Brainscan

source: Brainscan

Trailer—Brainscan

Brainscan

I came across this hidden gem a few months ago. I had never heard about it. But I'm really glad I found out about it. Really interesting and good. I got "goosebumps" vibes watching it. Just a really interesting concept for a movie. Worth the watch.

Brainscan used to be one of my favorite movies when I was in elementary school, and I recently purchased the DVD; and I must say how truly awesome this movie is. The story's about a disturbed teenager named Michael Brower (played by the asthmatic Edward Furlong) who is obsessed with death, horror movies, and heavy metal; and what ensues when he plays a virtual reality-like horror game called Brainscan. I must admit the Trixster was cheesy as hell--and what was with the hairstyle? But nonetheless, this will be remembered as one of the great, fun horror movies of the nineties, and is of cult status among a select group of horror fans. Another interesting tidbit is that this was one of Andrew Kevin Walker's first screenplays, who went on to write Seven and Sleepy Hollow. If you haven't seen it, rent it, or better yet, buy the DVD; this movie rocks.

Did you ever have that dream where you woke up but the bad or weird thing continued to exist in real life? And then you REALLY woke up? Or did you? If so, you'll love this film. I'm not easily surprised but this movie fooled me more than once. The actors are charismatic. The scary guy has this great punk look and what has to be a naturally evil face. Stop reading here if you haven't seen it. The new video game Brainscan comes out and this young horror movie fan tries it. Soon he imagines cutting off someone's foot. Imagine his horror at finding a human foot in his fridge the next day. Then he comes back to reality. Or does he? There's a great scene at the end when he hands the game disk to the high school principle who banned his horror movie club. A refreshing change; this horror film is actually scary and suspenseful.

Hands down, my favorite all time horror movie. Nightmare on elm street is second.

Ill admit there is a lot of flaws with this movie, but i can't help but love it. Edward Furlong gives an excellent performance as a young teenager who compensates for his loneliness by playing violent video games, until one gets a little to real. The video game entitled Brain Scan has the player commit murders which then occur in the real world and a mascot for the game named the Trickster (excellent performance) ensures that one plays the game correctly. The film is a horror flick no doubt but it also has all the aspects that make teen horror flicks great such as a love intrest, humor and relatable characters. If you wanna see a horror/scifi flick tonight rent this one cause its a real winner just don't expect a sopisticated thriller.

Spoilers. I love an intelligent horror movie with a real life social message. These two premises usually work out great. This film has a new twist. This kid whose love for the dark side and gore receives a new neurological computer game that interacts with his mind, via Videodrome. This film shows the social aspects of violence, and the murder is very graphic, and sickening on purpose; where the victim suffers. This guy has to deal with the consequences of his actions and guilt. (A nice kid who has to live with this, now that is the scary part) An evil being called the Trickster torments him, and his other victims have faces, personalities, and people he knows. The people behave believably. This is where the message comes in at the ending when he finds out that what went on is a game, he is sicken and angry. He positively drops the negativity of his fascination of horror and grows up and gets on with life. He stops being a weirdo and starts interacting with other teens.8/10

This movie is not a great movie, but it has its merits. The slightly erotic and mysterious atmosphere a la Lost Boys boosts it the most, too bad they used just a little smudge of it and a lot more Elm Street tricky demon stuff. The plot is pretty predictable, but the script is decent and Edward Furlong is very suited to play the alienated youth obsessed by hard, but fake, horror movie scares. The music was also appropriate. It was interesting to see in a movie computer interfaces that even computers today don't have. The difference is that back then they couldn't do it and now nobody gives a damn anymore. Bottom line: I think it was so close to a cult classic. It is clearly underrated on IMDb and, except some silly scenes that could have been edited or completely removed, a decent thriller for teenagers. It doesn't scare so much as involves, which is something movies nowadays fail to do most of the time.