Brainscan

“When Michael, a lonely teenager (Edward Furlong, Terminator 2: Judgment Day), orders the latest interactive video game, the new high-tech wizardry penetrates his subconscious, where his darkest impulses lead him through a deadly maze of murder, deception and desire. Pursued by homicide detective (Frank Langella, Dracula) and prodded by “The Trickster” (T. Ryder Smith) who materializes into his room, Michael is torn between the worlds of good and evil, of reality and fantasy and, ultimately, life and death.”

Brainscan opens as we see the tragic death of Michael’s mother in a horrible car accident that leaves him with a bad leg. Now a teenager and still haunted by the image of her mangled corpse, Michael finds escape in horror movies and violent video games with ‘buddies forever’ member Kyle (Jamie Marsh). Oh, and he also passes the time by spying on Kimberly (Amy Hargreaves), his classmate next door whom he video tapes undressing and later watches it on his weird 90’s futuristic gaming setup. When Michael calls a number in one of his horror magazines asking for more information about an interactive game called Brainscan, he sets in motion a series of events that will change his life.

The game which Michael thinks is totally normal as it requires no hardware to run, but a beam shooting through the ceiling rendering you incapacitated, allows him to see through the eyes of a killer and is instructed to murder someone before the time is up. Naturally, this is enthralling to Michael, who can’t wait to tell Kyle all about it. As the two walk down the street doing best friend stuff and high fiving each other, Michael and Kyle come across a crime scene that looks a little too familiar. Could it be? Could the game be real life? Michael soon learns the truth as The Trickster, basically evil David Bowie, emerges out of his television set giving him a deadly ultimatum.

Brainscan was a lot of fun to watch despite one of the most glaring issues with it: it stars Edward Furlong. Why people thought he was a good leading actor for a short time is beyond me, and only proves that James Cameron is indeed fallible. Brainscan is one of those bad movies that is such a blast to watch, and part of the reason why it’s so bad is directly related to Edward Furlong’s performance. Throughout the film you’ll see him experiment with different forms of limping to play to his character’s disability, or forget it altogether in some instances. His monotone declaration on a video tape he records to prove his innocence: “I’m 16 and I’m scared to death” is one of the highlights of the film, demonstrating just how bad he truly is. A master of camouflage and concealment, you’ll be amazed with his skill of laying down in thinning brush in plain sight but evading all who search for him. While this may not be the fault of poor Eddie, it’s only natural to put the blame solely on his shoulders.

Saying that Brainscan is only good because of how bad it is can be a bit unfair. There are some impressive qualities to it: some of the CG, for example when The Trickster comes out of the TV, is really good and impressed the hell out of me. T. Ryder Smith playing The Trickster was also full of fun and hilarious dialogue with a wild portrayal where he literally jumps around the room. Their decision to cast this stage actor was one of the best decisions they could have made, as it makes The Trickster a very memorable character in a rather forgettable film. The music was by far my favorite thing about Brainscan. The main score composed by George S. Clinton was haunting, creepy, and so simple yet extremely effective.

Video

Brainscan is presented in 1080p High Definition Widescreen 1.85:1. Despite not having a new scan like many Scream Factory titles these days, this transfer looks very good. Free from defects that I could see, I was very impressed with the transfer they used for this title. Colors are balanced very well, and while the film has a bit of a darker tone to it, these colors still look bright and vivid. Grain is kept at a manageable level throughout the film as well. There is only one sequence toward the end of the film that looks pretty bad, even though the rest of the CG throughout the film was impressive.

Audio

The audio is presented in DTS-HD Master Audio Stereo. Learning that this was just a stereo track actually surprised me after watching the film, as the film sounded very good. There was a good balance between the speakers utilized, with no issues noted. As I mentioned, the score was one of the best things about this film and that sounds great here.

Special Features

So many new extras on this disc thanks to Scream Factory. Though I would have loved to hear how old Eddie’s doing these days, I had a blast watching the film and the extras, and highly recommend those who enjoyed the film check these out.

On this set you’re going to see:

• NEWAudio Commentary With Assistant To The Director Tara Georges Flynn
• NEWA Virtual Debut – An Interview With Screenwriter Andrew Kevin Walker
• NEWTalking With Trickster – An Interview With Actor T. Ryder Smith
• NEWMerging Realities Featuring Interviews With Special Make-up Effects Supervisor Steve Johnson And Special Make-up Effects Artists Andy Schoneberg And Mike Smithson
• NEWMusical Virtuosity – An Interview With Composer George S. Clinton
• Trickin’ With Trickster: Vintage Behind-The-Scenes Fun On Brainscan
• Deleted Scene
• Behind-The-Scenes Footage
• Teaser & Theatrical Trailer
• TV Spot
• Still Galleries

Although there were many films like this in the 90’s, Brainscan is still a decent watch made even better by grabbing some of your friends and a 6-pack to enjoy it! Scream Factory gives this a great treatment that fans of the film and potential fans will surely want to pick up!