Brain Damage

What we have come to know and love about a lot of horror comedies are their mindless, dim witted protagonists going from one scenario to the next while everything around them just goes straight to Hell. While Henenlotter's "Brain Damage" does have that bimbo-ish lead character, it's also an exploratory film that has a pretty well done analogy on drugs through the monster in the film, Aylmer. It's not a hidden theme or message like some arthouse horrors like to convey themselves as, but more or less a comparison that juts straight out at the viewer as the film plays.

The main character, Brian, meets Aylmer (wonderfully voiced by John Zacherle) after the leech-like critter escapes custody from his previous owners. Aylmer secretes a hallucinogenic fluid by means of a piercing tentacle that shoves in through the back of Brian's neck, and into his brain. Once this mysterious blue liquid pours on Brian's brain, he's able to see lights and colors that he's never seen before, but that's where the problems begins.

Without this fluid, Brian is a complete wreck much like a junkie would be. He needs it every now and again otherwise he goes cold turkey, craving for more and more. Where his girlfriend and brother enter the picture are where the problems begin. As he becomes more and more secluded from them, his brother and girlfriend get closer and closer. Brian, under the state of influence he is, cannot and does not realize anything else that is going on around him. 

The metaphor sticks pretty well and true, and aside from killing girls at a rock concert and others, the drug metaphor is easy to spot. While it's a pretty straightforward, and none too risky path, the end result is both comical and alluring. I honestly hoped that Brian's character would be able to break away from Aylmer's secretions, and every time I saw him crawl back to it or personally inject Aylmer's drug into his own self, it was disappointing to see. However, the fact that they made a character I could root for was rewarding in itself.

The ending was a bit polarizing, not in how it was done, but in what I could tell you about it. I'm none too sure how the ambiguous end result of the film would actually play out; would Brian be able to return to his normal self or would he remain an unconscious and mentally destroyed product of Aylmer for the rest of his days? For a happier result, I would prefer the first. But, seeing as how part of his head was destroyed, I don't think Brian would ever be the same person again. 

That being said, it really is no wonder "Brain Damage" has such a cult following. Then again, Henenlotter does have a cult following of his own, and I really need to start looking at more of his movies. Perhaps throughout my time on this website you'll see me tackle more Henenlotter films, as this one is more than satisfying to make me want to go out and discover more of his projects. 

However, until then, I can say that "Brain Damage" is a wholly unique concept that has a certain maturity to it that most horror comedies fail to reach even if they try.