Brain Damage (1988) Reviews

• Juice me up! Henenlotter's most entertaining work

  doktor d2003-02-19

  Frank Henenlotter's 'Brain Damage' (1987) is easily the director's best film, esp. when considering the solid performances, technical proficiency and fascinating storyline. Aylmer, a rather large, penis-shaped parasite, gives unsuspecting Brian brain damage by getting him hooked on an hallucinogenic, blue fluid that Aylmer himself produces. Oh, the colors! But the thousand-year-old worm-like parasite demands something in return for the buzz - human brains! Aylmer and his actions seem to be a metaphor for drug use and addiction and convey very graphically how substances foreign to our bodies can alter our own thoughts and actions. Henenlotter adds context and meaning to the proceedings by creating a history for Aylmer. The parasite was sold and stolen over the centuries, until it finally ended up in the possession of Brian's neighbors. But the neighbors deprived Aylmer of his needs in order to keep him weak, and that's where the story begins. Henenlotter's films are never without heavy doses of sick humor, and the perverse highlight here is a sequence depicting a disco-whore getting her brains screwed out - literally - through her mouth. If that's not enough, the special effects in the restaurant scene, complete with spaghetti and brainballs, are particularly polished and satisfying. Ultimately, the director outplays his hand and is left with nowhere to go. Despite this weak ending, 'Brain Damage' is an odd, effective story and film, a major step up from the director's debut, 'Basket Case', but every bit as twisted. >

• campy original horror at its best.

  paintedwallpaper2005-06-11

  you know, i just went to see House of Wax the other day, and ten years after scream came out why are the same boring plots with the same boring characters doing the same stupid mistakes our only option for horror these days. i suggest going back 20 years to the 70's and 80's if you want to find some great horror. horror then was low budget but imaginative. the movies had interesting story lines and were not shy about blood and gore. a good stepping stone for this sub-genre is one of my current favorites, Brain Damage. It starts off on a very surreal note, but mixes its strangeness with an accurate portrayal of a young man hopelessly addicted to the mother of all drugs. his dealer is perhaps the most unique little monster in all of horror, Aylmer (pronounced "elmer"). Aylmer is a purple cucumber shaped alien with a tiny smiling face and a soft warm voice. he finds a host, and injects his host with a blue liquid that comes out of one of Aylmer's fangs. this "brain juice" jacks up its host into a hullucionary state. while the host is in la-la land, Aylmer makes a victim of whoever the host comes in contact with, eating the victims brains. as vile as all that sounds, it is hard to see Aylmer as evil. he is just such a nice little guy. plus he is unique in his appearance, personality, and attacks, which all go a long way with me in a modern world of horror villains pushed off an assembly line. this movie is not winning an Oscar. it is strange and campy and violent. but if that is what you desire in a film, this hidden gem may become one of your favorites!

• "It's A Headache From Hell! "

  Backlash0072001-09-25

  Brain Damage is the greatest anti-drug horror/comedy. Well, probably the only one. This is Frank Henenlotter's crowning achievement. If you like his Basketcase trilogy, who cares? This is way better than those movies. This movie actually has a message: Don't trust little phallic-like aliens named Aylmer. Just kidding. The anti-drug theme is played heavily throughout the movie. If you're a genre buff or if your sense of humor is as perverted as mine, then do not miss this film. It should be a considered a classic low budget horror movie but it seems that it's rather unheard of. And that is a sad thing. Frank Henenlotter...where are you? Note for genre buffs: Look out for the man with the wicker basket on the subway. That's Kevin Van Hentenryck from the Basket Case films.

• One of my alltime favs!

  siektwo2004-10-26

  This is one of my alltime favorites of the horror genre! A great movie to watch. What i like about this movie is the underlying drug related messages throughout. It's like watching requiem for a dream almost in that drug-related sense. I don't need to tell much about the plot, since i'm sure many have already explained it. I am a hardcore horror fan through and through, and i will just say that this movie rocks. It's got a great and interesting story, some awesome gore scenes and some hilarious comedy as well. It's not scary, but it is a gory, funny, bizarre, and original movie that isn't even close to being like anything else out there...you gotta see it to believe it. 10 out of 10 (based on a horror fan's review)

• Henenlotter's Best

  TheMarwood2014-06-07

  The first 10 minutes of Brain Damage are awful and hard to watch, as an elderly couple are trashing their apartment looking for Alymer and then we get an overlong hallucination from our main character Brian. Then we are introduced to the Zacherle voiced parasitic Alymer, with a show stopping "hi" and the film just goes bonkers and never stops. There's nothing quite like Brain Damage, a tale of a young man who gets addicted to the intoxicant that a parasitic creature injects into his brain and while running about hallucinating, Alymer feeds on unsuspecting victims brains. It's hilariously gory and thanks to the uncut version finally on the market, the brain removing fellatio sequence is intact in its full ridiculous glory. Henenlotter was firing on all cylinders while making this classic B masterpiece.