Mind Ripper

A 'Wes Craven presents' movie from 1995, directed by Joe Clayton and starring Lance Henriksen. A group of scientists save a dying man they find by their desert stranded government outpost by injecting him with their experimental virus, of course, one of their colleagues goes overboard and the virus transforms the man into a near unstoppable monster with them trapped inside. Lance Henriksen plays the morally offended researcher who leaves the project before all this, but returns after receiving a call for help to save the man (pre-unstoppable death machine mutation).

Deciding to combine two trips in one he brings his family along with him (they're going on vacation afterwards) and proceeds to give them entry to the top secret government facility, thus putting them right in the middle of the chaos within. In case you can't tell, this one relies on the viewer to work with it a little and put aside some petty (see: major and blatant) details.

Overall though: Watch-able with mild bits of enjoyment. Note: The Outpost is commonly known under the title 'Mind Ripper'

A scientific experiment designed to create a superhuman being has gone wrong.The creators become trapped in a remote desert outpost,pursued relentlessly and mercilessly by their own creation.James Stockton,the scientist whose research was used despite his protests to create the monster,is called the outpost to help undo the horror that now lurks somewhere within the dark halls.James,together with his son and daughter,soon find themselves trapped inside with the others,trying desperately to survive.And with the outpost sealed from within,there is no way out..."The Outpost"/"Mind Ripper" is highly unoriginal.The sets are pretty claustrophobic and there's a bit of gore.However as a horror it fails miserably on almost all levels.There's zero suspense,the script is weak and filled with big holes and the ending is extremely predictable.So-called master Wes Craven produced this one-I wonder if he is happy with this trash.Joe Gayton directs without any style.The acting is horrible,only Lance Henriksen can act at all.OK,I'm a big horror fan and was bitterly disappointed.Avoid it like the plague-it's just the same old boring crap again!

Back in the day when I first saw this movie I remember loving it. I've watched it several more times over the years and still enjoy it probably because of the nostalgia.

Does it have good acting? Not really. Is the script amazing? No I can't say it is.

There's questionable choices by characters and plot holes a plenty but I still enjoy it.

Possibly it could be good for fans of low budget scifi horror. It has good camera work and makeup. Giovanni Ribissi stands out as the best acting and Lance Henrikson is in it so good for "Aliens" and "Pumkinhead" fans.

I found this movie hilarious. I could see every plot development from a mile away. I'm not surprised it was riffed on RiffTrax. Got to see if I can watch that someday.

The only thing I couldn't stand were those TEENS. They had absolutely no redeeming qualities until maybe 3/4 of the way through the film. Why he would bring them to visit a top-secret govenment installation is insane.

I just bought this as part of a Wes Craven DVD box set (along with Scream, The Hills Have Eyes, and The Last House on the Left) and felt ever so slightly conned. The film is not directed by Wes Craven (he has an executive producer credit) and a dream box set would omit this sci-fi B-movie in favour of Nightmare on Elm Street (I would settle for The People Under the Stairs).

With that being said, this is an ideal film for watching with a gang of drunk mates after a night in the pub. It's a creature feature in a remote claustrophobic environment and it ticks along quite nicely on a sub-Alien template, taking advantage of all the usual sci-fi horror clichés. The monster is cheap but effective and it is sympathetically played. The rest of the characters are just monster fodder and are badly underwritten, though a father-son theme breaks through to complement the monster-creator theme. Lance Henrikson, the brunette girl in the shower, and the bloke who plays Phoebe's brother in Friends are worth watching. The rest of the cast stink. There are enough gruesome moments to keep a drunken audience's interest. It's also fun ticking off the clichés as they mount up, and laughing at the obvious dialogue. I defy anyone (after a few drinks) not to laugh at the last scene.

So not a classic sci-fi horror, but an entertaining mess of a movie with redeeming qualities, best viewed with friends and alcohol.