Brain Damage 1988 Frank Henenlotter9/10"Hi," "Brain Damage" is widely regarded as Henenlotter's best film. Whilst I believe rating films in best to worst order is too transitory to be my focus I must say that this film's reputation is deserved. As this film seems to be considered too low-brow to be art I want to wax lyrical about this superlative piece of late 80's horror and argue that it is in fact high-art. "Brain Damage" is a well-executed allegory of drug addiction (and, more broadly, desire and control) as well as other social issues. Hosting this journey into depravity are Brian and Aylmer, an average handsome young lad with a normal life and a charming, well-spoken worm-like creature with a biology for drug-dealing and an insatiable appetite for human brains. Henenlotter's film depicts the tenderness, the violence, the fun and the heartache of their exploitative relationship. Henenlotter's script weaves us through the chaotic time Brian and Aylmer spend together and their onscreen relationship is deepened by their interactions with characters such as Morris & Martha, Barbara, and Mike. Aylmer's injections are a great distraction from reality but they come at an enormous price; a fact Morris & Martha are testament to: anyone who Aylmer befriends needs him in their life or a hysterical frenzy ensues. The depth Henenlotter reaches to in his imagery is astounding. A room feels like a room, a corridor like a corridor, and a street feels like a street. The colours zing, the waters are deep, the lights thicken and sharpen the air; cracks cobweb throughout the dank settings and thick red blood is sprayed over it all with gay abandon. The absorbing kaleidoscopic trips Brian is medicated with are made of neon rainbows pulsing in a broken city whilst a euphonious score of lush synthesiser drifts in and out with gentle ease. As the electric high peaks Brian's humanity is washed away by these transcendent experiences. The lights and sounds inevitably extinguish as Aylmer's juice burns out and the addicted youngster's prancing slows to a trudge back into the dissonant city. It isn't good enough for Brian but, now that he's hooked, he must do his new master's bidding. Aylmer has a deliberately honeyed voice to give it the sophisticated charm of a conman. No matter what it does one cannot simply dislike it. And that's the point. It demonstrates how easily someone can wriggle their way out of blame and trouble with simple mannerisms; even if, in this case, that someone is a murderer and a manipulator. I will not describe the ending however I do feel that the film draws to a triumphant close after exploring in great detail the stages of addiction. The loss of sense, the loss of others and the loss of the self, the willing deconstruction of the mind, body and soul of an individual. A devastating loss it is for all societies suffering from the decay that drugs can bring. You should also watch "Basket Case" (1982) and "Frankenhooker" (1990). Together with "Brain Damage" they make an inspired trilogy by Frank Henenlotter.

Most people will not have a clue who I am talking about when I mention the name Frank Henenlotter. Yes, fans will know and horror geeks in particular. But the average movie viewer would be hard placed to name a single film he made. And yet he's made some of the most interesting and originally creative films in his career, one of which I'm sure you've heard of but maybe never seen. It was a low budget flick called BASKETCASE. See? I told you you'd known something he made.With only 12 films listing him as director (two of those shorts) on IMDb.com you will always find his films to be something different and interesting. If you don't believe me look what they are and then watch one. Which brings us to this film, released in 1988 six years after BASKETCASE.BRAIN DAMAGE tells the story of a creature that does indeed damage but offers something in return. The film opens with an elderly couple frantically searching their house for what appears to be someone named Elmer. Unable to find him they collapse and we are left to worry about what happened to them.The film moves to nearby neighbors Brian and Mike. Two young brothers getting by in New York, Brian has a girlfriend named Barbara who needs more attention which Mike would like to provide. The same night as the old couple were running around their apartment Mike gets sick and has Mike take Barbara where they had plans to go. It turns out Brian has is more ill than he realizes.What we thought was Elmer actually turns out to be Aylmer, a parasitic creature that has attached itself to Brian. What's been described as looking like a cross between a penis and a piece of fecal matter shaded blue is actually in intelligent creature that talks to Brian. Yes, this is not your standard sci-fi film. Aylmer tells Brian that he can provide something unique for him, an opening of the mind. To display this he inserts a needle like appendage from his body into the back of Brian's neck, injecting his brain with a fluid that enhances his senses like nothing anyone ever thought possible.On the downside is the fact that Aylmer must feed. Worse yet is that he feeds on human brains. So Brian is suddenly enlisted to aid Aylmer in finding the brains the he needs to survive. This presents us with the chance to witness gore filled carnage in several scenes. It also offers a problematic issue with Brian as his craving for the fluid Aylmer provides has him battling with his conscience as he is killing people to feed him. The odds of Aylmer eventually wanting Barbara or Mike is bound to happen.Henenlotter has said that this film was based on Faustian themes, the concept of someone selling their soul to the devil in return for something they desire with an outcome that they could not predict would happen. There is that but at the same time the obvious concept of drug addiction in today's world is there as well with Brian's constant need for the blue fluid injected into his brain and his willingness to do anything to get it. The two themes work hand in hand here and offer a story that most low budget horror films are lacking.Some have called the effects terrible but I found them to be fantastic. Most can't recall a time when CGI creatures were not used in films and practical effects ruled the day. To have someone, in this case Gabriel Bartalos and his crew, come up not just with a new creature but to animate it and give it a personality on top of everything is wonderful. The rest of the effects are great as well, even more so when you consider this film came out in 1988.Having developed a cult following since its initial poor release (due mainly because the company behind the film was sold and the new owners just wanted to get it out there), the movie has seen the light of day on home screens, first on VHS and then on DVD. But the new Arrow Video version is perhaps the best offering of this film we've ever had access to. As is always the case, Arrow has brought us the cleanest and most precise visually arresting version of the film ever offered, a digital transfer from original film elements. Extras here are also top notch and include a new audio commentary track with writer/director Henenlotter, new interviews with cast and crew, a Q&A with Henelotter at the 2016 Offscreen Film Festival, the original trailer, newly commissioned artwork for the sleeve, a collector's booklet with writing on the film by Michael Gingold and more. As with all of their releases Arrow is offering the most bang for your buck.My son has met Henenlotter and found him to be an interesting man and friendly to fans who have supported his visions for years. It's nice to see his movies getting their long deserved due. The two sequels to BASKETCASE were just released last year on blu-ray from Synapse, both of which I wrote about. To see this added to the available list is something worth cheering. Fans will want this on their shelves and horror/sci-fi fans will want to give it a watch. Expect something different like you would with all films Henenlotter. One last tidbit, something fans howl over, is the brief cameo of the two brothers from the BASKETCASE film seen here, an added treat.

