The defence The Arthouse Gremlin
“Its refusal to behave is the point.”
The strange choices create the kind of friction that follows you out of the theatre and into the argument.
Back to trending 
Brain Damage
Horror · Comedy · Science Fiction · 1988
Brian comes under the addictive spell of a parasite with the ability to induce euphoric hallucinations in its hosts.
Movie details
Brain Damage
“It's a Headache from Hell.”
1988 Horror · Comedy · Science Fiction 1h 26m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
6.7 / 10
Community rating
Brian comes under the addictive spell of a parasite with the ability to induce euphoric hallucinations in its hosts.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over Brain Damage?
For the defence
The Arthouse Gremlin
“The stranger, the better.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Popcorn Loyalist
“Big screen, big feelings, no apologies.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
Night of the Creeps
Horror · 1986
In 1959, an alien experiment crashes to earth and infects a fraternity member. They freeze the body, but in the modern day, two geeks pledging a fraternity accidentally thaw the corpse, which proceeds to infect the campus with parasites that transform their hosts into killer zombies.
Cold Storage
Horror · 2026
When a mutating, highly contagious fungus escapes a sealed facility, two employees – joined by a grizzled bioterror operative – must survive the wildest night shift ever to save humanity from extinction.
Society
Comedy · 1990
Bill Whitney is worried that he is different to his sister and parents. They mix with other upper-class people while Bill is more down to earth. Even his girlfriend seems a bit odd. All is revealed when Bill returns home to find a party in full swing.
Shivers
Horror · 1975
The residents of a suburban high-rise apartment building are infected by parasites that turn them into mindless nymphomaniac fiends.
Frankenhooker
Comedy · 1990
A medical school dropout loses his fiancée in a tragic lawnmower incident and decides to bring her back to life. Unfortunately, he was only able to save her head, so he goes to the red light district in the city and lures prostitutes into a hotel room so he can collect body parts to reassemble her.
The Bride!
Sci-fi · 2026
A lonely Frankenstein travels to 1930s Chicago to ask groundbreaking scientist Dr. Euphronious to create a companion for him. The two revive a murdered young woman and The Bride is born. But what ensues is beyond what either of them imagined.
Eraserhead
Horror · 1977
First-time father Henry Spencer tries to survive his industrial environment, his angry girlfriend, and the unbearable screams of his newly born mutant child.
The Resurrected
Horror · 1991
Charles Dexter Ward, a wealthy scientist, uses an ancient diary and human remains to begin a terrifying and bloody pursuit for immortality.
Asylum: Twisted Horror and Fantasy Tales
Comedy · 2020
Brandon prepares to give his last stand-up comedy show. As his stories and jokes pass, the public begins to cheer up. But at that precise moment Brandon will realize that these stories have a strong relationship with his past. More than he imagines.
Extra Ordinary
Fantasy · 2019
A driving instructor must use her other-worldly gifts to save a lonely man’s daughter from a rock star looking to use her for Satanic purposes.
Where it lives
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Frank Henenlotter
Written by
Frank Henenlotter
Rick Hearst
Brian
Gordon MacDonald
Mike
Jennifer Lowry
Barbara
John Zacherle
Aylmer (voice)
Theo Barnes
Morris
L
Lucille Saint-Peter
Martha
Vicki Darnell
Blonde in Hell
Court is in session
Put Brain Damage on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist
“Oddness is not depth.”
A film can break every rule and still leave nothing behind but the memory of how hard it tried to be singular.