Genres

Visitors Review

evil_dustmite 2013-06-15 16:59:14

must sleep but i don't feel like it maybe later

i have not seen this movie in years. i've almost forgotten about it. eddie furlong every girl's dream at that time. *sigh* not mine though. he was cute. not the point. eddie plays a reclusive rich kid you spends majority of his time playing games and watching horror movies. he finds a new game, a virutal reality game, that allows him to pull off real murders. but at first he thinks it is a game. what comes with this game is a demon or something sort of called the trickster. eddie has to fight the trickster and his sanity. sucky review i know but it has been years. i liked it when i was younger. pretty good. i don't know how i will react to it now. maybe laugh. who knows. if you haven't seen it give a shot. cool movie.

2013-06-14 18:19:21

Welcome to the interactive trip to hell

When Michael(Edward Furlong)orders the latest ineractive videogame called Brainscan,the high-tech game penetrates his subconscious where his darkest impulses lead him through a deadly game of murder,decption and desire.Michael just thinks it's part of the game but when dead bodies start showing up,Michael doesn't know if it's real or not and being prodded by the trickster(T.Ryder Smith),Michael is torn between the world of good and evil,reality and fantasy and of life and death.Brainscan is a totally cool and different kind of horror picture where even watching the film the viewer can't tell what's fantasy and what's reality.Finally after acouple of years of waiting,Brainscan came out on DVD and it's a sweet DVD to own.

2013-06-13 22:21:10

THIS IS A GREAT HORROR MOVIE

I believe this is a movie that all horror fanatics should see. I was glued to my seat the whole time, never bored. I think that if you want to see a horror flick and want a top rater see this movie.

trashgang 2013-06-13 10:02:48

pre SAW for the kids

lazy Sunday afternoon, and it's raining, what could you do, visit theinlaws or watch the first horror experience with your kids. Than thisone is an ideal movie to watch. As said in the summary, pre SAW, why,well, the kid got involved in a video game were he has to kill peopleto survive. Once that's done the game really starts, there arewitnesses. Kill them is your next mission. The movie isn't bad afterall, it's made when horror was at his deepest point of boredom. Therewere sequels around that everybody hated. So this flick is a relief forthat era. It's well done it's sometimes bloody but never gory, due thefact that kids are the main actors this film surely will do for thekids at home, I guess they should be 16 or older. It's a bit past thetheme now but place yourself in that era, the start of games, online,the coming of the NET, interactive games. catch it if you can, not easyto find here in Europe, some video retailers will still have it, Ibought a new VHS copy for a few cents, never regret that, enjoy thegame...and when your children are older give them SAW

Rainbow2002 2013-06-12 15:24:38

Buddies forever?

Brainscan is a disturbing horror film. Edward Furlong is outstanding asMichael. Frank Langella is good also. T. Ryder Smith is radical, however,asTrickster. He just blows everyone away with the exception of Edward.Overflowing with gore, Brainscan is one to please it's anticipating viewer.9 out of 10.

Rainbow2003 2013-06-12 10:03:35

I've played them all before

Edward Furlong is perfect as Michael in this priceless horror flick. Theremaining cast is excellent. The costumes are amazing. One of the coolesthorror farces around, Brainscan is sure to scare the viewer to death. 9outof 10.

2013-06-02 11:26:25

Brainscan is now a *must* as far as "Cult Classics" go

Brainscan is by far one of the most personally influential pieces I canrecall from the Horror genre. I look back on this movie as what can bemisinterpreted through the creative process, sheer possibility and thelike.This movie took a very creative stance behind the usual blandness of atypical horror story and made what could be interpreted as a piece ahead ofits time. In 1994, the internet was not what it once was, and peoplesunderstanding of it was dim in a mass perspective.. so a lot of this filmwent misunderstood or unappreciated at the time it was released. Only now,through home video distribution and release can people take shots at it,butare they really justified? This is a generally stated low-budget film(Edward Furlong did it obviously because he had some sort of passion forthegenre) and it was done with a certain degree of emotional intricacy. Lookatthe larger scope, don't feel embarrassed to admire what could have been, initself a Horror-genre redfining era that just didn't click with mainstream"pop" perspective...

CoolHand-4 2013-06-02 04:12:28

Extremely underrated!!!

Brainscan is without a doubt one of the better horror movies to come out in the 90's. Since it isn't attached to the SCREAM money machine, it is often overlooked. Well take my words that this movie is extremely original, well directed and well acted. A good cast makes this movie...and a great movie it is. Do not miss this or overlook it. It should be viewed and then decide for yourself. A rating of 9 out of 10 was given.

