Nearly thirty years after its release, I've only just come across 'Brain Dead' (no, not the early Peter Jackson movie) - a film starring two of my favourite Bills (Pullman and Paxton). Despite them possibly being the ONLY Bills I know in the acting industry, I was surprised that I'd never heard of this film before. However, now I've watched it, I can see why it's been forgotten. I really wanted to like it, but I just couldn't really get behind it fully.I checked out some of the other reviews online and it gets a hell of a lot of 1 star ratings and people use phrases like 'You have to be brain dead to like Brain Dead.' I don't agree that it's quite that bad, but it's probably not worth the watch. It's about here in a review that I try and do a brief plot synopsis, however I'm not entirely sure what the film was about even after watching it. I figured that Bill Pullman played a scientist who experiments on people's brains after they've been removed from someone's body after their death. However, there are also times when he experiments on people's brains while they're still in people's heads! Paxton, on the other hand, plays a (delightfully!) slimy corporate executive.I think it's fair to say that there are definite elements of the 'horror' genre in here, however I've seen it listed as 'science fiction' in some places, too. Despite its minimal budget (it really is no blockbuster!) there are actually a couple of rather disgusting scenes involving probes entering a sort of sensitive organ (clue as to which on in the film's title!). Although, rather than being an outright horror movie, it leans more towards what I always consider to be 'Lynchian' horror (i.e. a David 'Twin Peaks/Mullholland Drive/Lost Highway' Lynch film or TV show). Weird things start happening and the lines between what's real and what's imaginary become blurred.Lynch does this really well and, even if you don't understand what he's getting at, you can enjoy one hell of a stylish experience. However, 'Brain Dead' is not directed by David Lynch. Therefore, what you're left with is a bit of a messy tale that whats to be really deep and thought-provoking and just ends up being... well, a mess. It's not helped that, even though it was released in 1990, it feels like they used the cheapest video camera ever to shoot it on. The film itself just looks incredibly cheap and the most of the soundtrack and incidental music feels like elevator music and probably public domain to begin with.The actors do their best with what they're given and, if you really enjoy total mind-bending tales where you don't know what's real or imaginary, you could get something out of this. However, if you do like those sorts of films, then you've definitely seen better (probably from David Lynch, but also Cronenberg has done similar mainstream/cult offerings), so I'd probably stick to those. Ironically, only seven years later Bill Pullman went on to star in Lynch's 'Lost Highway.' Although that divided audiences and was also hard to follow, it was a visual joy to watch and the sheer brilliance of direction gave it that creepy, menacing vibe which 'Brain Dead' tries for, but fails. It's not a one star movie, but it's probably best to gloss over in the scale of things.

Brain Dead is a low quality nightmare of a film. Lacking tangible story and character depth.The film is utter chaos and I hate chaos. However, the twist brought the film out of the slums when Rex became Halsey and realized nothing was real, but that became a mess also and I drifted off. My eyes opened to find his head in a jar and that's that. No thank you. Also, the acting was atrocious.

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.

The great Taoist master Chuang Tzu once dreamt that he was a butterfly fluttering here and there. In the dream he had no awareness of his individuality as a person. He was only a butterfly. Suddenly, he awoke and found himself laying there, a person once again. But then he thought to himself, "Was I before a man who dreamt about being a butterfly, or am I now a butterfly who dreams about being a man?" This quote is being used in the film and clearly illustrates the basis of the brilliant screenplay. The claustrophobia of not knowing reality from imagined reality is very real in this film. Earlier acts by Bill Pullman, and Bill Paxton make for a real viewing pleasure. But the real star of the film is Bud Cort (Harold, from the film Harold and Maude). Set designs and lighting make for a fine surreal experience. This movie is a great one with a fine story, fine actors, fine cinematography, special-fx and direction. The music sounds like synths left over from the 80's. But that adds to the B-effect of the film. Highly recommended.