Mindhunters wants to the be-all/end-all thriller of all time. Its unique set-up, location, "it could be anyone" plot, and great performances add up on paper. In execution, however, it devolves rapidly into a slasher movie, and the ending hits too many clichés and logical holes for the sake of looking good on film to be entertaining.

A recognizable cast, starting with Christian Slater, brings Mindhunters to life before it is ultimately killed at the end. Putting seven FBI profilers on an empty island to train, the film opens up when the murders they're investigating become far more than training. This leads to some innovative and original deaths, including one by liquid nitrogen that is without a doubt a movie classic.

Sadly, the film could have been so much more. The FBI profiler angle isn't used except in dialogue. As such, while the idea is different, it's used in a manner we've all seen before. Anyone in the audience can figure out the way the killer works even without the elaborate explanations. All the tension that's being built as the film moves on leads to a few highlights, and then everything is lost as the movie begins to close.

It's not long before the credits that the clichés begin to hit faster than the minor twists. Characters that the audience thinks are dead suddenly spring to life, the villain goes over his entire evil plot as the final would-be victim stands there motionless listening to it, there's an impossible underwater gunfight, and then another "dead" character makes a quick return to save the day. It ruins the entire film.

Mindhunters didn't have a lot going for it before that point, so the flubbed ending only adds to the disappointment. The film was almost lost in the Miramax financial troubles, and didn't see release until the middle of 2005 (it was ready to go in 2004). This is one that would have been better off staying shelved.

Film:

Video quality is weaker than expected, with a distinct lack of sharpness. Details are washed out by an abnormally high contrast. Grain is especially high in certain scenes. Compression is well controlled and rarely noticeable.

Video:

Aside from a few moments, the film's audio is usually centered on dialogue. The few gunfights have excellent use of the surround speakers. There are a few moments where the bass kicks in, especially an explosion early on.

Audio:

Extras are sparse though informative. An enthusiastic director (Renny Harlin) provides a steady commentary. Profiling Mindhunters is an 8-minute piece that discusses the actor's training and various behind-the-scenes stuff. Around four and a half minutes are spent on the stunt work. Finally, Harlin takes a walk through the city created specifically for the film. Nothing here is particularly interesting, though it's all informative and rapid in its delivery.

Extras:

As proof the concept has legs, Mindhunters will be turned into TV series. The writing credits are the same as the film. None of the actors have been listed for the cast yet though, and of course, since most are killed off, it would be pretty hard to explain how they came back anyway