User reviews

The 1980's were saturated with creature features and that's one of the reasons I think they were the best time for horror.

The Brain is a fine example and though silly it's a lot of fun if you can just take your brain out for a moment (Pun intended and hilarious).

It tells the story of an evil guy intent on brainwashing everyone in town through his television show using a erm......brain....creature...thing.

It's certainly one of those movies which doesn't explain a vast amount and expects you to fill in the gaps. In this case however considering the subject matter I had no problem with that at all.

With a creature that looks like a Madball (Which oddly started the year before this came out) it's not all that easy to take seriously but I really don't think you're supposed to.

At its core it's just a creature feature with a big conspiracy plot behind it with a passable cast and sfx.

Sure it's not for everyone, in fact it could be considered niche but it's watchable stuff for what it is.

The Good:

Creature is interesting

Plot is passable

The Bad:

Very little is actually explained

Still a bit silly

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

Everything you see on television is real

Police car rear doors can be opened at will from the inside

Axes are immune to bloodstains

The film is a low budget horror movie that has poor filming, a poor storyline that drags on and poor acting. But even with all that said, it's still an enjoyable film to watch, the brain itself is fun to laugh at, with its corny looks and the killing scenes are interesting if not gross. Don't watch with high expectations.

The Brain is the story of an evil alien brain that tries to take control of the world through a threadbare looking self-help show. When it fails to take control of a rebellious teenager it sets him up as a murderer which as it turns out is pretty easy. If you shout "he killed them" to the cops they will believe you, even if you are holding an axe and there is a headless cop at your feet.

The effects for this movie range between shoddy and outright hilarious. The brain itself is obviously the comedy highlight but also memorable is the explosion where two very obvious fireworks can be seen. The story itself isn't that bad and there is some good acting, the thing is though you'll just be laughing at the effects too much to notice much else. I'm not saying it's well written though, the ending is spelt out in mile high letters within 20 minutes which is a bit of a shame.

People are always saying that bad movies are "so bad they're good" but this is one film that's genuinely deserving of that accolade. I really enjoyed it, if you feel like some cheap laughs and a watchable story you'll find them with this movie.

I found this really cheap on DVD recently and just HAD to snap it up - it's one of those horror flicks I kept seeing on ebay but didn't want to pay too much for it.

It turns out that it's not a bad cheesy monster flick, but nothing special either. I would describe it as average. The brain itself is funny to watch, especially when it attacks. The scene at the end where it explodes in a shower of sparks is hilarious. The plot is silly and loosely ties all the events together. There's some boring moments and some fun moments.

Overall I would rate it as average. There's loads of better films out there, if you're a fan of The Brain then you may want to check out The Suckling (a film about an aborted killer foetus) or The Deadly Spawn. Both have similarities to The Brain and are much more entertaining.

I can only assume I am the first one to make that pun ... not! But that aside, you have to have some love for B-Horror movies to like this. It is slimy and gross to say the least. The effects are quite decent considering the budget and when it was made.

There are flaws and holes in the story and characters will act strangely to say the least. But that is what you get with movies like these. Also the cool (and fun) practical effects this has. An 80s movies through and through ...

It was all over with the slashers around 88 so it was time for the cheesy rip offs of those older movies. The Brain is well done, the script reminded me of Videodrome but then in a more cheesy way as said before. The acting can go through with it. But it's the effects that makes you laugh, the so called Brain is really a turkey and the blood is never shown. The opening sequence is what makes this movie worth watching, the hallucinations are really nicely done and reminded me of Nightmare on Elm Street, remember the telephone coming alive.... Some how you keep watching this flick, waiting what is happening next. It's viewable for all freaks out there cause there isn't any gore in it and as said the blood isn't there neither but there is nudity for the perverts. I have seen worser movies than this one, only wished they had made it bloodier...

Dr. Blake (David Gale) runs a TV show called "Independent Thinkers", which is sort of a Scientology-like self-help/religion program. But he is not making his audience think any more independently; with the help of an alien organism he calls the Brain, he is using brainwashing and mind control.

It is always wonderful to see David Gale, who had far too few movie roles and we shall miss him. His role here is not one that requires a large amount of screen time, but he is a crucial part of the story.

There are some cool monster effects here. Monster arms, jaws, a brain... definitely better than average and I hope the effects crew has gone on to do something notable.

The surreal and the utterly cheesy blend in this off the wall shocker, one of the weirder low budget ones to emerge from Canada in the 1980s. It has some interesting ideas, lightly touched upon, in this tale of a self-help guru / motivational speaker (David Gale of "Re-Animator" fame) who works hand in hand with a living, breathing brain to gain control of human minds. Likeable Tom Bresnahan ("The Kingdom") is an incorrigible high school student sent to to the gurus' base of operations who gets an eyeful of some very strange shenanigans.

