I love weird movies, space, time travel, etc. I love all that. This was something that I can't even put into words. The description of the movie is being overly generous. Its like saying Star Wars is about a family squabble. Honestly the best thing about the movie is the music, and thats a stretch also. Maybe it was being filmed in Colorado or that I have seen better home made movies, but this movie was not good. I mean Dean and McDowell were side characters at best. It must have been that legalized pot that made this movie the way it was. And maybe if you were high it would make more sense. But being stone cold sober and not on drugs; well lets just say that I lost the time in watching this movie that no amount of time or space will I ever get back. Skip this all the way to the dump bin.
37 Reviews
I have no idea....
codydirt26 November 2015
I bought this movie about a week ago from the Walmart and I should have gone with my gut. There was something telling me not to get it but it had Malcolm McDowell so it couldn't be that bad, right? Wrong. He couldn't even save this movie. I still have no idea what's going on and it took me four days to finish it. I fell asleep before the ending and every time I put it back on I forgot where I left off because it was so hard to retain anything. I was bored to tears. I think I'd rather watch paint dry. No, I'd rather play Go Fish with a bunch silent Monks while waiting for paint to dry than to watch this movie again. Two stars for the cover art.
Pretty unbearable
yehoshua-wittmer11 June 2015
The summary sounded promising, though vague, but the 4 rating should have been a warning. Decided to watch due to Malcolm McDowell being in the cast. Big mistake! From screenplay to directing and acting, it was mediocre at best. What could have been a good idea, it did not happen: no plot, no script. It is hard to pinpoint were it went wrong. Perhaps when the writer had the idea for the script, or when anyone decided to actually pay for it. I thought about the spoiler alert, but it is hard to write about a plot when there is none. About acting, when the best was the mediocre acting of Mr McDowell (I love him, but here he couldn't help much). Pretty much the same happening all over again, with slight changes in setting, no logic in anything. Sometimes the music can build some suspense, but even that was a fail. 1 star for Malcolm McDowell, 1 for the film.
Burn your money instead, it's more enjoyable
agrundlespoon17 June 2015
It's rare to see a director get so far over his head, yet so far up his own butt at the same time. While trying, and utterly failing, to map out a complex story, the film cannot connect the dots between simple human interaction. Bad writing, bad plot, atrocious acting, and Dean Cain and Malcolm McDowell sleepwalking their way through this clunker en route to the SAG minimum paycheck they must have earned. Hopefully next time (should there be a next time), I hope the producer saves up his paper-route money and spends it on a better script and director, instead of C list actors. One might assume (as I did) that this would be some discount bin B- Movie disaster flick, but sadly it can't even live up to that. They re- titled it, gave it an action packed cover art, and tricked us into watching one of the dullest bits of cinema I've ever encountered. If I found out that writer was twelve and the director autistic, I wouldn't be the least surprised.
Too many coin flips
the_doofy15 February 2016
They flipped realities so many times, (I lost count), that it occurred to me that the movie literally had no script at all
Just brief situation shots, lasting two minutes max, usually much less, and then exiting to another situation
The movie requires no script, literally no script, no story boarding. This is probably the only movie ever produced in which no script was ever written, just 60 second scenes, portraying the sane actors, just being different people and sometimes wearing different clothes. a novelty movie that falls flat.
There isn't a connecting thread, I watched most of it waiting for things to come together, and then realized it was going to 'rabbit pull' for the ending, so did not give it the satisfaction.
Just brief situation shots, lasting two minutes max, usually much less, and then exiting to another situation
The movie requires no script, literally no script, no story boarding. This is probably the only movie ever produced in which no script was ever written, just 60 second scenes, portraying the sane actors, just being different people and sometimes wearing different clothes. a novelty movie that falls flat.
There isn't a connecting thread, I watched most of it waiting for things to come together, and then realized it was going to 'rabbit pull' for the ending, so did not give it the satisfaction.
