Brain Damage
1988 · Movie · R · 86 min · ★ 6.7 · 64% critics
A lonely young man falls under the spell of a strange parasite that delivers intense, euphoric hallucinations through an addictive “fix.” As the high takes over, the creature’s demands grow darker, pushing him into a grim, trippy spiral where pleasure and control come at a horrifying cost.
Also known as Elmer the Parasite
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Details
- Years
- 1988
- Release date
- 1988-04-15
- Language
- English
- Rated
- R
- Runtime
- 86 min
- Critic score
- 64/100
- TMDB rating
- 6.7/10 (303 votes)
About
You’ll likely enjoy this if you want a bizarre, gory 80s horror ride that mixes nasty shocks with a drug-addiction metaphor, in the vein of The Stuff or Night of the Creeps; Not for you if explicit gore and sleazy gross-out moments turn you off.
Pros: wildly original premise; darkly funny tone; intense gore moments | Cons: cheap-looking effects; uneven acting; gross-out scenes
Themes
- hallucination
- addiction
- faust
- public restroom
- parasite
- withdrawal
- high
- subway train
- metaphor
- faustian pact
- 1980s
- hookup
- +4 more
Cast & crew
Rick Hearst
as Brian
Jennifer Lowry
as Barbara
Gordon MacDonald
as Mike
Theo Barnes
as Morris
John Zacherle
as Aylmer (voice)
- LS
Lucille Saint-Peter
as Martha
Vicki Darnell
as Blonde in Hell
- JG
Joseph Gonzalez
as Guy in Shower
- BR
Bradlee Rhodes
as Night Watchman
- MB
Michael Bishop
as Toilet Victim
Directed by Frank Henenlotter