Brain Dead

Brain Dead...where do I begin? One could easily go crazy thinking about this movie. Brain Dead was written by the late Charles Beaumont (the man responsible for some of my favorite Twilight Zone episodes) and was directed by Adam Simon (The American Nightmare). It's basically one long chaotic nightmare and, at the same time, one of my favorite films. It's a real head trip where one is constantly questioning the sanity of the main characters. Is Bill Pullman crazy, is Bill Paxton out to get Bill Pullman, should the two Bills be taken seriously? In this movie, yes. The Bills are excellent and so is the rest of the cast. This is the film that really made me take notice of Bud Cort. He's hilarious as Halsey. If you're up for some serious insanity, give Brain Dead a spin. I give this movie a 10 on the psychological mind bender scale. It ranks up there with Cronenberg's Videodrome.

Note for genre buffs: Miskatonic University is mentioned by Dr. Martin in the film. That is the same school Dr. West attends in Re-Animator and is mentioned in many films based on the works of H.P. Lovecraft.

I didn't expect much from this movie, but it turned out to be decent thriller given its low budget and its cast - Bill Pullman and Bill Paxton, arguably the two dullest actors in Hollywood! Bill Pullman is Dr. Rex Martin, a brain scientist who has developed a technology to manipulate a person's thoughts and therefore their reality. He is recruited by a sleazy corporate administrator, Jim Reston (Bill Paxton), to use this technology on a former corporate genius, Dr, Hasley, turned paranoid psycho killer, to pry some valuable corporate information from his memory. Martin then suffers an accident, and then descends into a world of madness and paranoia, where objective reality is turned upside down. In true twilight zone fashion, it appears that Dr. Martin's technology is now being experimented on him. Pullman plays the part of the eccentric Martin well, and Paxton does a reasonable job as the ambitious, yet, sleazy, corporate type. I found the ending, at least my interpretation of it, somewhat conventional and a little disappointing. This movie has some genuine scenes of suspense without needing to resort to lavish special effects. There is also a gratuitous nude scene involving Martin's Wife, Praticia Charbonneau, which, of course, is always a bonus. Again I didn't expect much from this movie, and I was pleasantly surprised. For those who enjoy movies that involve the theme that objective reality is, or can be made to be, an illusion, this movie is worth seeing as a pre cyber version of this theme; the cyber version of course being the Matrix, The 13th Floor and Existenze.

Brain Dead is many things, including a mess, but with an ambitious story which is enough to hide the idiocy (mostly), it becomes a fairly enjoyable mess.

Dr. Rex Martin is a renowned brain surgeon who is approached one day by a representative of the Eunice corporation. One of the corporation's best mathematicians has gone Brain Dead, but there are still some numerical data locked in the back of his mind which Eunice wants. Dr. Martin is asked to operate, but as he manages to tap into the patient's mind, he triggers something in his own. He starts behaving strangely. What follows is a seemingly endless series of dreams and illusions that follows the old rhetorical 'what is fantasy and what is reality' question.

As messy as Brain Dead is, it's not dull. The question is whether you enjoy being confused. Making do with a fragmented budget, first time director Adam Simon has constructed the film with a kind of post-modern sci-fi approach. There are times when it resembles some of David Cronenberg's early work, which shows that the film has intellectual potential, but I would'nt call Brain Dead an intelligent film. Then again, next to Carnosaur (simon's proceeding feature) This is actually pretty brilliant.

If I am interpreting correctly, it looks as if Brain Dead is trying to say that the brain is not merely a vital organ, it is a living thing. Whether I am right or not, means nothing. You can interpret this film any way you want.

Dr. Rex Martin (Bill Pullman) is a leading neurosurgeon specializing in the cerebral malfunctions that cause mental illnesses, whose expertise is called up by an old school chum, Jim Reston (Bill Paxton), who is now part of the mega-corporation Eunice.

If you happen to be one of those people who cannot tell Pullman and Paxton apart, this might not be the film for you... they spend a fair amount of time on screen together. If you happen to be a fan of H. P. Lovecraft, this might be the film for you. While the writer is known for his work with "The Twilight Zone", there are at least two Lovecraft references in this story. Can you catch them?

I was already intrigued from the beginning with the wall of brains in jars and the face that could be remote-controlled. But I was in hook, line and sinker when Jack Halsey (Bud Cort) showed up -- he is the epitome of insane genius. The phrases, the mannerisms... even his appearance. Thank you, casting director. You aced a hole in one. The homeless guy is a nice touch, too.

Bonus: Kyle Gass of Tenacious D appears as an anesthesiologist.

Bill Pullman plays a brilliant surgeon who decides to perform an operation on a psychotic mathematician.He tries to unlock corporate secrets hidden in his patient brain.As the result Pullman is plagued by a series of bizarre dreams and nightmares."Brain Dead" by Adam Simon is often confused with Peter Jackson's insanely gory horror comedy "Braindead".The script is clever and sophisticated,the atmosphere is quite chilling and the acting is solid.The film has pretty warped sense of humour,unfortunately the action is slow and there is no gore.A must-see for fans of "Twilight Zone","Blue Sunshine" or "Strange Behavior".7 homicidal mathematicians out of 10.