Mind, Body & Soul

I´m thinking about to describe this movie, with only a few words, because it´s not worth to be written about: And if it was the last movie on earth, don´t watch it.

1 out of 10

Greetings ZIG

I wonder, after seeing this obscurity, if anyone will read these thoughts of mine on the movie. Well, the movie has moved to the public domain, where anyone can put a copy out of the movie so maybe someone else will be unlucky enough to watch it. It's not COMPLETELY bad - the lighting and photography are acceptable, especially when you consider this was a microbudget production. And Allen is better than you think. No, she's not great or even good, but for a former porn star her performance is somewhat above what you might think. Certainly better than Hauser's performance, who seems to be sleepwalking. (And despite being second billed, he's in less of the movie than you might think.) And things just go downhill from there. There was apparently almost no money for stuff like set decoration, making the movie look really cheap at times. But even if they were able to have more money to spend, the movie would still suffer from a padded-out script that takes its time to get to a "surprise revelation" that is no surprise - I guessed what would happen in the first ten minutes of the movie. Don't let your mind, body, or soul get anywhere near this loser.

Anything starring Wings Hauser tends to be poor, and this was no exception. Wooden acting, cheap sets, a horrible production. The only saving grace is seeing the always good looking Ginger Lynn Allen exposing her "talents" several times throughout the film. Pass on this one!

Rick Sloane (Hobgoblins, Vice Academy) directs this boring ass cheapo horror thriller that's sadly low on sleaze and gore and high on people just standing around and walking in and out of rooms talking. Ginger Lynn is horrible; Wings Hauser is so restrained except for some scenes at the end. B movie veteran Jay Richardson and the boom mic also make several appearances neither are worth it. The boobs aren't even worth recommending, don't waste your time.

A couple in Los Angeles want to take their relationship to the next level so the man introduces the woman (Ginger Lynn) to an odd group with which he's involved. This gets her in trouble with the police in which she's assigned a defense attorney that allows her to stay at his manor (Wings Hauser). Ken Abraham (aka Ken Hill) is on hand as a studio guy who warms up to her and assists.

"Mind, Body & Soul" (1992) is a comic booky crime thriller with occultic horror on a TV budget and a 'B' or 'C' level of proficiency. The producer/writer/director (Rick Sloane) tries to make up for this with plenty of female breasts on display. The story reflects the Satanic Panic that started in America in the 80s and spread in the 90s. There's even a reference to heavy metal fans influenced by the deviltry in their music to (supposedly) commit a particularly grisly crime.

The flick's entertaining enough for what it is, but it's brought down by plastic sets, hammy acting, a lack of artistry and predictableness. Concerning the hammy acting, the main actors aren't so bad, like Ginger Lynn, but some go over-the-top, like the security guard at the prison.

A good example of a movie of this sort having a sense of artistry is "Gargoyles" from two decades prior. In other words, a production team can be strapped with a low budget, but that doesn't mean they can't utilize their strengths to make a worthy 'B' flick with a sense of artistry. As for the "predictableness," when you meet a certain character, you'll know exactly who he's going to turn out to be.

Aside from the star, brunette Toni Alessandrini works well as Priestess Tura in the female department.

In some ways, it's comparable to "Howling IV: The Original Nightmare" from four years prior, just not as 'good.' In other words, as dubious as that one might be in its entertaining way, this one's not up to that level.

It runs 1 hour, 33 minutes, and was in Los Angeles.

GRADE: C-