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.

Brain Dead is a very hard movie to describe because of its constant twists and turns. This movie truly turns you in circles and can be very confusing upon first viewing. Still, this is a really good film with good acting from Pill Pullman and Bill Paxton. The whole concept of the film is based on whether this is a dream or reality and the rest is left to the viewer. The ending is rather sudden but very appropriate and dramatic. This is definitely the type of film you sit through the credits at the end in bewilderment. Truly a surprise, especially considering the fact that this is a Concord produced film and most of their movies are mediocre at best. I highly recommend this movie to anyone who is into the David Lynch style of film-making. This is definitely a true mind-bender. 9/10 stars

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.

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.

This is a very underrated movie that somewhat reminds you of Jacob's Ladder. The movie starts out with Bill Pullman as a doctor who studies brains and has a lab full of brains in glass bottles. Pullman is friends with Bill Paxton and Paxton is in some trouble with the corporation he works with and tries to get Pullman to help him. Pullman agrees and and he has to try and find out if a brilliant doctor, played by Bud Cort, who went and killed his family is actually insane or not. Pullman says he his insane and Paxton isn't too happy about it because Cort has some top secret information in his head and Paxton doesn't want it to ever get out. Pullman operates on him and then and the next thing Pullman knows he is in a mental ward and his entire reality starts to mess with him and he can't tell what is real and what is not. It's a great movie that should be more well known.