Directed by: Ed Hunt
starring: David Gale, George Buza, Tom Bresnahan, and Cynthia Preston
Genre - Horror/Sci-Fi
Tagline: Mind Over Matter
Format - VHS
Rating (out of 5):
David Gale was one of sci-fi horrors greatest actors in the 80's and early 90's. His most famous Role being Dr. Hill from Re-Animator and Bride of the Re-Animator. In this film The Brain he is up to his old tricks starring as an evil television psychiatrist using a giant floating brain to take over the minds of anyone who watches his show Independent Thinking. The film has received many bad reviews in its time and given the poor acting outside of Gale and cheeseball special effects it has been pretty well deserved. That being said I found the film quite enjoyable from a so bad it's good point of view. Add to that the novelties that are 80's filmmaking and you have one great Saturday night flick. James (Tom Bresnahan) our main character is a high school trouble maker and practical joker who lands himself in the principal's office one last time after one of his pranks gets the principal himself all wet. After a meeting with his parents the school officials recommend sending James to Dr. Anthony Blakely (David Gale) for a psychological assessment. James of course isn't fond of the idea from the get go. After meeting Dr. Blackley and undergoing a few tests James starts to see The Brain slowly sending James into a surreal world of vivid hallucinations. Soon James can trust no one as the Brain slowly takes over the minds of everyone around him. The film keeps going in the manner of Invasion of the Body Snatchers as James and his girlfriend Janet (Cynthia Preston) try to escape the evil doctor and his nurse (George Buza). Small tid bits of gore tossed around in a few key death scenes but overall not all that gory. The cheeseball effects are at times laughable but for those of us who remember and love the old way of creating monster effects without a computer it certainly is fun to say the least. David Gale for me is always great to see with his over the top expressions and ominous presence being perfect for any horror or sci-fi film of his time. Too bad for us Gale died in 1991 during open heart surgery at the young age of 54. All in all the film provides a hell of a lot of fun especially for lovers of the 80's with their hair styles and cornball music.
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