It was a sad day several years ago when film company PM Entertainment closed its doors and producers Joseph Merhi and Richard Pepin went their separate ways. I have been trying to follow their separate careers since, though they haven't made as many films as they did when they were together. When "Mindstorm" came up on the Canadian Sci-Fi channel, I watched it because not only was Richard Pepin a producer, he wrote and directed the movie as well.
The movie was obviously inspired by "Scanners" (and the fact that "Scanners" star Michael Ironside was cast here probably wasn't a coincidence.) But despite not being totally original, I found the movie surprisingly compelling. It unfolds slowly, keeping you curious as to what will happen and what secrets will be revealed. Also (probably in part due to the low budget), the movie is more character-based than action-packed. Not only are the characters fleshed out, the cast is more than up to the challenge of acting these parts. Underrated actors Eric Roberts and Ironside as usual do a first-rate job, and even Antonio Sabato Jr. and Clarence Williams are decent.
Is there anything I didn't like about "Mindstorm"? Well, there is one action-oriented part that extensively recycles footage from the remake of "Narrow Margin". That was kind of annoying - I would have preferred they had used completely original footage throughout, even if it would have meant one less action scene. But aside from that, the movie is very good, even though it also happens to be a Canadian film. Probably the fact that it wasn't funded by the snotty art-minded government explains why it's so good.
