Brain Damage — Brain Damage( Blu Ray & DVD)
Brain Damage was the second feature length film from New York-based director Frank Henenlotter (The Basket Case Series, Frankenhooker, & Bad Biology). It originally came out in 1988, and it perfectly balanced & blended horror, humor, & bizarre/ psychedelic imagery.
The film's plot tells of Brian- a young man living in a department building- one morning he wakes to find blood on the back of his neck. And fairly soon we are introduced to Elmer- a seemingly immortal worm type creature, that craves brains, and in particular human brains. Elmer hooks on to the back of Brian’s neck and injects a blue liquid that creates both euphoria & hallucinations. While Brian is locked into the control of Elmer’s drug- the creature directs him around the New York City to find victims to get his brain hit from.
The Elmer creature is a truly wonderfully & memorable creation- I guess you’d say it’s around a foot long thick worm- it has a flip back mouth, which holds both it’s blue drug injector and teeth. It has beady cartoon-like eyes. And best of all this savvy, animated,yet well spoken, and deep male voice. He is constantly cracking puns, and at one point sings a song about his history…but don’t worry this is not a musical!.
The film is fast moving, has a likeable cast, as well as some quite impressive effects- Elmer him self is puppeteered and looks very impressive for the time. Of course, we get some neat brain eating themed effects. As well as, of course, the more tripped-out/ psychedelic moments, which take in color inverted imagery, a large throbbing eyeball, submergence in blue liquid, etc.
I hadn’t seen Brain Damage since the late 1980’s on video- but it had stayed with me since. So it was great to finally see it again, and I must say it hasn’t dated much at-tall, and to my mind it's the highpoint in Henenlotter’s output- balancing very well pace, humor, horror & bizarre-ness.
This new reissue takes in both Blu-Ray & DVD- it features the normal double sided sleeve from arrow, taking in the original cover artwork with newly created cover art.
As I mentioned in my introduction you get a bumper selection of new & exclusive extras- we get a glossy color booklet, taking in new writing on the film, as well as archive stills and posters. On the discs themselves we get a nearing hour long doc entitled “Listen to the Light: The Making of Brain Damage”- this takes in interviews with actors, effects artists, and the film producer & editor. As well we get a exclusive commentary with the film's writer/ director Frank Henenlotter- which is chatty, insightful, though a little random & darting at times, but as commentaries go it’s certainly worthy. You also get a good selection of ten-minute featurettes - taking in discussions about the effects, an interview with the editor of the film, re-visiting filming locations with Henenlotter, an interview with a Brain Damage superfan, etc. Plus the expected trailer, imagery galleries, and an isolated score option.
In summing-up, if you enjoy quirky & bizarre tinged horror you really have to yourself a favor & check out Brain Damage, as it truly is one of the more original horror films of the 1980’s. And Arrow Video really have done themselves proud with this truly splendid new reissue of the film…pretty damn unmissable really!