If you're a fan of Gale, be forewarned that his role is really not that substantial, and that he doesn't get that much to do to cement his role as the story's villain. Fortunately, Bresnahan carries the movie reasonably well, and director Ed Hunt ("Bloody Birthday") keeps the whole thing rather amusing and fairly fast-paced.

Plenty of outre creature effects from the late Mark Williams ("Aliens", "The Fly" '86) help to make for a good show, as a couple of characters have close encounters with this alien brain, a very entertaining concoction from Williams with a face that only a mother could love. Add to that some partial nudity from Christine Kossak, who plays an assistant to our merry antagonist, and you have ingredients for a horror film certain to appeal to fans of 80s genre cinema.

Cynthia Preston ("Pin") is adorable as Bresnahan's leading lady, while George Buza ("Diary of the Dead") scowls and threatens adequately as Gales' thuggish associate.

As was said, if you're a lover of 80s horror, you'll likely regard "The Brain" as quite the hoot. As you can see from the poster art, it's pretty much impossible to take it very seriously.

Seven out of 10.

The Brain is a slightly silly, sci fil horror story about 2 aliens trying to brainwash Earthlings through a Television show and the two high school students who fight to expose the aliens.

I get the feeling that they started to make a serious movie and then in the middle of the production, they just started throwing in some silly elements (Topless girl, SODIUM signs, etc)

The Brain comes off more as a made for TV movie than a feature. It's not very scary and it's not very funny, but it has a certain 1980s nostalgic, goofy charm.

The two main actors take their roles very seriously and you could tell they both would go on to bigger and better things.

The alien monster looks like an greasy muppet and is not at all scary. There are several distracting production errors and mistakes that are fairly noticeable.

The two groups of people who would get the most enjoyment from this movie are 11 year olds (because it isnt very scary) and people who grew up in the 1980s (for nostalgia)

I can't say that you should go out of your way to see this movie, but if it comes on TV you might want to give it a watch.

The Brain reprises familiar cliches well known to B-movie audiences. All we need to say is an alien brain uses TV, along with self-serving humans (of course), to try to control a small town, then, hopefully the world. It's up to two teenagers, a high school delinquent and his girlfriend to stop the Brain. The effects are cheesy!, the acting is laughable!, the production quality is abhorrent!, the plot unbelievable!, but yet the whole of the movie comes off as rather endearing tongue-and-cheek stuff. Kind of a gem in a backhanded sort of way!

I stumbled upon the 1988 horror movie "The Brain" from writer Barry Pearson and director Ed Hunt here in 2022 by random chance. And with it being a late 1980s horror movie that I had never seen or even heard about, of course I opted to sit down and watch it.

Initially when I sat David Gale on the screen, I have to admit that I was actually thrilled and had some hopes for the movie.

But the hopes were rather quickly shot down as "The Brain" wasn't a particularly impressive horror movie. Even for a late 1980s horror movie "The Brain" just didn't stand out. Sure, it was watchable, but it was rather generic and mundane actually.

The storyline told in "The Brain" is archetypical late 1980s horror cheese. So if that is your cup of tea then "The Brain" should be entertaining for you.

The cast ensemble in "The Brain" was good, just a shame that the actors and actresses didn't have that much to work with in terms of script and storyline.

Visually then "The Brain" was mediocre. The special effects in the movie just felt cheap and amateurish. And it was something that took away part of the enjoyment of the movie.

My rating of "The Brain" lands on a four out of ten stars.

In THE BRAIN, something is going on at the Psychological Research Institute, involving a humongous, be-tentacled brain.

Meanwhile, Dr. Blake (David Gale- RE-ANIMATOR) preaches the gospel of "independent thinking" on his hit TV program, transmitted from the institute. It's not long before people start having terrifying hallucinations, resulting in grisly deaths.

Enter brilliant high school student, Jim Majelewski (Tom Breznahan), who is also the school prankster. When Jim's "jokes" get him in trouble, he's sent to Dr. Blake for help. Will Jim figure out what's happening, before he and his whole neighborhood are annihilated?

Absolutely ludicrous, this movie has TWO THINGS GOING FOR IT: #1- The big ugly brain, which is sort of a mixture of the alien brain from THE BRAIN FROM PLANET AROUS and the creatures from FIEND WITHOUT A FACE. #2- David Gale, who is a human dynamo of histrionic behavior!

The plot covers social conformity, mind control, and cultism in the most crackpot way imaginable! Still, it is loads of fun to watch!

Co-stars George Buza as the diabolical Nurse Verna.

BEST SCENES IN THE MOVIE: #1- Verna's encounter with the local police! #2- The backyard deck slaughter sequence!...

A television personality uses a giant alien organism that resembles a brain to control the minds of young adults and eventually kills them.

