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Brain Damage

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.

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?

The 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.

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Society

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Shivers

Shivers

Horror · 1975

The residents of a suburban high-rise apartment building are infected by parasites that turn them into mindless nymphomaniac fiends.

The Bride!

The Bride!

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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.

Frankenhooker

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.

Event Horizon

Event Horizon

Horror · 1997

In 2047, a group of astronauts are sent to investigate and salvage the starship Event Horizon which disappeared mysteriously seven years before on its maiden voyage. However, it soon becomes evident that something sinister resides in its corridors.

Bad

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Hazel runs a beauty salon out of her house, but makes extra money by providing ruthless women the oppurtunity to perform hit jobs. L.T. is a parasite, and contacts Hazel looking for work after he runs out of money. She is reluctant to use him for a hit, since she prefers using women, but decides to try him on a trial basis. Meanwhile, the cop she pays off wants an arrest to make it look like he's doing his job, but Hazel doesn't want to sacrifice any of her "associates". The sleazy side of life is explored in this delightfully dark and deadpan film.

Eraserhead

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Black Box

Black Box

Horror · 2026

A routine domestic flight turns into the flight from hell through a series of inexplicable phenomena and raw terror. Surreal encounters blur the boundaries between reality and nightmare. Passengers fight against all the odds in an attempt to survive while combating bizarre technological malfunctions, accelerating supernatural events and alien influences.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Frank Henenlotter

Written by

Frank Henenlotter

Rick Hearst

Rick Hearst

Brian

Gordon MacDonald

Gordon MacDonald

Mike

Jennifer Lowry

Jennifer Lowry

Barbara

John Zacherle

John Zacherle

Aylmer (voice)

Theo Barnes

Theo Barnes

Morris

L

Lucille Saint-Peter

Martha

Vicki Darnell

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 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.

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.