Day 317: Brain Dead

Brain Dead

In your face!

When you've watched over 300 horror movies in a calendar year, you tend to get bored. For every good horror movie, there's about 50 that are terrible. Find me a great unique zombie movie and I'll find you 10 that are almost exactly the same and boring as shit. In order to stave off boredom, I have to resort to searching for movies with interesting story choices, different directors, or in today's case, an almost mythical combination of actors.

Brain Dead (not to be confused with Peter Jackson's Braindead/Dead Alive) is a 1990 psychological horror movie starring Bill Pullman (Independence Day, Spaceballs) as neurosurgeon Dr. Rex Martin. Martin is actively researching brain afflictions, specifically paranoia. He works in a lab literally filled with jars containing brains. He cares deeply for each brain stating they once belonged to actual people and deserve to be treated with respect. School friend Jim Reston (Bill Paxton, Apollo 13, Frailty), a successful businessman at the omni-corporation Eunice, reaches out to Martin when a work problem arises. John Halsey, a mathematician for Eunice, was working on something extremely secretive when he suffered a mental breakdown. Now in a mental institution, Halsey is extremely paranoid and unable to answer the most basic of questions. Martin performs brain surgery on Halsey, but begins to have strange hallucinations and dreams. He constantly sees a man in white, covered with blood, wherever he goes. Martin begins to feel paranoid, as if he is being followed. He soon suspects that his wife is cheating on him with Jim. The dreams and hallucinations intensify and soon Martin wakes up in the mental institution. The man covered in blood is now his doctor who informs Martin that there is no Halsey and that Martin was never a neurosurgeon. What is reality and what is fiction in Dr. Martin's world and will he ever find out the truth?

"You're right. His brains do look like my mother."

When your movie is based around the idea of the main character having no idea what is happening, the same is going to happen with the audience. Of course, that's the point as the audience is along for the ride, going through the same twists and turns as the main character. This type of story needs to carefully weave the story without leaving the audience bored and confused. Brain Dead comes very close to hitting that threshold. Some movies are able to pull off the crazy “what the hell is going on” genre, but Brain Dead never goes full out, content with just confusing the audience. I really wanted to know what really was happening with Dr. Martin, but everything is such a confused mess that I soon stopped caring. The inclusion of the man covered in blood was unsettling, but we don't get him for long as the dreams continue to change. The movie does have a little bit of gore and if you're squeamish, you may really squirm at the brain surgery scenes.

The big reason why I chose this movie is because it has both Bill Pullman and Bill Paxton. Both men are constantly confused with one another so it's fun to see them in the same movie. It's almost like seeing a unicorn ride the Loch Ness monster. Remember, Bill Pullman played the president in Independence Day and Bill Paxton is the other guy. It's fun to see them interact as they have very good chemistry with each other. Pullman pulls off the neurotic scientist role very well and Paxton was born to be a slimy late 80's businessman. Beyond that, the movie doesn't have much to offer. Other than the blood-covered man, there are no real scares and very little tension. Existential moments come off as forced or silly when they should have been deep and poignant. The ending is a little disappointing considering all the twists and turns in the story. 

Best buddy movie ever

Other than the neat quirk of having Bill Pullman and Bill Paxton in the same movie, there isn't anything special about Brain Dead. Many other movies try to confuse the audience with dreams and hallucinations with better results. Brain Dead is too confusing for it's own good and ends up reducing the audience's interest. All the plot twists become tiresome and annoying halfway through the movie, leaving the audience bored and restless. There aren't many scares, but if you have a weak stomach, you may want to skip certain surgery scenes. The one bright-side of the movie? At least you now know the name of the movie that had both Pullman and Paxton in it. Now go win trivia night at your local bar.

3/10

Day 164: Bug

Bug

Excuse me, you have a face on your face

I'm not really one for conspiracies. Sure, they're kind of fun to read about in their own over-the-top sort of way. I don't believe that there's a group of people controlling the planet, I don't think the government is watching us through our cereal, and I don't think that Elvis was an alien. Like I said, they're kind of funny, but not based in reality. Not that that stops people from writing books, making videos, screaming from the sidewalks, or voting for Ron Paul. Conspiracies play well in fiction because the audience never knows exactly what is going on, which can create an exciting experience. In movies, it's even better because you get explosions, loud music, and in this movie, Ashley Judd.

Bug is a 2006 horror thriller based off a play of the same name written by Tracy Letts, starring Ashley Judd (Kiss The Girls, High Crimes) as Agnes White and Michael Shannon (Revolutionary Road, Boardwalk Empire) as Peter Evans. Agnes is a waitress living in a run-down motel, constantly afraid of her ex-husband Jerry (Harry Connick Jr., Independence Day, Dolphin Tale) who recently got out of jail. They had a son together named Lloyd who went missing years ago and Agnes has never recovered. Her friend R.C. Brings over Peter, who is quite, but is attracted to Agnes. In their loneliness, they connect with each other and make love. It's after having sex that they begin to have a bug infestation in their room. Sores begin to appear on both of their bodies. Agnes goes to the doctor who informs her that they aren't bug bites and in fact may be self-inflicted. Peter studies the bugs under a microscope and believes that they are eating his blood. He reveals that he was in the Army and was a test subject in strange experiments. He went AWOL and believes the government implanted him with the bugs. Peter rips out a tooth which he believes has an egg sack in side of it. When Agnes looks under a microscope, she sees millions of bugs. The descend into hysteria, covering the motel room in aluminum foil and bug zappers and digging deeper into the government conspiracy that they were brought together for a very specific reason. Are the bugs really there or are Agnes and Peter just insane?

