STARRING
Steff Ivory Conover, Mischa O'Hoski, Paul Krysinski, Daniel James McGee, Sarah Gates, Ryan Brown, Chris Cheeseman, Hugh Goodden DIRECTED BY
Chris Cheeseman, Paul Krysinski SCREENPLAY
Chris Cheeseman (Story, Written by), Steff Ivory Conover, Paul Krysinski, Mischa O'Hoski, Daniel James McGee, Hugh Goodden MPAA RATING
NR RUNNING TIME
60 Mins. DISTRIBUTED BY
Independent OFFICIAL IMDB
Movie Review: Mind Leech
It's the day after Christmas in the fictional Canadian town of rural Provinstate, 1998. A quiet holiday is wished for all, but instead a not so accidental chemical spill in a nearby lake is quietly having a bit of a problem with a toxic, you guessed it, leech determined to attach itself to human brains and control their every thought. The first victims, a pair of hapless fishermen named Craig (Paul Krysinski) and Josh (Daniel james McGee, set off the killer adventures in this low-budget horror flick that runs at a brisk 60-minutes. It's a somewhat campy horror with inventive creatures, generally effective special effects, and an overall goofy charm that never wears out its welcome.
The film's standout is Steff Ivory Conover as Deputy Johnson, largely tasked with performing the film's heroics while also gifted with many of the most memorable scenes and lines. Conover has a naturalism that works well with the film's improvisational vibe. In fact, the film is specifically noted as being largely improvisational both on-screen and behind-the-scenes. While this can be disastrous, it's pretty clear that everyone was on the same page here and Mind Leech is an awful lot of fun to watch.
Mischa O'Hoski shines as Sheriff Pailey, though it's difficult to single anyone out in a for the most part strong ensemble. Several of the behind-the-scenes folks, including co-directors Chris Cheeseman, and Paul Krysinski, have a background in special effects and that knowledge shows throughout the film's slight but nicely paced running time. Lensing by Bartosz Pawlowski is effective, a nice mixture of gruesome close-ups and Canadian landscapes, and music from Zak Hanna and the Leechtones amps up the camp.
Mind Leech is pretty much what you expect - a low-budget indie horror with a Troma vibe and a B-movie identity that it wears on its sleeve. While it's not the best film you'll see in 2023, or 1998, it's a quality indie project that's definitely worth your time. You can check the film out for yourself at Mindleech.com.
