Brain Damage (1988)
There are certain directors out there that can make dozens, even hundreds of films, and only a select few are worth the time and money put into them. There are others who can make only a few films and have almost every one of them be entertaining. Frank Henenlotter is one of the latter. Not counting sequels, he has made four movies, three of which I have seen; Basket Case, Frankenhooker, Brain Damage and Bad Biology- this one being the one I have yet to watch. But the three I have, I have enjoyed to varying degrees. Basket Case is a bizarre film that while not amazing, was worth watching if for not other reason then it's effects. Frankenhooker on the other hand, is hilarious, and in my opinion a film any b-movie lover should not only see but own.
What makes Henenlotter's films different then others is simply heart and effort- you know he does not just toss out a film, there is a lot of energy put into these films to make them enjoyable- the use of practical effects, you know, what we had in movies before CGI took over, is some of the best- watch Basket Case and remind yourself that the titular creature isn't real. Henenlotter really seems to care about his craft- sure he knows he's not making Oscar contenders but that allows for greater freedom I think- not everyone will see these movies but the real fans will, and they are the ones that matter.
The last of the three films and today's entry stands outside the other two as the film with a message- that's right, a low budget horror comedy with a moral, is 1988's Brain Damage. This was actually the first Henenlotter film I heard of, if memory serves it was mentioned in an article on one of my movie sites and I then tracked down the trailer. Still, I decided to leave it for last, not only due to it being called the director's best, but also because I wasn't sure I was ready to watch it. Until today, and I'm glad I waited, because it was worth it.
Plot
The film opens with an elderly couple in an apartment, with the husband returning with a package his wife takes eagerly from him. He laments they are small but the best he could find, though she says 'he' will love them. She opens the package to reveal small brains, and informs her husband that she is going to feed 'him'. She heads for the bathtub happily, only to scream and drop the platter of brains. When her husband reaches her she tells him the horrible news; 'he' is gone. The two then proceed to tear apart their apartment calling for Aylmer,growing increasingly frantic as they do so. We then cut to another apartment and a sleeping man answering his phone; this is our protagonist, Brian, played by Rick Hearst. Brian is informed that he has to get up by a female voice, though he drops the phone and returns to sleep. In the meantime, the elderly couple is seen checking bathtubs in other apartments, their appearance much paler and sickly. Back to Brian's, we see the caller from before, his girlfriend Barbara, played by Jennifer Lowry, arrive, and she is greeted by Brian's roommate and brother Mike, played by Gordon Macdonald. While explaining that his brother is still not awake, we see that Mike is attracted to Barbara. When they check on Brian he looks sickly and decides to stay in for the night while his brother takes his place at a concert with Barbara. While they are gone, Brian begins to hallucinate, and when he awakens, finds his hand, neck and bedsheet covered in blood. Going to the bathroom, he notices a mark on the back of his neck, and meets Aylmer- a slimy slug like creature that looks like a blue and purple dick with a brain and a very animated face- I mention this because in the trailer you never see the face and thus Aylmer appears to be a talking dick, the face adds a lot. Aylmer, voiced by 50s horror film host John Zacherle, is a parasite of sorts that offers to 'show Brian the light', meaning the euphoric hallucinations he experienced before. Still pretty out of it, Brian accepts and puts Aylmer on his neck where the little creature injects him with his 'juice', and the two head out. While Brain trips out, he inadvertently enters a junk yard where a security guard tries to restrain him, only to be attacked by Aylmer, who eats the guards brain while a high as a kite Brian looks on. From then on, Brian's life begins a downward spiral as his relationships and his world all begin to deteriorate, and his dependance on Aylmer increases.
If you haven't figured out the metaphor by now, this entire film is about drug addiction, and as expected, the film goes a very predictable, although much more twisted route until the end. We also learn from the old man the history of Aylmer, as he has been around since the 4th Crusades, and made his way across the world, being stolen, killed over, until he wound up in the hands of the old couple who kept him weak with lamb brains. We also see the after effects of time away from Aylmer's juice, as the elderly couple deteriorate rapidly, and in the end only have one desire- more juice. Again, not to subtle a message.