Black Hole Sucked 2 Hours of My Life!
joyeklein14 February 2016
Warning: Spoilers
I am a HUGE fan of B rated horror and sci-fi movies from way back, but this movie was not even in the same league. The movie plot "roughly" describes the movie but only in the vaguest of terms. This is not an exciting, sci- fi/thriller like we've come to love in Malcolm McDowell films. This film is NOT a thriller and for that part, not even sci-fi. It is a story of a teenage girl who does something stupid and has a hard time dealing with it. AND it is BORING! There is no action to keep it going. I cannot believe there could be so much nothing in a 2-hour movie. I have NO idea what I just watched; nothing was explained through the whole movie. I didn't pay a dime to watch it and still feel like I was cheated.
Not worth to be tagged as Science Fiction
luxuspeter23 May 2017
Awful, yes, just after 1 hour. Before that time you are mislead in believing that it is a Science Fiction movie about space time fragmentation, but in the end you recognize that the writer got no clue how to end the story.
My advise: write a story with a beginning, middle and end. Do not experiment with alternative story writing. Indie movie is not all about holding a brand new camera with 4k resolution.
My advise: write a story with a beginning, middle and end. Do not experiment with alternative story writing. Indie movie is not all about holding a brand new camera with 4k resolution.
Writer must have been tripping
TheValleyHillBilly19 July 2021
Was expecting a good scifi movie around black holes or parallel universes. Nope...not that at all. As I was watching it, I started to think that it was really a psychothriller based on extreme trauma. Nope...not that at all. With the closing credits I realized that it was really a test as to whether or not I would throw a brick at the TV for withstanding 2 hours of this drek. I have to wonder if McDowell or Cane felt embarrassed being in this disaster when they saw the final cut. OMG I can't imagine anyone paying to see this abortion.
Even sci fi can't save it
trashman-6634124 November 2016
During the 80's there were good films and there were bad. The bad were terrible. This movie is like locking someone in a room, getting them to watch these terrible movies over and over again and then make them write a script.
The plot themes don't hold together nor do they tie together. The filming is a little worse than a bad 'made for TV' movie. Cliché after cliché after cliché from the 80's - which is why the acting is so bad...
If there's an attempt at lighting? It didn't show. The locations the 'skipping scenes' are shot in have no baring on the plot.
It feels like the sci fi 'multi dimension' and 'quantum physics' is an interpretation which fits snugly into a bad 80's movie - i.e. it makes no sense and has no grounding in reality. It feels more like the writer doesn't really understand what these two physics concepts actually are. We are given no reason why they are involved, stay involved or disappear.
But... when you see 'the event' scene it is touching and the sound quality is good. The film should be marketed as "Knight Rider' and "The A Team" do loss avoidance.
This movie is trying to have a big emotional hit at the end but, because you never emotionally get involved with the characters it simply fails.
The plot themes don't hold together nor do they tie together. The filming is a little worse than a bad 'made for TV' movie. Cliché after cliché after cliché from the 80's - which is why the acting is so bad...
If there's an attempt at lighting? It didn't show. The locations the 'skipping scenes' are shot in have no baring on the plot.
It feels like the sci fi 'multi dimension' and 'quantum physics' is an interpretation which fits snugly into a bad 80's movie - i.e. it makes no sense and has no grounding in reality. It feels more like the writer doesn't really understand what these two physics concepts actually are. We are given no reason why they are involved, stay involved or disappear.
But... when you see 'the event' scene it is touching and the sound quality is good. The film should be marketed as "Knight Rider' and "The A Team" do loss avoidance.
This movie is trying to have a big emotional hit at the end but, because you never emotionally get involved with the characters it simply fails.
Simply atrocious...
paul_haakonsen12 March 2022
Right, well I happened to stumble upon this 2016 sci-fi thriller titled "Mind's Eye" (aka "The Black Hole") by random chance here in 2022. I had never heard about the movie, and I wasn't exactly harboring much of any high hopes for it. But still, the movie had Malcolm McDowell in it, so there were hope.
