I remember passing by this in the video store as a kid. The shocking image of a stretched out face on the VHS cover suggests pretty gory nightmare fuel, and honestly I wasn't sure I had the stomach for it. Finally getting around to it 30 years later, it turns out the cover is quite misleading, as the film is a not at all gory psychological thriller.
It begins with the interesting sci-fi premise of a brain surgery that can remove repressed memories, but is quick to reveal things aren't what they seem. While the "mental illusion" twist had worn out it's welcome by the mid 00s, I feel like it was still relatively fresh in 1990. As the film drags on, the consistent blur between reality and fantasy starts to become a little tedious when you begin to expect the unexpected, and is about as satisfying as any "but was it all a dream?" explanation ever is. It has a low budget TV movie feel, and the music and visual effects have aged like a fine milk.
It's still a decently entertaining picture, and I respect it's moxie for the decent into the abstract, even if the end results are of b-movie quality.
It begins with the interesting sci-fi premise of a brain surgery that can remove repressed memories, but is quick to reveal things aren't what they seem. While the "mental illusion" twist had worn out it's welcome by the mid 00s, I feel like it was still relatively fresh in 1990. As the film drags on, the consistent blur between reality and fantasy starts to become a little tedious when you begin to expect the unexpected, and is about as satisfying as any "but was it all a dream?" explanation ever is. It has a low budget TV movie feel, and the music and visual effects have aged like a fine milk.
It's still a decently entertaining picture, and I respect it's moxie for the decent into the abstract, even if the end results are of b-movie quality.