Favorite Character
I've noticed over the years that in quite a few horror and horror comedies, there seems to be a trend on making entertaining villains. Just look at the decline of Freddy Kruger in the Nightmare sequels, when producers realized people liked him more then the heroes and made him the main attraction. This is not always a bad thing, as long as limits are in place, which did not happen in that franchise. I say this because the best character in the movie is Aylmer, and as he is really the only thing close to an antagonist, we need to work with that. Aylmer is sly, witty, and has some great lines- hell he even has a musical number while Brian is trying to detox, taunting the poor guy the whole way. That said, he never loses his creep factor or the sense of evil around him- even when you are laughing, you know this thing is bad news, and a part of you wants Brian to overcome Aylmer's influence. This is where the limits come in handy, as Aylmer is given just enough personality to be entertaining, while also retaining enough villainous tendencies to remind us that we should not be rooting for him. Another reason to place him here is when you get right down to it, the film only really deals with Aylmer and Brian- the other characters are there but they are not developed enough for you to really care- save for the old man, they don't add much to the plot other then to be victims, worry, or both, and while Brian is the main character, he needs Aylmer to actually do anything in the film- otherwise, he is just a normal guy, and a boring one at that. He only really gets a personality when he meets Aylmer.
Favorite Line
I was strongly tempted to put any number of Aylmer's lines here, as he has plenty of good ones, especially when taunting Brian. Still, I'd rather not put all my praise on him, so digging back through the movie I found one line that really got me laughing. Midway through the film, a Aylmer influenced Brian ends up at a club and wanders off with a woman who starts going down on him. This of course ends badly for her but good for Aylmer, although I have read that this scene is edited quite a bit in most copies- luckily I found the uncut version and got to see it all. Afterwards, Brian discovers blood in his underpants, and as he is now sober, questions it. He heads to a seedy motel and begins to ask Aylmer about the previous night, which he cannot recall due to Aylmer's juice. When he learns what they did, and Aylmer explains that with him around Brian doesn't have to know about the 'bad things', Brian responds with a line you won't find in most horror movies:
"When it comes to blood in my underwear, I wanna know how it got there!"
It is very much a throw way line but it sounds so funny even in the context of the film that for a moment you forget that the blood came from a woman whose brains were eaten out by a parasitic slug. It's also the first time Brian actually realizes that something is wrong, although you would think he would have questioned all the blood when he first encountered Aylmer, or, ya know, questioned the existence of a talking slug creature, but I guess when you are that high it doesn't matter until there is blood in your briefs.
Favorite Scene
There are some great deaths in this film, from the aforementioned 'fellatio death' to the subway make out. Likewise, there is a great nod/cameo from Henenlotter's Basket Case that works for fans. But for me, I need to go to a scene I've touched on briefly already, that is the scene in which Brian attempts to detox from Aylmer's influence. After the scene with the bloody undergarments, Brian tells Aylmer that he is going to take back control, and Aylmer takes joy in this, seeing it as a bet to see who will cave first, Aylmer's hunger for brains or Brian's need for the juice. He even promises not to bite Brian in his sleep, saying he wants him to beg when the time comes. Over the course of what may only be one night, we don't know, Brian begins to grow pale and sick, vomiting in pain from withdrawal, all the while Aylmer sits in the sink taunting him, ending with his singing to the now weak and despondent Brian. You can all guess what happens next given the nature of the film, but the scene is a great showing of the power of addiction. Brian wants to be clean, but he is weak and unable to beat his dependance. While most addicts don't have to detox with their dealer in the room it's not much of a stretch- simply think of Aylmer as the voice in the addicts head that keeps reminding them that everything will get better if they just have a little bit more.
Conclusion
Brain Damage is a short film, at least shorter then the rest I've viewed, and even uncut it clocks in at just under 90 minutes. That said, this means we don't have nearly as much filler as previous films, and can instead focus on the story unfolding. We watch the slow decline of one human being under the power of addiction, and while there is plenty of blood and laughs, the message inside still pushes through. If you can make a low budget horror movie and have room inside for a well portrayed story about drug addiction, then you have talent. Henenlotter doesn't make many movies but he doesn't have to, as the ones he has done are entertaining, funny, and in some cases, inspiring. That is the sign of a real filmmaker, someone who loves what they do and does it their way. If you have never heard of Frank or his films, I say check them out, though if you just want the entertainment value, stick to the other two film I mentioned. However if you want to have fun and learn a little something before it's done, I say give this one a try. Where else can you see a talking purple-blue dick creature singing on a sink and not have it seem strange?
3.5 Brainless Hookers out of 5
That's all for today, and though I'm a little late (had planed to watch this on New Years) Happy New Year.
Until next time, I'm The Drew, and I Be Awesome.
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