I managed to suffer through 50 minutes of the ordeal that is "Mind's Eye", then I just gave up. The movie was a series of random chaos. It felt like there were 50 different directors filming their own segments and then handing it over to listed director Mark Steven Grove to put together for a movie. The movie was just too much of a scrambled mess to offer any coherent enjoyment for me.
Not only was the movie a chaotic heap of pointlessness, but it was also visually horrible. The special effects looked so bad that it was laughable.
As for the acting in the movie, well don't get your hopes up. Sure, Malcolm McDowell were there to grace the movie with his mere presence and voice, but that was about it.
I have zero intentions of returning to watch the rest of "Mind's Eye", because the movie totally fell short of providing me with anything even remotely resembling entertainment or enjoyment.
My rating of "Mind's Eye" from writer Mark Daniels and director Mark Steven Grove lands on a staggering one out of ten stars.
I managed to suffer through 50 minutes of the ordeal that is "Mind's Eye", then I just gave up. The movie was a series of random chaos. It felt like there were 50 different directors filming their own segments and then handing it over to listed director Mark Steven Grove to put together for a movie. The movie was just too much of a scrambled mess to offer any coherent enjoyment for me.
Not only was the movie a chaotic heap of pointlessness, but it was also visually horrible. The special effects looked so bad that it was laughable.
As for the acting in the movie, well don't get your hopes up. Sure, Malcolm McDowell were there to grace the movie with his mere presence and voice, but that was about it.
I have zero intentions of returning to watch the rest of "Mind's Eye", because the movie totally fell short of providing me with anything even remotely resembling entertainment or enjoyment.
My rating of "Mind's Eye" from writer Mark Daniels and director Mark Steven Grove lands on a staggering one out of ten stars.
Malcolm McDowell
Gazzaman1218 October 2019
Warning: Spoilers
My only questions after watching this are; why was towering talent Malcolm McDowell used so very little? And why change the title of the movie from the great one Mind's Eye to a stupid one like The Black Hole seeing there was no Black Hole and this whole film was about a fractured tortured mind after a car accident? I enjoyed the movie but the title and dvd artwork are totally misleading.
Different. Weird and different (Spoilers)
northerngrunt18 April 2016
Warning: Spoilers
As some of the other reviews stated, the script was a bit convoluted as if written in segments by different people. First, the school stuff changes. Then, the EMT's appear as of they're some kind of saviours. They skip around what she is encountering without coming to the point. Then the science teacher gets involved... all like different chapters. Yup, I really was expecting some sort of real Black Hole to be involved, but it's not almost to the end that you start to suspect what is happening. About 3/4 of the way through, I was hoping they would get on with it and reveal what was happening. Little hints throughout would have been nice. Not a terrible movie, but I wouldn't pay for it. Good to watch ONCE.
The acting is okay... but Izzie Steele's acting was pretty darn good. Not the large actions but the little things. The facial expressions, the rolling eyes, smirks, and so on. That really adds to the detail of the character. I hope she shows up in a better picture.
I would have loved to find the Soundtrack, esp THE WALKING MAN.
The acting is okay... but Izzie Steele's acting was pretty darn good. Not the large actions but the little things. The facial expressions, the rolling eyes, smirks, and so on. That really adds to the detail of the character. I hope she shows up in a better picture.
I would have loved to find the Soundtrack, esp THE WALKING MAN.
Absolute Drivel.
baconpiano26 December 2023
After watching this - if I were an Electron - I'd shoot my self in an infinite number of places all at the same time.
This movie - and I use the term lightly - is about as Sci-Fi as my left sock .
Never mind the lack of a coherent story line - what's up with the acting - especially the character of the shrink lady - she's about as stiff and wooden as a Cricket bat.
There's not many movies that I can't reach the end of but this was one of them . I managed to get through 1 hour and 25 minutes and then hit the stop button ( which I now have renamed the "Please Please stop " button.
Do not watch.
This movie - and I use the term lightly - is about as Sci-Fi as my left sock .
Never mind the lack of a coherent story line - what's up with the acting - especially the character of the shrink lady - she's about as stiff and wooden as a Cricket bat.