2013-05-25 10:21:12

Forgotten Early 90s Horror Films-Part 3

If Brainscan were released today, there's absolutely no doubt it would be straight to video, but the early 90s still rocked coz the direct to video market wasn't so huge then and fun little horror flicks like this still got theatrical releases(Hell, Leprechaun did. Even Leprechaun 2!). Brainscan has Edward Furlong as a loner horror film obsessed metalhead teen who decides to spice life up a bit by ordering a new horror video game from Fangoria. It's interactive!! It puts Eddie in a kind of trance where he believes he's committed a senseless, random killing. After the game, he's totally psyched about it until he finds out that the murder actually happened. Soon he's visited by Trickster, a kind of metalhead demon that emerges from his t.v. Trickster convinces Furlong to play the rest of the discs in the series. Ya see, each disc has a catch that traps the player into having to play the next disc or risk getting caught by the police. This includes destroying evidence and even murdering witnesses. Soon Furlong is nearing the end of his rope. His best friend ditches him, the police are starting to snoop around, but on the positive side he does seem to be finally establishing a relationship with his neighbor who he has a secret crush on. So, how does Furlong pull himself out of this trap and get the girl of his dreams? Can he even do it? The answer is actually a very satisfying one if you ask me. I really liked the way this movie ended, though some don't.On the acting front, Furlong is Furlong. The guy looks and talks like he's stoned in just about everything I've seen him in, and this is no exception. Frank Langella isn't given much to do other than be a snoopy detective, but he does it with style. He's a rather underused actor if you ask me. Amy Hargreaves is decent enough. She's no knockout, but that is what I loved. She's just cute enough to look like a real high school girl a young man might have a crush on rather than the fake supermodel types that tend to creep into these movies. Alot of flak is given to T. Ryder Smith, or just the character of Trickster in general. The character is usually seen as an annoying poor man's Freddy Krueger. Well, I liked him. The technology in this film, both the effects and the equipment in Furlong's room might seem ancient already, but it was a product of the day. That stuff was state of the art at the time, right there at the beginning of CD-ROM. It's kinda neat to see it actually, and it shows how far we've come in so short of time. Although I don't think the doodad Furlong uses as his telephone exists yet, at least not quite the way he uses it. Maybe I'm wrong about that though. Brainscan remains a fun little gem to rediscover, it does still deliver the goods for the horror fan. It's directed by the same guy who gave us the Steven Seagal opus, Out For Justice. And who on earth didn't love that film?

2013-05-25 02:42:01

GARBAGE

Please. For me. DO NOT WATCH THIS FILM. I just wasted an hour and a half of my life that could have been spent cleaning my navel. Maybe if you are under the age of fourteen you might enjoy the triteness of this waste of celluloid. I am definitely dumber now after watching this.

Daniel Richey 2013-05-23 18:53:06

An unexpectedly entertaining thriller

On the surface, Brainscan seems to be your run-of-the-mill dumbed-downHollywood hollywood thriller; Its plot seems gimmicky, it's got a youngup-and-comer/teenage heart-throb as its star, and it seems to try very hardto be cool, presenting us with the usual watered-down and unrealisticdepiction of teenage life that we've come to expect from studios: a surfacedepiction of stereotypical personalities, obviously produced by middle-agedmen deliberately attempting to target the MTV audience, which will seethrough it instantly anyway. But beyond all that, Brainscan is stillsomehow quite entertaining. Michael (Furlong), the main character, isbelievable for someone caught in such an unimaginable situation. Furlong'sacting style is really odd, bouncing back and forth between effectivelyrealistic to dedpan and awkward. Thankfully there is more of the former. The Trickster (Smith), however, is nearly the death of the film. While hischaracter is necessary to facilitate a lot of the events in the plot, Istill don't see why he has to be so lame. There are a number of scenes inwhich the audience just doesn't know whether he's supposed to be funny orfrightening. The movie seemed to be going for a dark comedy element but itjust didn't come together. Despite these faults, the story itself becomesquite absorbing. It reminded me of The Game, the way the audience was ledto question whether what was going on at any given time was "real" or not. It's a mystery to the very end. And the feel of the movie helps to reallydraw the viewer in-- the music is very reminiscent of Twin Peaks, as is thephotography. And the film does what any good thriller movie would do-- putsthe protagonist in a position in which nobody could logically help him, andwhile there are still plot holes, the surreal environment lends itself wellto the suspension of disbelief that is necessary for a this kind of story. Perhaps most importantly, there is actually a point to the movie: the kid isimmersed in a vat of his own medicine. The jaded, unshockable fear-lover istorn to pieces when he is exposed to true fear. The movie certainly has aTwilight-Zone-esque sense of irony that just makes you grin. It eveneffectively explores some philosophical issues: When Michael kills peoplein the game, is he a murderer? Is it enough just to KNOW it's not real whenin every indication it IS real? Does that, in fact, make it reality? Addto all that a few sequences with the lovely Amy Hargreaves in some tinylittle bedtime numbers (which is sure to capture at least half of thatteenage audience) and in the end, what it amounts to is a movie that,despite its faults and frequent silliness, is a very entertaining and funpsychological thriller. * * *

Scarecrow-88 2013-05-23 10:52:12

The Scarecrow reviews "Brainscan"

