The Brain

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

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!...

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.

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 ...

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.