There's not many movies that I can't reach the end of but this was one of them . I managed to get through 1 hour and 25 minutes and then hit the stop button ( which I now have renamed the "Please Please stop " button.
Do not watch.
Not a Sci-Fi movie. And it's really boring.
abermudezf17 April 2021
Warning: Spoilers
That's 2 hrs of my life I didn't enjoy and I'm never getting back... The description is utterly misleading. This is not a sci-fi movie. There's no plot, no script, and there's no black hole. It's a psychological drama, at best. And it's REAAAAALLLY bad at that too.
The description of this movie had me excited
kittywittykittykat19 November 2023
The blurb describing this movie is.... not accurate at all. This movie missed the mark on every level. The acting was almost funny, but not in a good way. The plot was pretentious yet vapid. There was no science, or philosophy, or anything at all of a mind bending nature. The ending felt like such a rediculous let down. I love strange, cerebral films. I especially adore cosmic or philisophical horror. I went in certain I'd enjoy the ride, and hoping I would be able to soak in the artistic sides of this low budget yet hopefully intellectual film and my biggest mistake was assuming it would have been written by an intellectual. Unfortunately, this movie felt like it was written and directed instead by a 9 year old, and I do not mean in an abstract whimsical way, but just a lack of original (at all) thought sort of way. Wow.
Couldn't hold my attention
Little_Pooky8 April 2023
I really wanted to like this movie but I could only make it to an hour, out of almost 2 hour length. The actors, I believe, try their hardest but the script and probably the directing were not solid enough. I am not qualified to be in front of the camera as an actor, but I have seen enough movies to see that a very good actor ending up doing a mediocre work and that can be blamed on the director/script. This movie is one of them. Like I said, I wanted to like this movie so much and I have seen better movies with even lower budget that held my attention until the end - unfortunately this is not one of them.
Why 2?
ChloeMS3 March 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Because Malcolm McDowell was in it! I mean, even though you do not see much of him, he is there, but having watched some of his great movies, it was a disappointment not to see much of him, and what we did see had nothing to do with the black hole! By the way, it was never shown either! I watched this right after watching "The Black Hole," where St. Louis gets nearly destroyed by a black hole.
Watching this was like watching that NFL football game where the coin toss was called in the air, and both heads and tails were called before the coin hit the ground.
Too bad I can not get my time back. If ever it were possible to hold producers/directors and actors civily liable for wasting people's time, this is it.
Watching this was like watching that NFL football game where the coin toss was called in the air, and both heads and tails were called before the coin hit the ground.
Too bad I can not get my time back. If ever it were possible to hold producers/directors and actors civily liable for wasting people's time, this is it.
Donnie Darko But Not?
SarcasticDaedra13 February 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Time collapsing, 'figments', having to restore time and space before the universe collapses on itself, being stuck in a 'timeline where the normal laws of time and space don't apply', it all starting with a tragedy out of nowhere, having flashbacks of moments that they don't exactly remember, having 'figments' that help guide you to fix the timeline, like there's the two men in black (can't recall their names, don't care to look at the credits again or cast list), they suddenly just appear and start explaining what's happening to her and guide her to fix what's happening, and when she sees them in a flashback and talks to them, they're paramedics and don't know the main character at all. Having characters that are like the "Manipulated Living", but guess what? IT'S APPARENTLY ALL JUST IN HER FRIEND'S HEAD! So I just watched Donnie Darko again yesterday, read more into the PoTT, and it honestly seems plausible. As out there as it is, it's at least explained in a way where you can actually understand the events of the movie. In this? The explanation is just, oh you got into a crash with your friend and now that she's stuck in this "coma", deep in her mind her hatred and resentment is causing a time loop? And along with the guilt that Maddie(main character, think that's her name) carries? I don't get how that causes space and time to collapse on itself. An explanation was given from the science teacher about electrons and what if you applied this force to trillions and trillions of them, and just, it all sounded so half and far fetched. I'm watching it a second as I write this and it's still such a mess. I feel like the premise, if explained more realistically and logically, and just not seeming like he pulled it out of his back, it might actually be interesting. The acting is atrocious, the second that I seen the main character I just knew what I was in for, and the effects in this movie are just terrible, there's a tornado in one scene for whatever reason and it is TERRIBLE. The direction in the movie isn't terrible, but it's certainly nothing we haven't seen before. There are a few nice shots, a few nice sequences that have good camerawork, the colours are bright, like the reveal of the whole crash is honestly quite nice, though I feel like it was a bit contrived of the end scene of Donnie a Darko with the same concept, showing the exact moment that started this 'glitch' in time, it's just, too coincidental. Though you can get a few laughs from this movie. There's a scene with Jes(the best friend) that caught me really off guard and made me laugh off. And the bad acting gets a good laugh too.
