Mindcage Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.0
Overall		2.0

Mindcage Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman January 22, 2023

Hopefully without getting too "meta" with cinematic referents, but at the same time considering some of the plot machinations of the film about to be referenced, John Malkovich gets to "don the skin" of one Anthony Hopkins in Mindcage, in that this film was by the admission of its own creatives (as revealed in the two supplements on this disc) "inspired" at least in part by The Silence of the Lambs. Director Mauro Borrelli also gives lip service to a number of other films, including a film with an actual number in its title, Seven, but the tether to Jonathan Demme's multiple Oscar winning triumph is the most noticeable, and frankly the most obvious. Once again a young female detective is on the hunt for a copycat killer, and, pretty much exactly as with Clarice Starling in The Silence of the Lambs, she's tasked with meeting with "the original", a demented criminal who's locked away in a psychiatric facility and is awaiting a lethal injection which is imminent. Here the villain isn't a gourmet cook (so to speak), but instead a "visual artist" with a penchant for creating "works of art" out of people he's unceremoniously (or, considering the religious subtext of the film, maybe ceremoniously) murdered.

Arnaud Leferve (John Malkovich) was probably teased mercilessly as a child for having such a ridiculous name, and so he has become known as The Artist (the preceding is said in jest). He became infamous for crafting sculptural angels out of people he had killed, and has understandably spent the last several years in solitary confinement after having been brought to justice by policeman Jake Doyle (Martin Lawrence). When a new if arguably not all that improved angel sculpture shows up in a church, Doyle and a young acolyte named Mary Kelly (Melissa Roxburgh) are sent to investigate. Kelly's name may hint at her Irish Catholic upbringing, and the film makes passing stabs (no horror movie pun intended) at developing a kind of quasi-religious subtext for some of the bizarre machinations, pretty much to no avail.

Kelly is soon hobnobbing with The Artist at his prison cell, where he continues to work on art not featuring corpses. A number of disjunctive flashbacks and momentary info dumps attempt to flesh out (again, sorry) details of all three of these focal characters, but the bottom line is it seems increasingly possible if simultaneously improbable that The Artist is somehow able to "escape", if only mentally, to wreak more havoc before his death sentence. A number of late reveals initially might put the lie to that thesis, only to have it recur, in an example of "one too many codas".

Mindcage was evidently marketed as a chance for Martin Lawrence to stretch his dramatic wings, and he's okay if not especially brilliant in the role. Malkovich is Malkovich, adorned here with a scraggly hippie hairdo and his usual gonzo characterization. Roxburgh is arguably the strongest element in the cast, though the writing consigns Mary to banalities and some patently ridiculous dialogue. The ultimate denouement Mindcage offers may unintentionally undercut the attempts to weave in various "traditional religious" motifs, since it basically falls back on tried and true tropes of quasi-Black Magic and even voodoo.

Note: My colleague Brian Orndorf was similarly unimpressed with Mindcage. You can read Brian's thoughts on the film here.

Mindcage Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Mindcage is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1. The closing credits roll disclosed Red cameras were utilized, and I am assuming a 2K DI (if anyone has authoritative data to the contrary, let me know via Private Message, and I'll happily update things here). I've long been on record as having a personal preference for Red captures over Arri Alexa captures, but this is something of an exception, due at least in part to recurrent grading flourishes but also due to a really gritty and to my eyes somewhat noisy looking digital grain field that has been slathered over the proceedings. The gradings tend to range from the ever popular yellows to blues, and those, when combined with any number of very dimly lit scenes, result in deficits in fine detail. The digital grain tends to make things look slightly dirty, especially against brighter backgrounds. Some apparent green screen material (as in one sequence with Lawrence and Roxbburgh in a car) isn't especially convincing and actually makes things look almost intentionally artificial. Still, in brighter moments and especially in close-ups, detail levels are commendable. Detail levels on the "angels" are suitably disturbing and offer some of the best production design elements in the film. This is another Lionsgate offering that has noticeable banding during the masthead, but no other major problems.

Mindcage Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Mindcage features a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track that offers some nicely immersive sound design that helps to create a subliminally spooky atmosphere, though quite often with pretty hoary techniques like odd low frequency washes and occasional startle effects. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout (for better or worse, given the dialogue). Optional English and Spanish subtitles are available.

Mindcage Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary with Director Mauro Borrelli


• Making Mindcage (HD; 7:37) is a standard issue EPK, though it's perhaps notable that Malkovich chose to participate.

Additionally, a digital copy and DVD are included, and packaging features a slipcover. Lionsgate has packaged this in standard DVD casing rather than Blu-ray, for what that's worth.

Mindcage Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Mindcage is simply too derivative for its own good, and its halting attempts to deliver a supernatural element never completely pan out. Fans of the cast may find this a reasonable enough time killer, but if Lawrence was expecting this film to jump start a dramatic career, he may be in for a rude awakening. Technical merits are generally solid for those who may be considering making a purchase.