"The government is in our elbows! Freedom! Liberty! Constitution! Ron Paul 2016!!11!"

Interesting is a good way to describe Bug. I honestly was expecting a movie about horrible alien bugs infesting a house or something along those lines. To my surprise, the movie is far more deeper than I could have ever expected. It's not your traditional horror movie, with the fear coming more from erratic behavior and the unknown than big, scary monsters. Confusing is another good way to describe Bug. The paranoia is palpable and you begin to question what exactly is going on. Sometimes it become frustrating because you just want to know what's going on. It didn't help that for half the movie, nothing really happens. I appreciate the desire to develop characters, but there were some scenes that devolved into Quentin Tarantino chat fests. I don't need an explosion every 10 minutes, but the movie went from no build in the first half to Noah's Ark in the last 25 minutes.

You're not really supposed to know exactly what is happening or what is true in Bug, thanks in part to the extremely convincing acting by Ashley Judd and Michael Shannon. They're not simply one-dimensional conspiracy nuts, but emotionally damaged and mentally fractured people. Harry Connick also puts in a very good performance as the raging ex-husband. The is brought together by the great direction of Academy Award winner William Friedkin (The Exorcist, The French Connection). It's actually quite impressive that this movie started out as a play, but I can see how it would work in the stage. Almost the entire movie is set in Agnes's hotel and there are only a few actors. There is a difference being on stage and screen and when you're watching a horror movie, you're expecting more action than what most of Bug provides.

Crazy? Do I look crazy?! Oh, I do?

Bug is not your usual type of horror movie. More cerebral and psychological than physical, Bug leads you down the rabbit hole of conspiracies, leaving you unsure of what exactly is going on. The acting is great along with the direction. The movie lacks in action, but tries to make up for it with suspense. The movie starts out too slow, but it speeds up towards the end. I would have liked a little more balance between the character development and story progression. It's intense and there are scenes of drug use and nudity, so it's not for the younger crowd. If you need a lot of action and explosions, Bug isn't for you, but if you like your horror to require some thinking, you might like Bug.

6.5/10

Day 115: Masters of Horror: Sounds Like

Masters of Horror: Sounds Like

I can't ear you

Personally, I like noise. Now, I'm not saying I like to hear gunshots or screams coming from the other room. I'm talking more about background and ambient noise. I prefer to sleep with music or a fan on, just so there is something going on. There's something comforting about a background that breaks the silence. Maybe it's because it stops the mind from focusing too much on the everyday problems. But what if every sound was excruciating to you? What if a scratching pen was like a rake being dragged over your brain? How would that effect you?

Masters of Horror: Sounds Like stars Chris Bauer (The Wire, Face/Off) as Larry Pearce. Larry is a quality control supervisor for a tech support call center. His job is to listen in on his worker's conversation to insure that they are meeting the customer's needs in a timely manner. Larry has an extremel ability to hear even the slightest sounds. He can hear conversations from across the room or the clicking sound of his wife Brenda's (Laura Margolis, Dirty Sexy Money, The Strangers) knitting needles. It was this ability that allowed Larry to hear that something was wrong inside his son. Despite hearing the anomaly, Larry was unable to save his son. Wracked with grief, Larry can no longer stand his wife Brenda, who desperately wants to have another child. Larry overhears a tech giving comforting personal advice to a woman caller. Rather than fire him, Larry confides in the tech and even takes him out to lunch. He is shocked when he finds out the tech reported him for being inappropriate. Larry's heightened sense of hearing gets worse, slowly driving him insane. He finally snaps when Brenda tells him she is pregnant by smashing everything making a noise in his house. The next day, sounds no longer bother him. That does not last long as the sounds become more intense with a very specific, almost squirming sound. What is the sound and what will Larry do to silence it?

"What's this horrible noise? Dubstep you say?"

While it may not seem like Sounds Like is a horror movie, in fact, it fits in very well with the Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits. You can practically hear Ron Serling's voice talking about an ordinary man with an extraordinary ability. To me, that's a very high compliment. The movie doesn't have any supernatural monsters or loads of horrific violence. It makes it's horror through the slow, agonizing torture of one man just through his sense. Chris Bauer puts on a very convincing role and without him, this movie would not have succeeded. Laura Margolis is just the right amount of annoying to make us feel like we are in Larry's shoes. When Larry hears a sound, the audience hears it too. It can be very grating, and I know that's the point, but it does become unpleasant at times. If you have sensitive ears, turn down the volume while watching.

The Masters of Horror hour-long format usually works for the short stories the movies are based on, but it felt too long for Sounds Like. Some episodes have too much crammed into them, but this movie was stretched out with not a lot of action. There is some mystery and intrigue to keep the audience from drifting into boredom, but there could have been a little bit more action. Maybe another flashback with Larry's son or an explanation of how his hearing became so sensitive. 

Larry smash!

If you're a fan of old school horror like Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits, and even Hitchcock, I think you'll enjoy Masters of Horror: Sounds Like. If you prefer monsters and bloody violence, you're be incredibly bored. The story is simple, but creative and the acting really makes the story work. The hour-long format is a bit of a stretch, but not enough to stop watching. Sounds Like is the thinking man's horror movie and worth your time.

7.5/10