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| Release: 1988, Rated: R, Runtime: 84 min. |
Boy, was I not prepared going into this one. Chock full of sexual undertones, anti-drug messages and a weird talking slug monster named Aylmer, Brain Damage is a film that requires a certain taste to like it. As for me, I most definitely was hesitant at first on whether or not I liked it, but as I let the movie stew for awhile, it started to grow on me and you know what, I think I actually kinda like the damn thing. Let’s read on and see whether or not you might like it as well…
Short nitty-gritty plot description from IMDb is as follows: One morning a young man wakes to find a small, disgusting creature has attached itself to the base of his brain stem. The creature gives him a euphoric state of happiness but in return demands human victims.
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| Brian getting his juice on with Aylmer. |
The movie starts off with an older couple about to feed some raw brains to some unknown “thing”. Before you know it, that “thing” has escaped and the frantic couple are tearing their house apart trying to find it. This very scene also introduces us to the most annoying scream in the entire world. The older woman is devastated they can’t find it and screams in agony at the top of her lungs, sending shivers down my spin, but not in a good way.
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| Brian’s trippy 80s slug drug trip. |
Carrying on from there, we get introduced to Brian, played by soap opera actor Rick Hearst and his girlfriend Barbara (Jennifer Lowry) and brother Mike (Gordon MacDonald). Barbara wants to head out to a concert, but Brian isn’t feeling so well, so he tells her to go with his brother. Mike is more than happy to, cause he has a huge crush on her (who wouldn’t with that awesome 80s look she has going on). Brian stays home in bed and before long, wakes up with a sticky feeling on the back of his neck; he’s covered in blood and something was burrowing a hole into his neck. That something, is Aylmer, a talking slug looking creature, with a thirst for brains. Aylmer tells Brian, that he will give him the ultimate high (via injection in the back of the neck, to the brain, which more often than not, looks like Brian is having weird slug sex) and in return he needs to be fed. Little does Brian know, that the meals consist of human brains. Brian, stuck in a state of euphoria, doesn’t remember whenever Aylmer feeds, but only sees the aftermath, such as a sticky feeling in his underwear (Brian’s words, not mine). That sticky feeling was the result of blood, which happened when Brian met up with a big breasted punk chick in some ultimate punk rocking 80s club, called Hell. What takes place with this girl can only be described as the worst sexual pants mouthing scene possible.
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| Aylmer, a face only a juicy brain could love, or you know, Brian. |
Brian is starting to suspect that Aylmer isn’t the best friend to have in the world, so he tries to the kick the habit, but doing so, is actually a lot harder than it looks. Aylmer seems content to wait it out until Brian cracks and comes back. So, will Brian get clean and take care of his brain eating slug problem (something I never thought I would write before), or will he succumb to the seedy pleasures of the slug drug and allow Aylmer to feast on human grey matter? What about Brian’s brother and girlfriend? How do they cope with Brian’s strange changing behaviour? Do they help a friend in need, or just get naked and bang on the couch sofa (hint time, we see some boobies).
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| Mmmm, brainnnnnnssss. |
So, there’s the gist of the plot for Brain Damage and I have a feeling you’re thinking, what the hell did I just watch. I hear you, I too at first was completely confused and taken aback by how bizarre and strange this movie was. Still, I now sit here several hours later and find myself feeling like I really enjoyed this one. It’s chalk full of humour and never once takes itself seriously (I mean come on, a talking brain eating slug for pete’s sake). It also has some nice gory bits and a lot of bloody splatter and like I said above, a quick peek at some boobs. However, I won’t praise the film entirely, as the acting is pretty crappy at most times, the film looks fairly low budget and the ending comes out of far, far, far left field and leaves you in a weird state, much like the state Brian is in.
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| Man, Brian needs to clean the wax out of his ears. |
Brain Damage is most definitely a film which will only attract a certain group of people, who enjoy bizarre situations, with a lot of raunchy and obscene humour (that night club scene for example). I personally sat through most of film, confused as to what I was witnessing, but never once felt like I was having a bad time. The only thing I can really say that may convince you to give this movie a watch, is if you happened to look up the definition of ‘insanely insane’, you would probably see a picture of Aylmer, the brain eating slug next to it and that my friends is how an unknown, but completely enjoyable film comes to be born. Born via a phallic-looking, suave-talking, brain-eating slug creature.
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