Usually these sorts of pages on the Kurtodrome site are brimful with pictures about the film on review, but not this time. No, not this time...
Occasionally you find a film that noone seems to know. Of course a search on the internet generally proves you wrong and you find at least a dozen people on several websites who�ve also seen your film and also thought they were the only ones who�d seen the film.
And after all, could you really be the only person to have seen a film? The director must have shown it to his/her family, and what about the stars? Let alone a film that�s been released on video� other people must�ve seen it, or did you think video companies had an output of just one copy?
Today I�ll be talking about Shadows of the Mind, a movie so rare I feel like Robert Morgan.
Shadows of the Mind is not on the IMDb. Believe me, I've tried... Though I could list the name of the film, the director, the cast and a few extra people plus the year of release... the IMDb still didn't believe this film existed and annulled over two hours of trying to get every name correct.
I couldn't even find a single hit on Google, even when I tried a query with the name of the film together with the name of the director.
The most puzzling thing about Shadows of the Mind and its apparent non-existence is that most of the crew worked on another film, a film that's a lot more notorious, Last House on Dead End Street (also known as The Fun House. It's only when I made a query with both movie titles that I got my one and only hit, a review for Last House on Dead End Street.
Given how notorious that film is, I can't see why Shadows of the Mind isn't better known. Maybe it'll help if we review the film...
A young woman is released from a mental institution because her mental health has improved and she can't stay locked up forever. She's taken home in a black limousine and even during the ride home, the voices in her head tell her (and us) she could've done with a longer stay in the institution.
The young woman, Elise, is also plagued with a disturbing memory, handily shot in sepia tones, of people in a boat on a river shouting her name. Apparently Elise saw how her parents drowned and feels responsible for not saving them (even though she can't swim).
The other people in the film are Elise's (step)brother (the two aren't on the bestest of terms) and her psychiatrist, who is so involved with his patients it drives his girlfriend nuts.
And then there's Leland, the gardener who spies on Elise when she undresses. Leland is an odd fellow, but don't get too attached to him: soon his throat and a sharp blade meet in a most unfortunate way.
In terms of a movie plot, what rhymes best with "mentally disturbed young woman"? That's right, "inheritance". In a few days Elise is bound to inherit a large sum of money if she's out of the mental hospital. Of course Elise's stepbrother wants to get his hands on the money and hopes Elise is diagnosed insane as soon as possible.
He invites the psychiatrist and his girlfriend for a cosy dinner, knowing all too well Elise has feelings for her doctor. As Elise is lovingly looking at pictures of her doctor and her father, we hear Elise as a young girl shout: "But she's not my real mother, I hate her, I hate her."
All this sounds like plot enough for a decent film: is Elise sane enough? Did she kill Leland? How evil is her stepbrother? etc.
Weirdly enough, I couldn't find myself fully enjoying the film. It is a bit too sober, the actors could have been better, the script may have needed an extra look...
Viewers who've seen Last House on Dead End Street may be disappointed by the lack of gore in Shadows of the Mind, which occasionally looks like a Movie of the Week that got selected without a thought.
All in all it's decent, but don't expect more than a decent B-movie or you'd be terribly disappointed. To go back to the links with Last House on Dead End Street (LHoDES): the post-production supervisor of that film, Bernie Travis directed Shadows of the Mind (okay, he may call himself Bernard here, but it doesn't make him more distinguished as a director). Elise is portrayed by Marion Joyce who also wrote the script and apparently this was her only job on a film ever.
As obscure as the movie might be I once saw it on a Dutch rental tape: I can't be the only one to have seen this, but apparently I'm the first to review in on the Internet. Even that could've been said with more pride. I leave you with a look at the people behind the film.
SHADOWS OF THE MIND (USA, 1980)
Cast
Marion Joyce (Elise)
Erik Rolfe (Dr. Robert Lang)
G.E. Berrymore (Leland Seyers)
Bianca Sloane (Diana Russell)
Anthony Frank (Andrew)
Don Renshaw (Sydell)
Marcia Watkins (The Mother)
Richard McNichol (Father)
Executive Producers: Leo Fenton & Steven A. Florin
Produced by Leo Fenton
Directed by Bernard Travis