In 1998 industrial waste is dumped into a river that leads to a freshwater leech having the ability to control the minds of the local townsfolk in Provinstate, Canada. The Police are soon on the tail of the pesky parasite in Chris Cheeseman and Paul Krysinski’s horror comedy Mind Leech.
Remember a time in the ’80s and ’90s when low-budget horror films took real creatures and, thanks to imaginative/dodgy writing and shoddy effects, turned them into evil monsters? Every week these films would take over the shelves of your local video store using great cover art and usually one-word titles to drag you in. Piranha, Ticks, Slugs, Alligator, Rats, the list is almost endless. Remember as well that despite all of their flaws, limitations, and drawbacks, some of these movies were actually really enjoyable pieces of trash entertainment. Well now comes Mind Leech which is all about radioactive leeches who, after being exposed to some undefined toxic waste, find themselves with the ability to control the minds of the local villagers and turn them into mindless psychopathic killers.
Opening with some underwater photography by co-director Kazynski, it becomes pretty clear from the beginning that this is a genuine tongue-in-cheek comedy, which always makes these types of high-concept B-movie horrors more enjoyable. If a particular scene or line makes you smile, smirk, or laugh early on, unintentionally or otherwise, it’s usually a sign that things will, at the very least, be fun. There are three scenes in particular that provided this in the opening twenty minutes. Firstly, the opening dialogue between the two criminal waste dumpers was believable and humorous, then ten minutes later there is an underwater shot of a fishing line. The camera zooms to the fishing line to suggest something is coming, it cuts to the angler worried, then it cuts back to the same zoom shot then a cut back again to the worried fisherman then cut the same zoom shot. The camera zooms into the line three times, whatever this thing is, it’s taking its time to attack the fishing line. Then we see the leech attack. It’s about three feet long and attaches itself to the head of the first victim. You really can’t take the film seriously after these events, but the filmmakers know this and you’re not supposed to anyway. Once controlled by this giant leech our victim goes on a rampage – slicing and dicing his way through the rest of the townsfolk. The somewhat phallic-looking leech will attach itself to another character during the film’s sixty-minute runtime.
What differentiates Mind Leech from a number of other similar B-movies is the wintry backdrop and its double act of the two deputies, Shaw (Jeff-William Campbell) and Terrika (Steff Ivory Conover). According to the directors’ notes, Mind Leech was mainly improvised and the relationship between the two cops certainly has that on-the-fly feel, the performances are also better than you expect, with Conover the stand out; her wisecracking turn amongst a snowy landscape bringing to mind Fargo’s Marge Gunderson, but being a female police officer and snow is really the only thing in common with the Coen Brothers’ classic.
Much like the recently released Cocaine Bear, co-directors Chris Cheeseman and Paul Krysinski know exactly what they are aiming for with Mind Leech – a cult following based on a silly premise. Throw in a bit of gore, a ridiculous creature effect, and a few laughs, then it does exactly what it says on the tin. The only downside is its two-word title. ‘Leech’ would have been more than enough.
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