Remember that dark 90’s movie written by Andrew Kevin Walker? The one that involved one of the biggest stars of the decade and concerned itself with murder and a detective trying to solve a case?
You thought I meant Seven? Oh no, I’m of course referring to the Eddie Furlong starring, John Flynn directed cheesy masterpiece that was essentially Drop Dead Fred for the CD-ROM generation, Brainscan.
Michael (Edward Furlong) is a teenage outcast. He’s got a cute neighbor (Amy Hargreaves) that lives next door. While he can’t summon the courage to talk to her, he’s got no issues with photographing her topless in a Rear Window way that even Hitchcock might’ve said was too much. Instead of going to parties and talking to her, he mostly just watches horror movies with his best friend Kyle (Jamie Marsh) during their soon to be defunct horror movie club and plays video games. Michael appears to be a bit of a tech head because he can answer his phone through his computer (way ahead of its time) as well as play the latest in CD-ROM virtual reality interactive games.
One such game is the titular Brainscan, a game that promises to put you inside the mind of a killer, allowing you to let some of your most base desires free. But of course there is a price.
Ever wondered what Undertow era Maynard James Keenan (Tool) would look like if you crossed him with a Lost Highway version of Robert Blake? That unholy union would certainly be the unimaginatively titled The Trickster (T. Ryder Smith), the master of ceremonies for the game whose sole job is antagonising Michael into not only committing a random murder, but then doing everything he can to cover it up, including more murder. It’s not a deal particularly suited to the betterment of Michael, who in true 90’s fashion is left completely unsupervised throughout the entire film.
Have I mentioned that this film highlights exactly what every parent feared 90’s kids would turn into? When we weren’t wearing flannel, listening to Faith No More, and reading Fangoria, we were obviously taking part in ritualistic murder, likely encouraged by movies, music, and video games. I’d also like to point out that not once does Michael’s dad ever get scolded for leaving his teenage son unattended and neighbor Kimberly throws a well attended raging kegger with zero adult supervision.
If you haven’t thought so based on the description, rest assured that Brainscan is one of the most 90’s horror movies that ever 90’d and I’m not sure how John Flynn, director of classic 70’s films The Outfit and Rolling Thunder ever got involved in this project. It seems like the perfect project for a fresh out of film school student to take on instead of a man who feels like he was unfamiliar with literally all of the subject matter.
Perhaps that’s why the one major adult role in the film was so well cast. Frank Langella, as Detective Hayden, doesn’t really understand anything the kids are in too, he just wants to solve the murders before they continue to escalate. He’s got no time for any hijinx and sure as hell doesn’t want the town folk to take matters into their own hands. He’s absolutely wonderful in the role and is the wonderfully voiced voice of reason. He’s a highlight in every movie and this is no different.
Sadly Furlong’s career peaked not many years after this movie, as adult roles never really suited him. But for those of us who grew up in the 90’s, he’ll always be the teenage genre star of the decade.
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