Ummm what!?!?
danbaig7 June 2020
What the F
barbaraclementea29 March 2021
Maybe not frantic enough and too smart for a blockbuster audience...
cat-that-goes-by-himself25 May 2016
I am appalled to read all the negative reviews on this movie based on its slow pace and apparently incomprehensible plot.
I actually enjoyed it a lot.
It has the nerve to let things go unexplained for an hour or so, which is a refreshing change from all the plots that seem to make sure the dumbest kid in the theater will get an answer served on a plate less than five minutes after any issue was raised.
Actually, it cannot resist the trend entirely, and serves us a contrived sort of explanation near the end, that rather ruins the poetry of it in my opinion. Oh well, I suppose that was added to calm down the producers...
As for the supposedly slow pace, I found it rather well suited to the depiction of the relationships between the characters, which is the essence of the story.
I found this movie rather touching and beautifully played, especially by the lead role who shows a promising talent.
Without the explanatory scenes, this small gem would have proudly stood the comparison with Donnie Darko.
I actually enjoyed it a lot.
It has the nerve to let things go unexplained for an hour or so, which is a refreshing change from all the plots that seem to make sure the dumbest kid in the theater will get an answer served on a plate less than five minutes after any issue was raised.
Actually, it cannot resist the trend entirely, and serves us a contrived sort of explanation near the end, that rather ruins the poetry of it in my opinion. Oh well, I suppose that was added to calm down the producers...
As for the supposedly slow pace, I found it rather well suited to the depiction of the relationships between the characters, which is the essence of the story.
I found this movie rather touching and beautifully played, especially by the lead role who shows a promising talent.
Without the explanatory scenes, this small gem would have proudly stood the comparison with Donnie Darko.
slow but enjoyable
flowirin20 February 2016
I quite liked this movie.
It is slow. very slow. The middle, in particular, taxed my patience and i'm glad i saw it at home and not in a cinema.
There is a great sound track. The tale itself twist and turns around and morphs and evolves and keeps you guessing, before leaving you wondering. Its not a blockbuster, the loose ends are not resolved, but it is thought provoking. Indeed, i'm starting to wonder about the type of movie i've been watching recently. Is the universe trying to tell me something?
Maybe my 42 odd years have contributed to the enjoyment i got from this?
Other found the acting bad, i found it OK. The looseness of the timing was refreshing.
Bad points? apart from the slow slow pace there are a number of volume problems that showed the more budget production values. Voices were not properly balanced and go from too quiet to too loud a few times.
There's a lot of visual information, so quite a hard one to watch while you are doing something else, so perhaps save for a long cold evening when there's knitting to be done ;)
It is slow. very slow. The middle, in particular, taxed my patience and i'm glad i saw it at home and not in a cinema.
There is a great sound track. The tale itself twist and turns around and morphs and evolves and keeps you guessing, before leaving you wondering. Its not a blockbuster, the loose ends are not resolved, but it is thought provoking. Indeed, i'm starting to wonder about the type of movie i've been watching recently. Is the universe trying to tell me something?
Maybe my 42 odd years have contributed to the enjoyment i got from this?
Other found the acting bad, i found it OK. The looseness of the timing was refreshing.