A giant alien brain is attached to a TV antenna in small town Meadowvale which controls the minds of viewers who tune into a show called "Independent Thinking". The show plays off like a scientology/cult type program which tells viewers things like "young people are so troubled in this day and age thanks to drugs, sex, and rock and roll". Our main teenage character Jim is rebellious at school and with his parents, so when it is recommended that he visits the doctor of "Independent Thinking" that is when he sees how diabolical the whole operation is. It'll be up to him and his girlfriend to stop the whole town from being mind manipulated by aliens!

I found The Brain to be a very fun (and very cheesy) B-Horror flick. It was stock full of angsty late 80's teen drama and rebellion against adults and authority. The whole idea behind the Independent Thinking TV show was that teenagers are problematic and need to be controlled, something that no teen wants to ever hear. I thought The Brain tried to bring some classic "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" feel to the movie. Jim is all alone and not brainwashed while the rest of the town is and is trying to seek him out. That isolated feeling was very apparent.

The acting was very questionable but oh so perfect for a movie from 1988 called The Brain. Cynthia Preston was really good, I've been a fan of her work since Pin and Prom Night III (plus her soap opera stuff on General Hospital. She always delivers. Tom Bresnahan was super likeable in the lead male role next to Preston. And David Gale was deliciously diabolical as the evil doctor who isn't all that he seemed at first.

I 'd give The Brain a watch if you're into bad B-Horror/Sci-fi flicks. I thought it had enough entertainment value to keep me entertained throughout, but definitely fell apart in the second half. Dragged a bit too much at the end for me, but overall worth a viewing!

5/10

There's a strange cinematic netherworld where idiocy meets fun and the two duke it out for our hearts and minds, and The Brain sits there rather comfortably. Eschewing chances of suspense or paranoid frights by way of an ill advised early reveal of the central creature and soon after a reveal of its nefarious plans, The Brain seeks to run on crazed gumption alone and the pleasantly surprising thing is, it actually works. The story has young and smart delinquent Jim Majelewski signed up for treatment at the mysterious Psychological Research Institute, where he comes across an evil giant brain with an eye on world domination. The rest of the film sees him dodging the brainwashed populace while seeking to save everyone from the alien ministrations of the brain, its a chase film and it happily zips along, sleekly crafted cheese to please. Director Ed Hunt is something of a B movie veteran and so knows not to take this sort of thing too seriously, while going full tilt at scenes that require the schlocky goods, thus while the film is never gory there are a few scenes that really shine, particularly a freaky opening gambit and a spot of wild cafeteria behaviour. He also avoids emphasizing the lesser effects apart from times when they'll be clearly entertaining, so goofs are at a relative minimum and at times the effects work really does. Performances are game throughout though few are especially good, Tom Bresnahan starts slow but builds a good head of steam as Jim, Cindy Preston is effortlessly pleasing as his girlfriend and George Buza makes for a solidly menacing villainous hired goon, while the heavy lifting acting wise is carried in style by David Gale. Riffing on his Re-Animator villainy he opts for a quieter course but still amusingly deranged, its a fun turn and he lights the screen whenever he appears. The titular brain is an important star as well, a wonderfully ludicrous creation that gets to move around, make the odd expression and even eat some people, as completely crackers monster go its a good 'un. Sadly the film gets dull at times despite the driving pace and thudding score, it also needed more acting zap and gore to make it really work, but its easy watching and well freighted with chuckles. Heck, there's even a bit of nudity (from a rather lovely lady) so I can't criticise the film too much, its cheesy trash, it know its cheesy trash and it does its best to deliver as such. I happen to love cheesy trash and this one broadly worked for me, so 7/10, but it won't be to all tastes.

Although there was a lot of crap released in the eighties, one thing you can always count on from these films is a hilarious good time! The subject of this film (mind control) has been used many times before, but it's not usually explored with the aid of a mad doctor and a daft looking rubber brain! This plot is explored from the perspective of a young high school student who, in true eighties fashion, has a penchant for silly pranks and general tomfoolery. He uncovers the plot, lead by Dr. Anthony Blakely (David Gale, who played a similar role Re-Animator'), the host of a TV show called "Independent Thinkers". The show is supposed to help viewers, but it's actually a tool for the doctor to have the viewers of the show brainwashed. The silly plot "thickens" when the school lad is sent to the see the doctor by his school and ends up suffering hallucinations, before stumbling in on the doctor and his two assistants. Oh, and the monstrous brain creature that enjoys eating people and controlling minds...

Naturally, this film isn't exactly high quality. The acting is terrible and the production values are low quality, but of course that isn't important in a film like this. Director Ed Hunt (who also made the surprisingly decent eighties crapfest Bloody Birthday) always ensures that the film is fun, light-hearted viewing and that ensures that The Brain just about does its job. It's true that the film could have been better. The director never really makes good use of the rubber brain, which is a shame. It does feature in two big scenes, but its left languishing in its little tank too often. The only real star of the film is David Gale, who will be remembered by cult fans for his key role in Stuart Gordon's classic Re-Animator. His acting here isn't brilliant but he provides enough interest as the mad doctor; although his exit is extremely disappointing. Overall, I can't really recommend tracking this film down as it's not great or anything like a classic; but if you're into eighties tat, then you could certainly do a lot worse than it.

