Banned. Lost. And now found by Severin Films, with MVD Entertainment Group supporting the sales and distribution of the Blu-ray debut on Nov. 29 of South African filmmaker Cedric Sundström’s 1988 mixed-genre chiller, The Shadowed Mind.
Banned, yes, by South Africa and very little, if any, exposure after that. Lost, yes, for years it was assumed that The Shadowed Mind would never see the light of day (beyond dubious duped VHS-era copies … in a word, dreadful). However, Severin Films has hooked up with Sundström for a new 2K scan of the director’s own private 35mm print (the only known copy of the film to currently exist) … and, this is the uncut version to boot!
Stephanie (played by Adrienne Pearce — The Bone Snatcher, Tremors: A Cold Day in Hell) has a problem. Well, at least her father thinks she has a problem. Certainly, others would love to help her share her problem, which is a compulsion to expose her breasts.
We find her, at the behest of her father, arriving alone in a taxi at what appears to be an abandoned warehouse in a pretty sketchy part of the city. Looks can be deceiving as this is actually an off-the-books clinic (an asylum) for the “sexually insane” that is ran by two rather creepy individuals, Dr. Hildesheimer (Towje Kleiner — The Odessa File) and nurse “Helen” (Trisj Downing — Blood Ransom). At first glance they too could be inmates (that’s harsh, how about “clients”) of such a place.
Once admitted, Stephanie is introduced to the other “clients,” who definitely have issues. It’s a zoo and soon Stephanie is a willing participant … for someone with sexual issues, the clinic seems to be an asylum run by the inmates … cure, ha! You can easily see why it was banned in South Africa for the “group sessions” alone.
However, there’s something more sinister going on. It seems that one of “clients” is pretty handy with a knife and a series of nasty murders have been taking place in Dr. Hildesheimer’s fun house. He and the nurse “Helen” are busy covering these up as he’s trying to take his experimental clinic mainstream with outside funding (wouldn’t want any bad news to get out).
Does Stephanie work through her issues? Does Stephanie get carved up? Nov. 29 for the big reveal on Blu-ray from Severin Films.
Bonus features include commentary from director Cedric Sundström, the featurette titled “Into The Shadowed Mind” and four short films from Sundström — Suffer Little Children, The Hunter, Summer is Forever and On the Rocks.
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