Bad points? apart from the slow slow pace there are a number of volume problems that showed the more budget production values. Voices were not properly balanced and go from too quiet to too loud a few times.
There's a lot of visual information, so quite a hard one to watch while you are doing something else, so perhaps save for a long cold evening when there's knitting to be done ;)
Reminded me of the Stargate SG-1 episode "The Changeling" (season 6)
CCsito21 February 2021
Warning: Spoilers
This movie reminded me of the plot of one of the Stargate SG-1 episode where one character starts to have revolving images covering different people and events. In that episode, the main character (Teal'c) has suffered injuries and tries to help both himself and a friend by sharing a symbiote between them. Doing that helps to save them both at the end. But, he has several imaginary experiences during the time after his injuries before he is rescued. This plot seemed to mirror this movie's plot regarding the main character's attempt to cope with the trauma of being involved in a car accident. I was expecting more of a science fiction movie that was more directly tied to black holes and was a bit disappointed that it was more of a psychological drama about coming to terms with a tragic event.
Sucked me in like a black hole...
dmgreer13 February 2021
Warning: Spoilers
I saw this movie OTA, so I didn't have to pay anything for it, yay!
Right from the start it has the feel of a school project, except it's higher budget than that. As I began to watch it, I kept thinking I should change the channel, but Izzie Steele's acting kept pulling me in. Weird things happen to her character Mattie, one after the other, but the story keeps moving forward in part because of Steele's active facial expressions.
If nothing else, this film might be good to own for a film student, or for an actor, so you can see what's they did right and what they did wrong. Izzie Steele and Natalie Distler were the standout actors in this film. Others are adequate, but there are times when you can tell they hired local talent. I don't want to diss local talent though! But it really stands out when you have someone who can read a line, and then someone else who can act a line.
The editing is spotty too, sometimes it's pretty good, sometimes you're sitting there thinking "Okay, you can end the shot now! Even the actor knows this is past the end of the shot!"
And the lighting, for the most part it's workmanlike, but other times it's a huge lost opportunity. There's a scene where Mattie has been kidnapped and is about to be tortured that's very dark emotionally, but it's brightly lit. It has zero atmosphere, and is only carried by Distler and Steele's acting.
This movie could be edited down to an hour or even half an hour and would be a perfect Twilight Zone storyline. I'm talking Rod Serling, not any of the new attempts. At the end the camera even lifts up into the star filled heavens, just like the original. Just needs a darkly witty prologue and epilogue.
However, everything about those old Twilight Zones was top notch - the acting, direction, cinematography, etc. The whole thing would have to be remade, but still, the storyline fits.
Right from the start it has the feel of a school project, except it's higher budget than that. As I began to watch it, I kept thinking I should change the channel, but Izzie Steele's acting kept pulling me in. Weird things happen to her character Mattie, one after the other, but the story keeps moving forward in part because of Steele's active facial expressions.
If nothing else, this film might be good to own for a film student, or for an actor, so you can see what's they did right and what they did wrong. Izzie Steele and Natalie Distler were the standout actors in this film. Others are adequate, but there are times when you can tell they hired local talent. I don't want to diss local talent though! But it really stands out when you have someone who can read a line, and then someone else who can act a line.
The editing is spotty too, sometimes it's pretty good, sometimes you're sitting there thinking "Okay, you can end the shot now! Even the actor knows this is past the end of the shot!"
And the lighting, for the most part it's workmanlike, but other times it's a huge lost opportunity. There's a scene where Mattie has been kidnapped and is about to be tortured that's very dark emotionally, but it's brightly lit. It has zero atmosphere, and is only carried by Distler and Steele's acting.
This movie could be edited down to an hour or even half an hour and would be a perfect Twilight Zone storyline. I'm talking Rod Serling, not any of the new attempts. At the end the camera even lifts up into the star filled heavens, just like the original. Just needs a darkly witty prologue and epilogue.
However, everything about those old Twilight Zones was top notch - the acting, direction, cinematography, etc. The whole thing would have to be remade, but still, the storyline fits.
See also
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