brit horror are recalled. This film is a very different beast to Pratten's previous foray into horror, although it does share with London Voodoo a great visual flair, with imaginative, disturbing camera angles aplenty.
This film, adapted from an American horror novel with a Buddhist ideology, the strong narrative of London Voodoo gives way to a far more fractured, surreal tale of obsession, trauma and fantasy. That's not too say that Mindflesh isn't any less enjoyable, as it's a pretty unique,unsettling viewing experience, despite owing a small debt to the body horror of Cronenberg and the surreal output of David Lynch.
The actors all equip themselves well, although they do play second fiddle to the twisty plot and the sometimes outlandish visuals and effects. Just to mention the effects for a moment, specifically the Guardian creatures. They are an excellent creation, the otherworldly aspect of the Guardians almost giving the film a Lovecraftian aspect.
All in all a very exhilarating, thought provoking watch. If I was to pick out the best of the extras on the disc, I would recommend the commentary by Pratten, as he does explain some of the complexities of the plot. 5 out of 5.

What a load of pseudo tosh! I had great hope after reading the other reviews...and the cover looked great..but this film is pathetically awful. It aspires to be part high brow pseudo intellectual, part schlock horror and part sexual provocateur..and fails miserably in all areas. At 75 minutes I did wonder if the film makers had cut the film randomly as it jumps around more than a frog on a pogo stick. Random plot lines seem to be thrown in willy nilly. The promised "scenes of a disturbing and sexual nature" are risible and as for the equally delusional claim of "think Hellraiser meets Species" should have an additional "..and then think again as this film is nothing like either". Some of the reviews mention the style of film production..well, to me it's up there with some under graduate film making the morning after a Merrydown or two too many the night before. And the acting goes from full on ham to wanna-be method acting. The script is dreadful.
There are far better low budget horrors out there. If you want surreal images then buy/watch un chien andalou by Luis Buñel. If you want sclock horror..well, take your pick. Ditto for films with provocative sexual content.
And if you want to laugh at surreal scenes with weird background music then buy Chris Morris' Jam DVD which is far funnier and actually intentionally funny.
This is short at 75 minutes...but still 72 minutes too long! Buddhist Horror? A steaming pile more like!