(1988)
3
Jeremy Wheeler
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.
Brain Damage on AllMovie
Brain Damage (1988)
