The Film (2/5)

Deep in the desert, a group of scientists attempt to bring back a fallen man to life with the use of new drugs. While housing him in a hidden underground bunker, he suddenly comes with a bloodthirsty hunger for brains. Now the only one who can stop this super human, is an ex-scientist named Dr. Stockton (Lance Henriksen). The only problem is he is bringing his two kids and his future son-in-law.

MIND RIPPER (1995), as how it's listed on screen, Wes Craven's MIND RIPPER, started life as THE HILLS HAVE EYES 3. The locations matched the first two HHE films, but in this screenplay would focus on a super soldier plot. To make matters even more exciting, the outline of the story would follow many tropes from slasher films. Ultimately the story was changed enough to be its own thing. Within a few years, Craven's SCREAM would rewrite the style of the slasher.

Despite this fun production background, the finished film leaves a lot to be desired. The action starts fast, but quickly runs out of steam. It was one of the first films to be photographed in Bulgaria, and it unfortunately doesn't take advanced of any of the bigger production values at a budget cost.

The biggest issue is the script. One of the main villains of the film is played in over the top fashion by John Diehl (STRIPES). But he is killed off almost as soon as he starts to add flavor to the story. As for the rest of the cast, Lance Henriksen (ALIENS, HARD TARGET) is always a blast to watch. He could make anything out of the most nothing role. But here he just looks bored and disinterested. As for his two kids, we have Natasha Gregson Wagner and Giovanni Ribisi. Both of which are written in a lackluster way. Their characters mainly being comic relief with their mind-numbing pop culture jokes.

MIND RIPPER does have a few fun moments. There is an extended rat trap scene and a fair share of hilarious dream jump scares. But at the end of the day I wasn't given much to be wowed by.

Audio/Video (4/5)

MIND RIPPER comes with an English 2.0 DTS-HD Master audio track. The mix is clean and doesn't have any pops or hiss. The score especially sounds great and dynamic. English subtitles are included.

The 1080p HD transfer is the real highlight of this disc. There are a couple motions of unfocused motion blur, but the overall picture is clean. There is a clear level of detail in every shot. Sadly, this hurts this cheap movie a little, because every production hiccup can clearly be seen.

Extras (2.5/5)

The main extra is a 41-minute interview with writer and Producer Jonathan Craven, entitled "Stories from the Outpost". The interview is a little unfocused, but it does cover almost aspect about the film's production. From it starting life as HILLS HAVE EYES 3 to turning into MIND RIPPER. Also mentioned is Wes Craven's career as well as him Executive producing. Jonathan Craven is easy to listen to and seems like a nice guy. The film's original trailer is also included. In the Blu-ray case itself is a handsome set of liner notes.

Overall (3/5) 

MIND RIPPER is a lackluster creature feature, but 88 Films transfer and package make it worth it for hardcore collectors.