n the past, Renny Harlin has crafted his share of compelling thrillers, including  Die Hard 2 and Cliffhanger. But with his new film, Mindhunters, Harlin weaves a psychological murder mystery that, in structure at least, may seem familiar to fans of Agatha Christie.  

  With an ecclectic mix of actors that includes Val Kilmer, LL Cool J and Christian Slater, the plot draws on elements from previous big-screen successes such as Seven and Silence of the Lambs. 

  In the film, a group of seven FBI agents-in-training specializing in serial-killer profiling must pass one final exam to test their mettle. They are dispatched to a remote, unpopulated island to participate in a simulated serial-killing 

scenario during which they must profile a mock killer.

 But the unsupervised exercise takes a gruesome and unexpected turn when, one by one, the trainees are themselves murdered. It's a race against time for each remaining profiler before they become the next victim.

  One of the potential victims is Mindhunters star Clifton Collins Jr., who plays Vince Sherman, an FBI detective. Asked to describe the film, he comments, "It's a thriller, and it's suspenseful." He also, surprisingly, adds that there is a bit of romance in the film and says that it's a little steamy at times.

  Now, apparently creating steamy scenes was not Harlin's priority when he decided to film Mindhunters in The Netherlands. "Shooting in Europe was great, and it allowed us to access unique locations and sets that helped add a foreboding look to the film," he says. Harlin also comments that his goal was to create "a tension-filled, suspenseful action drama that will keep you guessing until the last frame fades to black."

  As anyone could guess, producing a film like Mindhunters can be both exhausting and rewarding. Harlin confirms this while stressing that post-production is the most exciting stage for him. "Thrillers rely on pacing and sometimes finding the right timing and punctuation in a scene can take a few tries." His comment is oddly ironic, given the fact that his latest flick was completed two years ago and is just now being unshelved. As the old saying goes, good things come to those who wait and audiences across North America will soon be the judges on whether or not this is true in the case of Mindhunters.

— Sharmila Jowlabar

Clifton Collins Jr. plays Vince Sherman, an FBI detective confined to a wheelchair.  The actor prepped for the challenging role by going up and down Hollywood Boulevard in a wheelchair for two months prior to filming. "For me personally it was [hard] knowing that I don't have the weight of my lower legs. It's different when you can't feel your lower legs. You can't use them as a weight, an anchor," he says. "I had a really good doctor who worked with me intensively on set."