Customer Reviews

Brain Dead

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Director Adam Simon once made a fascinating documentary about director Sam Fuller, and BRAIN DEAD can be read as his homage to Fuller's SHOCK CORRIDOR, since much of the plot has to do with who is and isn't insane, and what is and isn't reality.

Bill Pullman and Bill Paxton -- admit it, you've always gotten them confused -- co-star in this low-budget gem that was barely released to theaters, but now gets a decent DVD release. The sound and picture are just fine -- alas, producer Roger Corman takes his trademark cheapness even to DVD: there are no commentaries, no extra features save some bios and a few trailers, and there's not even a booklet inside the case!

In any event, this is a smart and suspenseful little movie, and one you'll enjoy trying to piece together long after it's over.

Watch as Pullman and Bud Cort take you on a psychotic romp between insanity and reality...you wont be able to distinguish a difference. I remember I saw it in the theater by myself, and I mean literally , NO ONE ELSE was there! That made it even more memorable and freaky. "Am i a man dreaming he is a butterfly, or am I a butterfly dreaming he is a man?" This picture examines and answers that question...I THINK!

Charles Beaumont wrote for the original "The Twilight Zone" TV series, and this is more than worthy for people with similar expectations. Starring Bill Pullman as scientist Rex Martin. Martin studies brains for a living, but soon finds himself in a bizarre and twisted excursion in his own brain. Is he working for the Eunice Corporation, or is the Eunice corporation working on him? The story is hard to explain, and the twists are non-stop. I had an e-mail conversation with the director, Adam Simon, who reported that Roger Corman called this film his 'art film'. Similar to the ideas of 'Vanilla Sky', a 'Clockwork Orange', 'Lost Highway' and 'Brazil', this film will not disappoint those looking for a wild ride through the ether of thought.

This movie makes the point that everyone's experience of "reality" is based upon the functioning of the brain. Mess with the brain, and reality changes. Perception of reality can easily be altered through brain injury, electric stimulation, drugs, etc.

For the length of the movie, we experience life through the eyes of a scientist played by Bill Pullman, who may be the victim of insanity, a brain injury, the manipulations of a supernatural figure or an evil corporation, etc. (you cannot be sure which until the end of the movie), and who may or may not have killed his family. Reality is constantly changing for him and no matter how real things may appear to be, it may all turn out to be an illusion at any second. Despite how disorienting this may be, the plot is very coherent and has a sense of continuity to it, and you feel as if the characters are moving towards a goal or some sort of resolution, unlike with many surreal films.

Written by Charles Beaumont, one of the most frequent scripters for the Twilight Zone, this movie is like an extended episode of the show (which often dealt with characters suddenly finding themselves fallen out of normal life and into a disorienting situation). Unfortunately, as interesting as the ride is, the ending (which is merely o.k.) left me feeling cheated. If it were a half-hour show, this would be more bearable, but you expect more after sitting through a feature-length movie.

It is a well-made, well-acted film worth watching at least once, maybe twice, but knowing the ending spoils it.

I have never seen a reference to Brain Dead as having been one of the motivating precursors to the famous film, Lost Highway, but the similaities are very pronounced; from the subject matter of alternating or multiple realities, to the time loops, to even the same actor, Bill Pullman (although thanks to his fine acting range, it is like watching two completely different charactors).

If you haven't seen Lost Highway yet, viewing Brain Dead beforehand should help you appreciate both films that much more. Yes, the scenes in the low-budget Brain Dead have far less atmosphere and props than Lost Highway, BUT then the cleverness of the plot does not seem so "deliberately wrought" with every viewing step of the way, as it can in Lost Highway.

it's always difficult to review a movie you like because you don't want to give too much away and spoil the performances are excellent and really gave me a horrifying glimpse of the reality of the shock of finding out roger corman (really!) was the producer of this descent into (or out of) mental insanity and the critics thereof. a greatly overlooked and don't let that fact stop you from enjoying a descent into mental health factors starring bill paxton and brian pullman.

Brain Dead (Adam Simon, 1990)

When Brain Dead is remembered these days, two decades after its original release, it is remembered mostly for being an early Bill Pullman flick, a few years before he would hit the big time. But this first feature from Adam Simon (The American Nightmare; he also wrote the vastly underrated 2009 flick The Haunting in Connecticut) has much, much more to recommend it than simply another obscure star turn from Pullman, who two years before had been part of what made The Serpent and the Rainbow into one of the best horror flicks Hollywood ever produced. It is oddly common that Hollywood will crank out two movies on the same theme at roughly the same time, with one obscuring the other for whatever reason; think of The Lost Boys getting all the press while Near Dark languished in obscurity. In this case, the overarching film was Jacob's Ladder, which was similarly brilliant but much better marketed. Both are well worth your time, but I'm guessing somewhere along the way you actually saw Jacob's Ladder, while this one fell under your radar.

Plot: Rex Martin (Pullman) is a brain surgeon. His pal Jim Reston (Near Dark's Bill Paxton) is a higher-up muckety-muck on the board of a big corporation. One of said corporation's mathematicians, Jack Halsey (Harold and Maude's Bud Cort, in what may be the best screen turn he ever gave), has gone round the bend and is locked in a mental institution. Reston wants Martin to see if there's any way Halsey can be returned to sanity long enough to complete a big equation he was working on for them. Martin hems and haws, and that's when things get sinister: is Reston suddenly now out to get him, at the direction of the mysterious head of the corporation (George Kennedy)? Seducing his wife (Manhunter's Patricia Charbonneau), getting his funding cut, the works? Or is Martin simply going crazy? Or has he always been crazy?

I haven't even begun to touch on the acting talent assembled for this film; small roles abound for excellent actors like Lee Arenberg (recently part of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise), Kyle Gass, Nicholas Pryor (Ruffian), Brian Brophy (The Shawshank Redemption), Maud Winchester (Birdy), and a host of others. The script is intricate, multi-layered, and ambiguous enough that people are still debating it twenty years after it opened, though if you pause and give it some thought, it's as straightforward as Jacob's Ladder. Simon is a solid director, even in his first effort, and nothing goes horribly wrong here save, arguably, the opening scene (which seems to exist for the sole purpose of putting the "experimental face", which was used in promo materials and poster art, into the movie). It's simple: if you're a fan of the mindgame horror film, you're going to love Brain Dead. You probably missed it the first time around; you'll want to rectify that. ****

Was entertaining I guess. The plot was ok the acting was horrible the story was a 4 star and the ending is unbelievable and was way far fetched. The human brain can not work without blood period.

4-1/2 Stars. I love this movie. Found myself so wrapped up in it, trying to figure out what is real and what is fantasy. This movie keeps you guessing and is full of surprises.

This movie is incredible! Pullman and Cort give outstanding, albeit confusing, performances. In addition, you will recognize some other fine actors like the ubiquitous George Kennedy and a young Bill Paxton. The plot is twisted upon itself so many times it will make your head spin with vain attempts at comprehension. But don't worry- it all makes sense (sort of) in the end. If you can find this movie, grab it with both hands and RUN home to your VCR. You won't be disappointed.