BRAINSCAN dvd review
the summer of 1996 was a transitional summer for me. i had just graduated highschool, spent two weeks abroad (spain and france) starting the day after graduation (not to mention i went with a fever and broncitis), and then two weeks after i returned, i started summer college classes. not to mention i was only just beginning to discover who i was and what i wanted to do. well, there was one thing i DID want to do - spend every day of summer vacation hanging out with my best friend keith.
keith is a great guy. i've known him for years because of school (he was a grade below me) and cub scouts, but i've been best friends with him since my sophmore (his freshman) year of highschool. keith and i were pretty much together all the time - watching movies, hanging out, helping each other through our various out-of-our league crushes on girl who would never give us the time of day, and discovering the fun of teenage rebellion - parties, underage drinking, drugs (keith and i both had our very first "after school special" moment together when another friend of ours, pat, got us stoned for the first time ever - spring break of 96). needless to say, keith and i know a great deal about each other.
so, taking my love of horror films into consideration, for my 18th birthday, july 1996, keith presented me with a video cassette of a horror film i'd never seen before. that film, of course, was brainscan.
wait wait wait... so this is a review of the 1994 canadian-shot horror flick brainscan. why the best friend worship?
this is why: keith went on vacation for 10 days following my 18th birthday. finally, no curfew to be had and no age limit keeping me from smokes and porn... and my best friend fucking takes off the very next day. what the fuck was his family thinking?!?!?!?!
so, when keith gave me the film, he said something like this: you've never seen this movie, and i usually would have a problem giving you a movie you've never seen. BUT - you're going to fucking love this movie. i saw it on HBO once and it scared me. you'll love it.
that night, after i returned from hanging with friends, i popped brainscan into my vcr and hit play. as i watched from my bed (ever since i got a tv and vcr for my room in seventh grade, i almost always fall asleep by movie), brainscan started. i only got halfway through the first murder scene before i stopped the film. i was so worked up, and so INTO the plot that i was scared. (note: this is the ONLY way one could ever get scared watching this film). the next day i finished the movie - realizing that i was totally dumb the night before - and totally fell in love with it.
keith was gone for the 10 days after my birthday. in those 10 days, i watched that movie 11 times.
i don't know why. i don't know why, and that why i'm writing this review.
first of all, the facts of the case (re: here be spoilers): brainscan is the story of high-school misfits michael bower (edward furlong, terminator 2 and various hollywood rehab clinics). michael is a lot like i was in highschool in some aspects - he's a surly teenager who hides away in his room, with only his computer, his horror films, and his rock music for comfort. he pines away for the kimberly, the girl next door (the totally hot in a realistic sort of way amy hargreaves - she was a guest star in an episode of law & order once), and runs a horror club at his highschool with his best friend kyle (james "jamie" marsh of the robot rampage movie evolver. michael is pretty much alienated by most of his classmates, and clashes with his principal who bans the horror club.
michael, under the advice of kyle, orders an "interactive horror" cd-rom called "brainscan." the object of brainscan is simple - commit a murder and don't get caught. michael realizes the murder is real, and the game is to blame - it controls him through the televisions "blanking signal." he tries to contact the makers of the game, and finds the explination he's looking for when a demon from the videogame, trickster (t.ryder smith in the only role of his career), comes into his bedroom via the tv. soon, michael is forced to play the game again and again in order to deal with potential witnesses - including kyle and kimberly. all this while detective hayden (frank "skeletor" langella in a wasted, but still cool 'cause it's frank langella. he was dracula, man. and skeletor! fucking skeletor!) is hot on his trail.
admittedly, brainscan is a mixed bag. it's not very scary (with the exception of one sequence, a dario argento inspired scene where the camera follows the gloved hand and knife of the unseen killer), lazily acted, and standard as far as a plot goes... however, i still find it to be a fun horror film. the thought of a video game controlling it's player is interesting. the main character being a misfit is also interesting, and it's cool to see that the dorky protagonist doesn't want to kill. usually, these characters are all following in the footsteps of carrie - too much bullying results in revenge. but here, michael just wants to play his horror games and watch his movies in peace - and maybe catch the eye of kimberly in the process. THIS SOUNDS LIKE ME! i want the girl! i want to be in adolesence for the rest of my life! slackers rule! the film also has an interesting subplot surronding the death of the mother and the fact that the father is often away on business. interesting commentary on the absentee father...
