Brain Dead

Dr. Rex Martin (Bill Pullman) is a leading neurosurgeon specializing in the cerebral malfunctions that cause mental illnesses, whose expertise is called up by an old school chum, Jim Reston (Bill Paxton), who is now part of the mega-corporation Eunice.

If you happen to be one of those people who cannot tell Pullman and Paxton apart, this might not be the film for you... they spend a fair amount of time on screen together. If you happen to be a fan of H. P. Lovecraft, this might be the film for you. While the writer is known for his work with "The Twilight Zone", there are at least two Lovecraft references in this story. Can you catch them?

I was already intrigued from the beginning with the wall of brains in jars and the face that could be remote-controlled. But I was in hook, line and sinker when Jack Halsey (Bud Cort) showed up -- he is the epitome of insane genius. The phrases, the mannerisms... even his appearance. Thank you, casting director. You aced a hole in one. The homeless guy is a nice touch, too.

Bonus: Kyle Gass of Tenacious D appears as an anesthesiologist.

Bill Pullman plays a brilliant surgeon who decides to perform an operation on a psychotic mathematician.He tries to unlock corporate secrets hidden in his patient brain.As the result Pullman is plagued by a series of bizarre dreams and nightmares."Brain Dead" by Adam Simon is often confused with Peter Jackson's insanely gory horror comedy "Braindead".The script is clever and sophisticated,the atmosphere is quite chilling and the acting is solid.The film has pretty warped sense of humour,unfortunately the action is slow and there is no gore.A must-see for fans of "Twilight Zone","Blue Sunshine" or "Strange Behavior".7 homicidal mathematicians out of 10.

This is a very underrated movie that somewhat reminds you of Jacob's Ladder. The movie starts out with Bill Pullman as a doctor who studies brains and has a lab full of brains in glass bottles. Pullman is friends with Bill Paxton and Paxton is in some trouble with the corporation he works with and tries to get Pullman to help him. Pullman agrees and and he has to try and find out if a brilliant doctor, played by Bud Cort, who went and killed his family is actually insane or not. Pullman says he his insane and Paxton isn't too happy about it because Cort has some top secret information in his head and Paxton doesn't want it to ever get out. Pullman operates on him and then and the next thing Pullman knows he is in a mental ward and his entire reality starts to mess with him and he can't tell what is real and what is not. It's a great movie that should be more well known.

Brain Dead...where do I begin? One could easily go crazy thinking about this movie. Brain Dead was written by the late Charles Beaumont (the man responsible for some of my favorite Twilight Zone episodes) and was directed by Adam Simon (The American Nightmare). It's basically one long chaotic nightmare and, at the same time, one of my favorite films. It's a real head trip where one is constantly questioning the sanity of the main characters. Is Bill Pullman crazy, is Bill Paxton out to get Bill Pullman, should the two Bills be taken seriously? In this movie, yes. The Bills are excellent and so is the rest of the cast. This is the film that really made me take notice of Bud Cort. He's hilarious as Halsey. If you're up for some serious insanity, give Brain Dead a spin. I give this movie a 10 on the psychological mind bender scale. It ranks up there with Cronenberg's Videodrome.

Note for genre buffs: Miskatonic University is mentioned by Dr. Martin in the film. That is the same school Dr. West attends in Re-Animator and is mentioned in many films based on the works of H.P. Lovecraft.

Bill Pullman and Bill Paxton star in this ambitious sci-fi thriller from director Adam Simon ("Carnosaur") and the late, great writer Charles Beaumont (known for his work on 'The Twilight Zone' and Roger Corman films). Pullman stars as Rex Martin, a brilliant young scientist who becomes involved in a plan to pry vital information from the mind of Jack Halsey (Bud Cort), an equally brilliant mathematician. Also worked into the plot is the idea of erasing unpleasant memories from peoples' brains, or otherwise changing their personalities.

It's all quite an intriguing set-up by Beaumont, although the film doesn't really reach its full potential due to ultimately telling a rather routine story. And it's a story that falls back on the time-honoured theme of forcing the lead character and audience to figure out what is fantasy and what is reality. As this tale progresses, Rex suffers from visions and hallucinations that may well be the product of a deteriorating mind. Eventually, it resolves itself in a way that isn't exactly unpredictable.

Still, the ride taken here is interesting. "Brain Dead" is certainly a notch above most product created by Concorde, the company formed by Corman after his departure from New World. It's played as well as it can be played by a top cast, with Pullman and Paxton in fine form. (One of the questions posed is whether or not Paxton, as Pullmans' friend, is a smarmy, self-serving jerk just out for himself.) George Kennedy does not get to do much as a corporation head, but sexy Patricia Charbonneau is easy to watch as Pullmans' wife, and character actor Nicholas Pryor has a field day in a trio of inter-related roles. Other familiar faces include Lee Arenberg, Willie Garson, Brent Hinkley, and Kyle Gass. Paxtons' father John has a bit as a board member. But it's Cort, a longtime specialist in quirky and offbeat parts, who tends to steal the show much of the time.

"Brain Dead" is, overall, adequately filmed, and it shows its audience a pretty good time. Some gore here and there, decent makeup effects (especially the "experimental face"), and a fine score by Peter Rotter help to keep it watchable.

Produced by Cormans' wife Julie.

Seven out of 10.