''The Brain'' is a 1988 Canadian

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit physical or psychological fear in its viewers. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with Transgressive art, transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements of the genre include Mo ...

depicting a giant

brain The brain is an organ (biology), organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It consists of nervous tissue and is typically located in the head (cephalization), usually near organs for ...

-like

alien Alien primarily refers to: * Alien (law), a person in a country who is not a national of that country ** Enemy alien, the above in times of war * Extraterrestrial life, life which does not originate from Earth ** Specifically, a lifeform with ext ...

that mentally enslaves a town's residents.

Plot

Dr. Blake runs ''Independent Thinking'', a television show promoting a self-help, quasi-religious program resembling

Scientology Scientology is a set of beliefs and practices invented by the American author L. Ron Hubbard, and an associated movement. It is variously defined as a scam, a Scientology as a business, business, a cult, or a religion. Hubbard initially develo ...

. But Blake is not making his audience think any more independently – with the help of an alien organism he calls The Brain, he is using brainwashing and mind control. The only thing that stands between them and world domination is a brilliant but troubled high school student, named Jim Majelewski, with a penchant for pranks. After being caught flushing

sodium Sodium is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Na (from Neo-Latin ) and atomic number 11. It is a soft, silvery-white, highly reactive metal. Sodium is an alkali metal, being in group 1 element, group 1 of the peri ...

down a school toilet, Jim is punished and given a warning that he will be suspended and will not graduate if keeps doing pranks; reluctantly, Jim agrees to enlist in Blake's program as an alternative. He is then subjected to Blake's experiments, but he is immune due to being extremely smart and suffering from fantasy. He begins to have visions of The Brain as well as other hallucinations. Jim is aided by his girlfriend Janet and best friend Willie when Blake's assistant Verna attempts to take him back to the lab. Willie is killed by The Brain while Jim and Janet do their best to help free the residents of their town from Blake and The Brain's influence. The Brain and Verna brainwash the populace into believing Jim is a murderer on a rampage; Janet and Jim's parents fall victim to the brainwashing and turn against Jim. Jim returns to Blake's headquarters as the latter plans to broadcast his ''Independent Thinking'' to a nationwide audience. Jim beheads Blake in front of a live audience, revealing that he was not human. Jim and Janet are then chased by Verna. The Brain breaks loose and kills Verna before going after Jim and Janet. Cornered, Jim finds a canister of sodium and throws it into The Brain's mouth, blowing it up. Jim resumes a normal life with his parents as he and Janet drive off to school together.

Cast

David Gale David Gale (December 13, 1921 – March 7, 2008) was an American mathematician and economist. He was a professor emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley, affiliated with the departments of mathematics, economics, and industrial ...

as Dr. Anthony Berol Blake *Tom Bresnahan as Jim Majelewski *

Cynthia Preston Cynthia Preston, sometimes credited as Cyndy Preston (born May 18, 1968), is a Canadian actress. Life and career Preston was born in Toronto, Ontario. She made her screen debut in the 1986 television film ''Miles to Go...'' playing Jill Clayburgh ...

as Janet *

George Buza George Buza is an American and Canadian actor who is best known for voicing Beast (Dr. Hank McCoy) in '' X-Men: The Animated Series'' and ''X-Men '97''. Personal life Born in Cleveland, Ohio, he moved to Toronto, Ontario, as a young man and be ...

as Verna *Brett Pearson as Willie *Sarah Chapple as Debbie Hodges *Christine Kossak as Vivian

Release

''The Brain'' was shown in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

on August 26, 1988.

Reception

A contemporary review for ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' called the film a "cliche-ridden effort, with little comic or ironic relief to put a spin on its sci-fi banalities", adding that its "ambition to comment on the power of TV and gullibility of its viewers vanishes quickly."

References

Sources

External links

* * 1988 horror films 1988 films English-language Canadian films Fictional amorphous creatures Films scored by Paul Zaza Giant monster films 1980s science fiction horror films Films about alien invasions Canadian science fiction horror films 1980s exploitation films 1980s Christmas horror films 1980s English-language films 1980s Canadian films English-language science fiction horror films Canadian exploitation films Canadian monster movies Canadian Christmas horror films Films about psychiatry Films about mind control Mad scientist films 1988 science fiction films {{sf-horror-film-stub