ok sorry. so yeah, brainscan. the acting is alright-not-great. edward furlong is an interesting actor in that he can't really act, but sometimes his raw, morose, lazy delivery works. he was good in slacker, he was good in terminator 2, and he's good here. amy hargreaves is good as the girl next door, and jamie marsh plays an excellent stoner second banana. at times i feel that frank langella just phones in his performance, but other times i think the restraint works. then we come to the trickester himself, t. ryder smith. now, i've read many reviews that trickster was supposed to be the next horror icon - kin to freddy and jason. some people think that trickster is derivitive of freddy - in that he is a wise-cracking demon. so what? all of the horror icons are reduced to comedians at one point or another - freddy, pinhead, the leprechaun, chucky... they all spout one-liners... and no, trickster is no different and he's not very original. that being said, t.ryder smith does an admirable job at creating a villain with personality. no foul in my book.
it's interesting to note that brainscan was written by andrew kevin walker - scribe of such films as se7en, sleepy hollow, and 8MM. so this movie isn't really in the same category as those other films, but it's ok... not every movie can be entertaining as brainscan. hahaha...
the DVD of brainscan is a mixed bag. as far as audio/video is concerned, the dvd rocks. the film is presented in anamorphic widescreen and looks about as good as it will ever look. the sound is crisp and clear, and you have your choice of english or french subtitles. the dvd REALLY REALLY drops the ball on the extras department, offering only three trailers - and none of them are for brainscan. c'mon, fuckers! do you think eddie furlong and t. ryder smith are too busy to take five minutes to talk abou this movie? throw on a trailer for christsake, you lazy fucks!
ok ok. sorry. at any rate, i think brainscan is a flawwed but fun horror film, and personally, it's one of my favorites. the dvd is horribly barebones, but it's cheap and it's widescreen, so buy it anyway.
i'm giving brainscan four out of five eddie furlong rehab trips. sadly, however, i'm only giving the dvd one dose of methadone our of a possible five... c'mon - good widescreen transfers should be REQUIRED on a dvd - it should not be listed as a special feature. give me some fucking extras, dammit!
keith is a great guy. i've known him for years because of school (he was a grade below me) and cub scouts, but i've been best friends with him since my sophmore (his freshman) year of highschool. keith and i were pretty much together all the time - watching movies, hanging out, helping each other through our various out-of-our league crushes on girl who would never give us the time of day, and discovering the fun of teenage rebellion - parties, underage drinking, drugs (keith and i both had our very first "after school special" moment together when another friend of ours, pat, got us stoned for the first time ever - spring break of 96). needless to say, keith and i know a great deal about each other.
so, taking my love of horror films into consideration, for my 18th birthday, july 1996, keith presented me with a video cassette of a horror film i'd never seen before. that film, of course, was brainscan.
wait wait wait... so this is a review of the 1994 canadian-shot horror flick brainscan. why the best friend worship?
this is why: keith went on vacation for 10 days following my 18th birthday. finally, no curfew to be had and no age limit keeping me from smokes and porn... and my best friend fucking takes off the very next day. what the fuck was his family thinking?!?!?!?!
so, when keith gave me the film, he said something like this: you've never seen this movie, and i usually would have a problem giving you a movie you've never seen. BUT - you're going to fucking love this movie. i saw it on HBO once and it scared me. you'll love it.
that night, after i returned from hanging with friends, i popped brainscan into my vcr and hit play. as i watched from my bed (ever since i got a tv and vcr for my room in seventh grade, i almost always fall asleep by movie), brainscan started. i only got halfway through the first murder scene before i stopped the film. i was so worked up, and so INTO the plot that i was scared. (note: this is the ONLY way one could ever get scared watching this film). the next day i finished the movie - realizing that i was totally dumb the night before - and totally fell in love with it.
keith was gone for the 10 days after my birthday. in those 10 days, i watched that movie 11 times.
i don't know why. i don't know why, and that why i'm writing this review.
