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Eventually it all comes to an end in one of the more interesting stand-offs of recent memory, in which two characters face each other underwater, their guns held just above the surface, and each person waits for the other to come up for air. There's nothing particularly deep about this film—and Harlin's efforts to jazz things up do occasionally go over-the-top, as when he sets a blood-analysis montage to an absurdly rhythmic beat—but moments like this are the sort of thing that keep late-night video parties buzzing.

Talk About It

1. One person says, "Where there's a skill, there's a weakness." Do you agree? Why or why not? How can our strengths become weaknesses? How can our weaknesses become strengths? What could these characters have done differently?
   
   
2. One person says, "You don't confront your demons and defeat them. You confront them, then you confront them, then you confront them some more. Every single day." Is it possible to "defeat" the things that trouble us in our lives, during this life? What should we do if we cannot "defeat" them? Should our focus be on "defeating" them, or do we only "defeat" them when we have focused on something else?
   
   
3. Jake says the most lethal weapon is not one's firearm, but one's brain. Do you think the movie supports this idea? Was the movie more interested in physical matters—such as all those grisly deaths—or in more psychological matters? Which of these things did it encourage you to focus on?
   
   

The Family Corner

Mindhunters is rated R for violence/strong graphic images, language and sexual content. People die because of various traps—they are shot, speared through the neck, frozen and shattered by liquid nitrogen, and so on—plus there is a fair bit of mutual physical abuse between the last two or three people standing. In a few scenes, dead animals and humans are shown hanging from hooks. Plus, two people are briefly seen having sex in a shower.

Photos © Copyright Dimension Films

Renny Harlin (Die Hard 2) directed this action film before directing the second version of the recent Exorcist prequel, The Beginning. But Mindhunters, which stars Christian Slater, Val Kilmer, Patricia Velasquez, and L.L. Cool J., is finally here. And it's likely to disappear quickly … just like that Exorcist prequel.

Mindhunters follows FBI trainees performing exercises on an island, and what happens to them when they discover one of their colleagues is a serial killer. It's like Agatha Christie's Ten Little Indians all over again, as the trainees are bumped off one by one. Who's the killer? Or, perhaps a better question: Who really cares?

Peter T. Chattaway (Christianity Today Movies) writes, "Mindhunters is not a particularly good film, but it's the sort of movie that you might enjoy watching in a dorm with your college buddies. There's nothing particularly deep about this film—and Harlin's efforts to jazz things up do occasionally go over-the-top, as when he sets a blood-analysis montage to an absurdly rhythmic beat—but moments like this are the sort of thing that keep late-night video parties buzzing."

Harry Forbes (Catholic News Service) says it's "excessively violent. None of the characters is particularly appealing (intentional?), and you may find yourself rooting for which one gets knocked off next. There is a twist at the end, but after so many red herrings the payoff is only mildly surprising."

Mainstream critics have readers "good review hunting." Good luck with that.

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