Insignificant and low-brained (haha!) 80's horror like there are thirteen in a dozen, yet it can be considered amusing if you watch it in the right state of mind. The special effects are tacky, the acting atrocious and the screenplay seems to miss a couple of essential paragraphs! "The Brain" takes place in a typical quiet-American town setting, where every adolescent works in the same diner and where the cool-kid in high school flushes cherry bombs down the toilet. It is here that a TV-guru named Dr. Blake and his adorable pet-brain begin their quest for nation-wide mind controlling. Under the label of "independent thinkers", a giant cheesy brain sends out waves through television sets and forces innocent viewers to kill! How cool is that? Now, it's up to the Meadowvale teen-rebel to save the world! The funniest thing about the plot is that it never explains where Dr. Blake and his monstrous brain actually come from. There are obvious references towards extraterrestrial life but that's about it. Meh, who needs a background in a movie like this, really? There's not that much bloodshed unfortunately and the "evil" brain looks like an over-sized sock-puppet. The only more or less interesting element for horror buffs is taking a look at the cast and crew who made this movie. Director Ed Hunt and writer Barry Pearson are the same men who made "Bloody Birthday" (guilty pleasure of mine) and "Plague". Both those are much better movies and they wisely decided to resign the film industry. The most familiar face in the cast unquestionably is the great David Gale, whom horror fans will worship forever for his role in Re-Animator. A girl named Christine Kossak provides the nudity-factor and she's obviously a great talent… She has exactly 3 movies on her repertoire of which THIS is her "masterpiece". In her debut, she was credited as 'runaway model' and in "3 men and a baby", her character is referred to as 'one of Jack's girls'. I really wonder how she feels about her career as an actress

The high-school student James "Jim" Majelewski (Tom Bresnahan) is a troublemaker bad boy, playing prank at school. The Principal summons his parents and explains that Jim will be suspended and will not graduate, unless he goes to the Psychological Research Institute (PRI) to be submitted to a treatment by the famous Dr. Anthony Blakely (David Gale). Their parents are forced to send Jim to the PRI and the nurse Vivian (Christine Kossack) welcomes him. Dr. Blakely connects Jim to a huge brain and he has dreadful hallucinations. He flees from the PRI and meets his girlfriend Janet (Cynthia Preston) and his best friends Willie (Bret Pearson) and Becky (Susannah Hoffmann) at the dinner where they work. However, Dr. Blakely's assistant Verna (George Buza) arrives and abducts Jim back to the institute. Soon he discovers the true intention of Dr. Blakely and his brain.

"The Brain" is a sci-fi-horror movie that recalls the films from the 50's. The plot is funny, and The Brain is very trashy. The idea is a teen version of "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" with a brain dominating people through television. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "O Cérebro" ("The Brain")

Note: On 16 May 2024, I saw this film again.

I can't even count how many times I have watched this movie throughout the years. I consider myself lucky to even own a copy of this movie. This is easily one of my all time favorite bad films. If you're expecting something decent just walk away because The Brain is not for you. This is simply for the true lovers of bad cinema.

The late David Gale has a show on TV that is a therapeutic type of show. Many people in this town watch the show and rather enjoy it. What they don't know is the show is being masterminded by a giant brain from outer space and it's sending brainwashing signals threw the TV. Only one teenage boy is able to fight away these signals and decides to take matters into his own hands after the brain brainwashes everyone in town making them think that the boy is murdering people.

I can't say that the acting is anything great but David Gale is always a pleasure on screen, even if the script given to him sucks. Some of the special effects are good but most of them are just silly. The brain itself is actually pretty cool looking if you can put aside how ridiculous it looks. The brain does have an interesting transformation scene from just being a regular looking brain to what looks like a giant rotting monkey head.

I have to say I really liked this movie even if most of my friends can't get through the first 30 minutes of it. But then again, I can sit through just about any garbage cinema you give me and find something enjoyable about it. 8/10 stars

While this isn't great in any sense of the word, it does hit all the 1980's ticks. Brief nudity? Check. Loyal Girlfriend who screams a lot. Check. Alienated Teen who no one will believe? Check. Promise of a never made sequel? Check. While the monster is basically a giant brain with a spinal cord and a face! It's basically a giant version of the flying brain monsters from Fiend Without a Face, with the hostility of the creature from The Brain from Planet Aros. Silly yes, but enjoyably silly. My one question is: Why do so many Canadian films center around Christmas?