Import Corner: Mind Twister (1994) (Fejui) Blu-ray Review + Screenshots + Packaging Shots

If you were into the video store in the 90s, then you saw the vhs for Mind Twister everywhere. The film finally makes its Blu-ray debut with questionable results.

Studio: Fejui
Release Date: March 16th, 1994 (video premiere) / ??? (blu-ray)
Run Time:
Region Code: FREE

Disc Count: 1 (BD-R25)
Picture: 720p (1.33:1 aspect ratio)
Sound: English Dolby Digital 2.0
Subtitles: None
Slipcover: No
Starring: Telly Savalas, Erika Nann, Gary Hudson, Suzee Slater, Richard Roundtree, Maria Ford

Written by Mark Thomas McGee

Directed by Fred Olen Ray
Rating: Unrated (several strong, prolonged sex scenes, violence, and language)

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Poster

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What's It About?

"The victim's friend, Heather, suspects that a local psychiatrist, Daniel Steinhardt, is the killer; she poses as one of his psychotherapy patients in an attempt to uncover the truth. Meanwhile, veteran detective Richard Holland is also investigating the case."

This comes from a translation of what the back of the box says. I did find it funny that the name of the company translates from Latin as "I have failed"

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Video/Audio

Import company, Fejui, brings MIND TWISTER to Blu-ray with the same results as POSSESSED BY THE NIGHT. This is an upscale through and through, but it isn't necessarily bad. There are times where the upscale is actually pretty good. Detail goes up significantly and whatnot, but then there are times when you can see you are clearly watching something is no true HD. This release does suffer from the same compression problems POSSESSED BY THE NIGHT did, so there's that. Audio is also lossy but that's fine as it sounds good.

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Extras/Packaging

No special features whatsoever.

The very same menu is used here as it was for POSSESSED BY THE NIGHT.

Film is divided up into 10 chapters that seem to have been selected at random. These chapters were probably chosen by A.I. as well.

Edit: Turns out the chapters are done in five minute increments. So, every five minutes (ie 5, 10, 15, 20) there's another chapter selection. I don't know how didn't see that before but I didn't.

The packaging is lazy and cheap. The front cover is shot from one of the film's numerous sex scenes with two characters in a hot tub surrounded by candles. The back cover features shots from the film. Inside you will find a post card featuring a shot of a woman in black lingerie that is also featured on the back of the box.

The front of the box has a blurb in the upper right hand corner that says:

Spiciness Level: Extra-Extra-Hot
Suitable for: Earthlings with no heart conditions.

The disc is REGION FREE

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Overall

MIND TWISTER is a pretty good straight-to-video 90s erotic thriller. I didn't like it as much as I liked POSSESSED BY THE NIGHT, but it is well worth a watch. The story is what it is, but that's not why we are wacthing this. It's the sex scenes that have gotten our attention and they are well worth the price of admission. They are well shot, well staged, and do not overstay their welcome. Director Fred Olen Ray actually used some restraint during his 90s erotic thriller run when it came to the length of his sex scenes. After the turn of the century, it felt like he made his sex scenes as long as possible because the film would have been too short without them. The film also stars Telly Salvas and Richard Roundtree, which gives the film a sense of legitimacy. I had fun with this one even if there are better erotic thrillers from the time out there.

Should you buy this Blu-ray? Again, much like POSSESSED BY THE NIGHT, it depends on you. If you don't care about watching something that was upscaled from a VHS then this release will do you just fine. If you do care, then steer clear. I was able to look past the upscale video but there are plenty who can't or won't. This is probably the last time we see this film on any type of physical media so this may be the best we get. Buy at your own risk but know that it isn't that bad.

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Film