I found the DVD of "Brain Damage" in a cheap-DVD-chest in a tech store and of course i've immediately bought it, at the time the only title in mind by Frank Henenlotter was "Basket case".Well, i must admit that was a great surprise, the story, the cheap props, the psychedelic lights, the '80 visual effects (the first "lsd-trip" of Brian with the room filled with water is great), everything works well in a funny and splatter context. There are also some genial scenes like the intro part with the elderly couple, the one with the blonde girl in the Hell club, the scene with Duane Bradley cameo and, of course, the ending scene. In conclusion, a must-see milestone in the '80 splatter/horror comedy genre!

Brain Damage is set in New York City where Brian (Rick Hearst) lives in an apartment with his brother Mike (Gordon MacDonald), one night Brian wakes up & feels somewhat lightheaded & ill. Brian decides to to go back to sleep but when he awakes he finds blood on his pillow & a strange talking slug like brain eating parasitic creature called Aylmer who has injected some blue liquid into the back of Brian's neck & into his brain which makes him high, at first Brian enjoys the euphoric high but Alymer uses Brian in his drugged out high state to find him human victims whose brains it can eat. Brian becomes addicted to the high Alymer gives him but at the same time realises the terrible side-effects that threaten to destroy his life & kill those who Brain are closest to including Barbara (Jennifer Lowry) his girlfriend unless he can somehow regain control of his life & mind...Co-edited, written & directed by Frank Henenlotter this was his belated second directorial feature film after the cult hit success of the memorable low budget gory horror film Basket Case (1982) & it's clear to see that Henenlotter set out to make a low budget exploitation horror film with a strong central message about the perils of drug abuse & addiction. The entire film is more or less a warning against drugs, the film is filled with parallels & metaphors like the initial high before the uncontrollable craving for the next hit when it wears off, the user whose life falls apart around themselves because of their addiction, the people around the user who also suffer because of it & the determination to get another fix no matter what that becomes paramount to the exclusion of just about everything else. You might think that sounds rather heavy handed & a bit too deep but Brain Damage works surprisingly well on a number of levels, from a gross out splatter film with some good gore scenes to anti drug film as the script is set-up so we end up sympathising with Brian & the attempts to mirror the obviously fantastical goings-on in the film with real life drug abuse & addiction comes off rather well. The pace is good, the character's & dialogue are as well although the ending is rather sudden & abrupt. An off-beat, unusual 80's horror film with a strong social message, who'd have thought it?Director Henenlotter throw's in a cheeky little reference to his previous film Basket Case as while on a subway train Brian sees a man carry a wicker basket with a lock on it, obviously the lead character Duane from Basket Case & to give it a bit more authenticity the original actor Kevin Van Hentenryck reprises the role in a small cameo. Aymer the parasite looks like a large slug with a face & funny posh sounding voice, despite this the image actually works in a bizarrely funny sort of way. The special effects are alright, there's some stop-motion animation & simple puppet shots which are probably still better than any modern low budget CGI computer effect. There are some neat sequences here including the infamous scene in which a woman goes down on Brian to give him a blow-job only to open his flies & have Aylmer shoot out & eat her brains through her mouth so the side-on view looks like she is give Brian a blow-job who has a horrible slimy mutant deformed penis, a nice if somewhat crude little visual gag & one of the films most memorable moments. There's some decent gore here too, there are some brain eating scenes, some blood splatter, there's pulsating brains & foreheads & a dream sequence in which someone pulls some stringy bloody stuff out of their ear before it falls off & a spray of blood spurts out. There's a sex scene & a bit of nudity as well but nothing that graphic.The production values are pretty good & the film is well made, it's certainly a lot more professional & polished than Basket Case ever was. The acting is pretty good from a fairly unknown cast, TV horror host John Zacherle provided the voice of Aylmer uncredited.Brain Damage is an unusual & somewhat oddball little late 80's exploitation horror film that works surprisingly well although probably isn't for everyone. Well worth a look if your a fan of the genre or are after something that bit different.