Main Cast: Rick Herbst, Gordon MacDonald, Jennifer Lowry, Theo Barnes, Lucille Saint-Peter
Release Year: 1988
Country: US
Run Time: 89 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
Basket Case director Frank Henenlotter explores another bizarre symbiotic human-monster relationship in this surreal horror comedy about a young man named Brian (Rick Herbst) who emerges from a night of bizarre hallucinations to find a jovial talking slug attached to his body. The creature, a brain-eating parasite called an "Aylmer" (but who prefers the simpler handle "Elmer") came calling after abandoning his former companions -- a European couple who tried to wean him from human brains by supplying him with sheep brains from the local butcher. Preferring prey of the bipedal variety (and a younger, more mobile host), Elmer hitches a ride with Brian, administering doses of a highly addictive psychedelic drug to keep him under control, and sends him out in search of human gray matter. Understandably, this drives a wedge in the relationship between Brian and his girlfriend, Barbara (Jennifer Lowry), who doesn't buy the monster story but nevertheless begins to recognize Brian's junkie behavior patterns. Fighting a losing battle against Elmer's magic juice (and trying to keep Elmer from munching down on Barbara's skull), Brian is forced into a hideous showdown for possession of his own mind. Clever highlights include horror host John Zacherle as the Bing Crosby-esque voice of Elmer and a cute cameo from Basket boy Kevin Van Hentenryck. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
Review
Frank Henenlotter's follow-up to his 1982 classic Basket Case is another bizarre horror tale that pushes the comedic envelope while dishing out enough hyper-hallucinogenic imagery to merit its own cult status among late-'80s blood-spattered cinema. With a crooning, homicidal parasite and a drug-addled average Joe as its leads, Brain Damage does more than hearken back to the director's previous film, though this one's a different animal altogether. The film's balance of humor and gore are unique, as is the protagonist's addiction complex, which adds a disturbing element into the otherwise gruesome and often hilarious story. An additional piece to the film's puzzle is New York City itself. With many nods to the sleaze that once plagued the Big Apple, Brain Damage becomes a piece of movie history itself as the seedy world of pushers, punkers, and prostitutes are interweaved into the film's plot with a relevancy quite alien to how things have progressed in the city since. Severely cut in its original release, the movie has enjoyed a second life in the world of unrated DVDs, which has reinstated two scenes of extra gore that compliment and complete this weird little low-budget slice of phantasmagoria. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
Cast
Rick Herbst - Brian
Gordon MacDonald - Mike
Jennifer Lowry - Barbara
Theo Barnes - Morris Ackerman
Lucille Saint-Peter - Martha Ackerman
Vicki Darnell - Blonde in Hell Club; Kevin Van Hentenryck - Man with Basket; Michael Bishop - Toilet Victim; Beverly Downer - Neighbor; Angel Figueroa - Junkie; Joe Gonzales - Guy in Shower; Don Henenlotter - Policeman; Kenneth Packard - Subway Rider; Artemis Pizzaro - Subway Rider; John Reichert - Policeman; Bradlee Rhodes - Night Watchman; Ari M. Roussimoff - Biker; Michael Rubenstein - Bum in Alley; Slam Wedgehouse - Mohawked Punk
Credit
Ivy Rosovsky - Art Director, Charles C. Bennett - Associate Producer, Ray Sundlin - Associate Producer, Gregory Lamberson - First Assistant Director, Frank Henenlotter - Director, Frank Henenlotter - Editor, James Y. Kwei - Editor, Andre Blay - Executive Producer, Clutch Reiser - Composer (Music Score), Gus Russo - Composer (Music Score), Elmer Albrecht - Songwriter, B.B. Burton - Songwriter, John F. Calder - Songwriter, B. Elsey - Songwriter, Sammy Gallop - Songwriter, J.F. Garnett - Songwriter, Dick Jurgens - Songwriter, Gabe Bartalos - Makeup, Daniel Frye - Makeup, Gabe Bartalos - Makeup Special Effects, Bruce Torbet - Cinematographer, Ed Walloga - Production Manager, Andre Blay - Producer, Edgar Ievins - Producer, Charles C. Bennett - Set Designer, Al Magliochetti - Special Effects, Frank Henenlotter - Screenwriter, Bob Martin - Book Author
It features a young man named Brian (Rick Hearst) who has an unwilling symbiotic relationship with a malevolent slug-like brain-eating parasite called "Aylmer" (voiced by famed creature feature host John Zacherle). Aylmer secretes a highly addictive, hallucinogenic blue fluid into Brian's brain. In return for a steady supply of the fluid, Brian must seek out victims for Aylmer, so that he can devour their brains. The film was largely a metaphor for drug addiction.
Basket Case cameo
Near the end of the film, a man is seen on the subway with a large wicker basket. He is none other than Duane (Kevin Van Hentenryck) from Basket Case carrying his brother with him.
Reception
As of November, 2009, Brain Damage has a fairly positive 63% freshness rating on the review website Rotten Tomatoes.