first of all, the facts of the case (re: here be spoilers): brainscan is the story of high-school misfits michael bower (edward furlong, terminator 2 and various hollywood rehab clinics). michael is a lot like i was in highschool in some aspects - he's a surly teenager who hides away in his room, with only his computer, his horror films, and his rock music for comfort. he pines away for the kimberly, the girl next door (the totally hot in a realistic sort of way amy hargreaves - she was a guest star in an episode of law & order once), and runs a horror club at his highschool with his best friend kyle (james "jamie" marsh of the robot rampage movie evolver. michael is pretty much alienated by most of his classmates, and clashes with his principal who bans the horror club.
michael, under the advice of kyle, orders an "interactive horror" cd-rom called "brainscan." the object of brainscan is simple - commit a murder and don't get caught. michael realizes the murder is real, and the game is to blame - it controls him through the televisions "blanking signal." he tries to contact the makers of the game, and finds the explination he's looking for when a demon from the videogame, trickster (t.ryder smith in the only role of his career), comes into his bedroom via the tv. soon, michael is forced to play the game again and again in order to deal with potential witnesses - including kyle and kimberly. all this while detective hayden (frank "skeletor" langella in a wasted, but still cool 'cause it's frank langella. he was dracula, man. and skeletor! fucking skeletor!) is hot on his trail.
admittedly, brainscan is a mixed bag. it's not very scary (with the exception of one sequence, a dario argento inspired scene where the camera follows the gloved hand and knife of the unseen killer), lazily acted, and standard as far as a plot goes... however, i still find it to be a fun horror film. the thought of a video game controlling it's player is interesting. the main character being a misfit is also interesting, and it's cool to see that the dorky protagonist doesn't want to kill. usually, these characters are all following in the footsteps of carrie - too much bullying results in revenge. but here, michael just wants to play his horror games and watch his movies in peace - and maybe catch the eye of kimberly in the process. THIS SOUNDS LIKE ME! i want the girl! i want to be in adolesence for the rest of my life! slackers rule! the film also has an interesting subplot surronding the death of the mother and the fact that the father is often away on business. interesting commentary on the absentee father...
ok sorry. so yeah, brainscan. the acting is alright-not-great. edward furlong is an interesting actor in that he can't really act, but sometimes his raw, morose, lazy delivery works. he was good in slacker, he was good in terminator 2, and he's good here. amy hargreaves is good as the girl next door, and jamie marsh plays an excellent stoner second banana. at times i feel that frank langella just phones in his performance, but other times i think the restraint works. then we come to the trickester himself, t. ryder smith. now, i've read many reviews that trickster was supposed to be the next horror icon - kin to freddy and jason. some people think that trickster is derivitive of freddy - in that he is a wise-cracking demon. so what? all of the horror icons are reduced to comedians at one point or another - freddy, pinhead, the leprechaun, chucky... they all spout one-liners... and no, trickster is no different and he's not very original. that being said, t.ryder smith does an admirable job at creating a villain with personality. no foul in my book.
it's interesting to note that brainscan was written by andrew kevin walker - scribe of such films as se7en, sleepy hollow, and 8MM. so this movie isn't really in the same category as those other films, but it's ok... not every movie can be entertaining as brainscan. hahaha...
the DVD of brainscan is a mixed bag. as far as audio/video is concerned, the dvd rocks. the film is presented in anamorphic widescreen and looks about as good as it will ever look. the sound is crisp and clear, and you have your choice of english or french subtitles. the dvd REALLY REALLY drops the ball on the extras department, offering only three trailers - and none of them are for brainscan. c'mon, fuckers! do you think eddie furlong and t. ryder smith are too busy to take five minutes to talk abou this movie? throw on a trailer for christsake, you lazy fucks!
ok ok. sorry. at any rate, i think brainscan is a flawwed but fun horror film, and personally, it's one of my favorites. the dvd is horribly barebones, but it's cheap and it's widescreen, so buy it anyway.
i'm giving brainscan four out of five eddie furlong rehab trips. sadly, however, i'm only giving the dvd one dose of methadone our of a possible five... c'mon - good widescreen transfers should be REQUIRED on a dvd - it should not be listed as a special feature. give me some fucking extras, dammit!
posted by nathan at 10:06 PM
6 Comments:
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