Brainscan (1994)

Brainscan

After Terminator 2 - Judgment Day was released, alot of people thought computer monsters would be movies of the future. Alot of them went straight to video and are barely remembered, some went to theaters but never did much. I remember seeing this movie preview when I was younger and it freaked me out, and I finally bought it on dvd. I previewed the trailer again after buying it and thought "ut oh, i bought a crapfest." They do have T2 star Edward Furlong, which I guess at thus time was still considered a star. I thought the downfall of the movie was the Trickster, who was enjoyable but didnt really flesh out to be a villian and the cop he run into alot, should have had a slightly bigger part. Furlong is perfect in his role as a bored teen who loves metal, video games, and horror films. The downfall is the rest of the cast falls flat. A few good scenes are scattered about but nothing exciting. The ending started off as crap but the real ending was enjoyable but I guess. This film is watchable a few times but I wouldnt rank it as a top film. June 24, 2008

Forgotten Early 90s Horror Films-Part 3

If Brainscan were released today, there's absolutely no doubt it would be straight to video, but the early 90s still rocked coz the direct to video market wasn't so huge then and fun little horror flicks like this still got theatrical releases(Hell, Leprechaun did. Even Leprechaun 2!). Brainscan has Edward Furlong as a loner horror film obsessed metalhead teen who decides to spice life up a bit by ordering a new horror video game from Fangoria. It's interactive!! It puts Eddie in a kind of trance where he believes he's committed a senseless, random killing. After the game, he's totally psyched about it until he finds out that the murder actually happened. Soon he's visited by Trickster, a kind of metalhead demon that emerges from his t.v. Trickster convinces Furlong to play the rest of the discs in the series. Ya see, each disc has a catch that traps the player into having to play the next disc or risk getting caught by the police. This includes destroying evidence and even murdering witnesses. Soon Furlong is nearing the end of his rope. His best friend ditches him, the police are starting to snoop around, but on the positive side he does seem to be finally establishing a relationship with his neighbor who he has a secret crush on. So, how does Furlong pull himself out of this trap and get the girl of his dreams? Can he even do it? The answer is actually a very satisfying one if you ask me. I really liked the way this movie ended, though some don't.
On the acting front, Furlong is Furlong. The guy looks and talks like he's stoned in just about everything I've seen him in, and this is no exception. Frank Langella isn't given much to do other than be a snoopy detective, but he does it with style. He's a rather underused actor if you ask me. Amy Hargreaves is decent enough. She's no knockout, but that is what I loved. She's just cute enough to look like a real high school girl a young man might have a crush on rather than the fake supermodel types that tend to creep into these movies. Alot of flak is given to T. Ryder Smith, or just the character of Trickster in general. The character is usually seen as an annoying poor man's Freddy Krueger. Well, I liked him. The technology in this film, both the effects and the equipment in Furlong's room might seem ancient already, but it was a product of the day. That stuff was state of the art at the time, right there at the beginning of CD-ROM. It's kinda neat to see it actually, and it shows how far we've come in so short of time. Although I don't think the doodad Furlong uses as his telephone exists yet, at least not quite the way he uses it. Maybe I'm wrong about that though. Brainscan remains a fun little gem to rediscover, it does still deliver the goods for the horror fan. It's directed by the same guy who gave us the Steven Seagal opus, Out For Justice. And who on earth didn't love that film? March 8, 2008

Underappreciated

Unlike a lot of underground "B-rated" horror movies, this one actually has great production and great direction. I think a lot of people, including myself, can identify with Edward Furlong's character. I know besides working, all I do is stay inside all day and play video games, so I know what that "distance" from people feels like, which seems to be sort of an underlying theme in the movie, at least to me. I recommend this movie to fans of Edward Furlong, gamers, horror fans, and/or loner types. May 12, 2007

Well....

I decided I had to review this when I read that some people didn't see the trickster as scary. I agree the trickster isn't scary. That being said, I don't really want to see him as scary because, to me, this movie isn't about being scared. To me this is a great nineties gem that reminds me of all the horror media I enjoyed growing up. Granted it's rated R and is a tad more extreme (being that it is brought to you by the same man who brought a movie about the seedy underground pornography industry [8mm]), but to me, it still has the same appeal of an are you afraid of the dark or a goosebumps. The kind of story that is somewhat of mix between friday the 13th, and stand by me.
Part my attraction lies in that the protagonist is a horror obsessed computer nerd, whom I resembled at more than one point in my life. I can relate to this kid of many levels and I guess I longed for an adventure like this to come along and sweep me up
No this isn't an epic, it's a movie of the week, but it's very sentimental to those of us who remember having the time of our lives reading a goosebumps or watching an are you afraid of the dark. If nothing more, the appeal of this movie lies in the less than popular kid getting the girl and having a few creepy encounters along the way. That story,no matter how many times told, will always draw my interest.
So I guess this is to me what back to the future/ star wars is to many others. They can have that. I'll take my brainscan July 24, 2006

Dissapointed

I am really dissapointed with this movie, i mean i thought the idea is cool, but just didnt play up to my expectations. Mostly because trickster was NOT SCARY!!! I thought he would be, scary and demented and forceful. Instead he breaks his fingers and sticks his fingers in his eyes, crap like that, that isnt scary, but rather funny and gross, you know when the audience goes "eeeeeuuuuuwwwww". Stupid. The background music was the worst part, its more low budget than Friday 13th, although i loooved Friday 13th, Jason rocks!!! But lets face it the music was a bit annoying
Ok, look i kind of liked the atmosphere created, the lonely boy in his room, his high tech stuff, but in the end of the day its just not a horror movie
November 16, 2005

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