BRAIN DAMAGE

Brain Damage (1988)

Directed by: Frank Henenlotter

Rating: 4 out of 4 Pentagrams

Reviewed by: Jeff Deth

 

Frank Henenlotter holds a special place in the b-movie splatter genre. He has a short list of credits to his name but that list happens to contain the cult-classic Basket Case trilogy and Frankenhooker.

Henenlotter is a filmmaker whose work is distinctly tied to the environment in which he lives. New York City is the perfect atmosphere for the utterly insane and dark themes he conjures up.

He holds an absolutely original vision amongst his peers. Others have been just as crass and violent, but none has been as intelligent in creating character motivations.

His second film, Brain Damage is the story of a brain-eating parasitic slug that latches onto a human host body that provides access to its human prey.

The underlying theme deals explicitly with drug abuse and the effects thereof upon the human mind. The slug creature feeds his host hallucinogenic drugs, enslaving him to a merry-go-round of highs and tortuous withdrawals. The slug fully communicates with his host. In fact it is very sophisticated manipulator who dangles his serum like a carrot in order to feed again and again.

The film opens with an old couple who lose possession of their creature and go into a mad panic. The slug moves onto a new host, an average twenty-something named Brian (Rick Hearst) who lives in the same apartment building with his brother. The parasite, named Aylmer by the previous host, is a bizarre and awesome slug like creature. My favorite parts are when he opens his mouth to inject the liquid serum onto Brian’s brain tissue.

No one won any acting awards for this film but there are some many textural elements at work that it doesn’t matter. I laughed a dozen times at the hilarity of Brians trips and rants about colors and lights.

Hearst actually does pretty well at channeling the burned out tripper who’s lost touch with reality. The creature f/x on this shoestring budget where also impressive considering. The kills are all very enjoyable, Alymer burrowing straight into the heads of his victims, sucking down the brains inside.

The film does a great job of weaving through the trashy alleys and nightclubs of New York City. There's a gritty, street feel that really helps create the Henenlotter mood. Everything is over the top and surreal but there's a human interest and desperation built into it. The dialogue can get very campy without the film losing interest. Things never go too far where it becomes a tasteless joke. And even if it’s cheesy at times, there's enough dynamics to keep the story moving in an entertaining way. 

A great B-movie should have a totally outrageous story with a social commentary just beneath the surface. Brain Damage delivers on all fronts. But lets not forget that most importantly there’s tons of gore, and tons of fun.

This is a total cult-classic that is worth repeated viewings as it is just as poignant and entertaining as it must have been 20 years ago.

This makes me want to go track down his recent come back film, Bad Biology and Frankenhooker too for that matter.