Brain Damage (1988)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Frank Henenlotter

Writer:

Frank Henenlotter (writer)

Release Date:

25 May 1988 (France)

Genre:

Comedy | Horror

Tagline:

It's A Headache From Hell!

Plot:

A normal, average guy who lives in New York City becomes dependent on an evil, disembodied brain. The...

Plot Keywords:

Brain | Bathroom | Gun | Cult Favorite | Shower

Cast

Rick Hearst	...	Brian
Gordon MacDonald	...	Mike
Jennifer Lowry	...	Barbara
Theo Barnes	...	Morris
Lucille Saint-Peter	...	Martha
Vicki Darnell	...	Blonde in Hell
Joseph Gonzalez	...	Guy in shower
Bradlee Rhodes	...	Night watchman
Michael Bishop	...	Toilet victim
Beverly Bonner	...	Neighbor
Ari M. Roussimoff	...	Biker
Kevin Van Hentenryck	...	Man with basket
Michael Rubenstein	...	Bum in alley
Angel Figueroa	...	Junkie
John Reichert	...	Policeman

Runtime:

84 min | USA:86 min (uncut version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Singapore:R21 | New Zealand:R18 | Italy:VM14 | Australia:R | France:-12 | UK:18 | USA:R | USA:Unrated | Iceland:(Banned) | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Company:

Palisades Partners

Trivia:

Rick has an unexplained cut on his lip all throughout the film. It was a part of a subplot involving him getting into a fight the night before defending his brother in a bar fight. But due to time restraints the explanation scenes were never filmed

Goofs:

Continuity: When Brian wakes up bloody, the blood on his left hand disappears and reappears between shots.

Quotes:

Aylmer: This is the start of your new life Brian, a life full of colors, music,light and euphoria. A life without pain, or hurt or suffering.

Movie Connections:

References Basket Case (1982)

Soundtrack:

Corruption

campy original horror at its best.

you know, i just went to see House of Wax the other day, and ten years after scream came out why are the same boring plots with the same boring characters doing the same stupid mistakes our only option for horror these days.

i suggest going back 20 years to the 70's and 80's if you want to find some great horror. horror then was low budget but imaginative. the movies had interesting story lines and were not shy about blood and gore. a good stepping stone for this sub-genre is one of my current favorites, Brain Damage. It starts off on a very surreal note, but mixes its strangeness with an accurate portrayal of a young man hopelessly addicted to the mother of all drugs. his dealer is perhaps the most unique little monster in all of horror, Aylmer (pronounced "elmer").

Aylmer is a purple cucumber shaped alien with a tiny smiling face and a soft warm voice. he finds a host, and injects his host with a blue liquid that comes out of one of Aylmer's fangs. this "brain juice" jacks up its host into a hullucionary state. while the host is in la-la land, Aylmer makes a victim of whoever the host comes in contact with, eating the victims brains.

as vile as all that sounds, it is hard to see Aylmer as evil. he is just such a nice little guy. plus he is unique in his appearance, personality, and attacks, which all go a long way with me in a modern world of horror villains pushed off an assembly line.

this movie is not winning an Oscar. it is strange and campy and violent. but if that is what you desire in a film, this hidden gem may become one of your favorites!