Michael Bower(Edward Furlong)is an alienated teenager who loves horrorfilms, is still haunted by the car crash that left him with a limp &took his mother's life, and is in love with a girl named Kimberly(AmyHargreaves), for whom he records with his camcorder. Michael is alsobothered by a business father who stays away from home for longperiods. He has a horror buddy named Kyle(James Marsh)who informs himof a brand new terror game for the computer which is supposed to be astate of the art virtual experience. He decides to give it a shotexpecting it to simply disappoint like other games he has played alongthe line. This game is called "Brainscan" and it has four differentstages with the first having the person playing actually committing acrime of brutal murder. When Mihael partakes of this the whole gamebecomes all to real when murders in reality begin taking place. WhenMichael discovers the death of a suburban man to be the one he killedin the video game, he wearily wishes to discontinue the experiencealtogether. This becomes difficult when a character within the gamenamed Trickster(T. Ryder Smith really hamming it up)makes lifeunbearable telling him about messes he needs to clean up. Each stageMichael has to play in the game becomes more difficult and it seemsmore deaths are a result. Actually, the film can be quite fun mainlybecause our hero keeps sinking further and further into quicksand withevery decision to play the next game. Frank Lagella plays DetectiveHayden..a man is our source of tension for he keeps suspicion towardsMichael always poking about. The film's special effects are hokey, butthe idea works for me..this poor kid decides for the ultimateexperience and is thrust into a macabre world of his own doingbasically because he likes escape through the horror genre oftencriticized for displaying mindless violence in the way ofentertainment.

2013-05-14 19:12:34

A nice surprise.

When I first heard about this film I thought it was going to be a piece of garbage. Come on, when Edward Furlong has the lead role you know your in trouble. The movie revolves around Furlong's character playing a new game called Brainscan. People then begin dying in the neighborhood, and we are introduced to the Trickster, who gets Furlong to play the game. The movie is well-written and the acting is better than you would expect. Also, the plot twists in the film are a nice touch and will keep you entertained to the movie's end. I promise that you won't be disapointed with the movie.

2013-05-14 07:07:21

Great Little Film Few Seem to Remember

Edward Furlong plays Michael, a neglected, horror loving teenager those outside his circle might describe as creepy. He has the latest computer technology of his day (1994), and when it comes to horror-themed computer games, he's played 'em all. So, Michael is pretty unimpressed when his best friend, Kyle, tells him about "Brainscan", a new video game advertised in Fangoria Magazine promising horror thrills like never before. Still, ever bored with his teen-angsty frustrations (like spying on the hottie-hot-hottie next door, Kimberly, if you like the girl next door type, which I happen to like best), Michael finally decides to give Brainscan a try. Unlike anything he's played before, it uses a technique "similar to hypnosis", creating a virtual reality experience in mindless violence and murder at a level Michael never could have expected. The only problem is, once the game has been played, you have to keep playing till the game is finished, and whenever Michael plays a round, it seems someone around him has died. "Brainscan" is a unique and clever, but sadly overlooked horror film from 1994, directed by the late John Flynn. Its story and the intended source of horror, in my opinion, lies in Michael's unintentional acts of murder, fear of being caught by a hard detective played by the always great Frank Langella, and the pressure he is under to reluctantly commit more crimes, causing him to feel completely hopeless in the situation and slowly driving him to madness. However, most viewers seem to focus their attention on "Trickster" (played by T. Ryder Smith), a game-host character who appears to Michael more and more, urging him to keep playing, and who perhaps puts many in mind of a not so scary but slightly more annoying Freddy Krueger. Here lies a problem Brainscan has with much of its audience, and I think the problem with folks wanting Trickster to be scary (and complaining that he isn't): he's not supposed to be very scary. I see him as more of a mythological trickster type character with a taste for the more horrific. Think along the lines of the tricksters on "Supernatural" or "Q" on "Star Trek the Next Generation", or Superman's old nemesis, Mr. Mxyzptlk; all tricksters with near limitless powers, and Brainscan's Trickster just seems to be a really horrible one who gets great entertainment from murder and messin' with people's heads. Then again, that's if he is real at all, and the film doesn't make that totally clear. But, my point is, he's not the guy going around doing the killing here, and he's not supposed to be all that scary. Someone like Freddy Krueger trying to be all buddy-buddy with Michael wouldn't play off as well as it does with a slightly goofy but creepy enough looking/acting freakazoid like the Trickster. Another problem some folks might have with this film is the ending. I won't spoil it for you, but this sort of ending works in some films, and I think it works very well here. The only bit I didn't like (because it makes no sense) is the very tiny bit tacked on during the end credits involving the German Shepherd. Putting aside the issues that some folks don't like the kind of ending "Brainscan" has, and many folks seemed to want it to be a "Nightmare on Elm Street" kind of film, which is totally not what it is supposed to be, "Brainscan", as it is, is a really interesting and fun ride. There's some goofball, '90's kind of stuff, but this is more like some of the classic supernatural horror of the 80's than most of the stuff we've gotten since the 80's, and yet it's not something I felt I had seen before. I'm really glad I stumbled upon the DVD recently, which I didn't even know existed. I had never forgotten this film since I first saw it in theaters shortly before starting college, partially because I always thought Amy Hargreaves (Kimberly) was a hottie in it (apparently, she was 24 when she made it, though playing 16), but also because it's such a fun flick. I just cannot believe it's already nearly 16 years old. Sadly, the DVD is bare bones, and the trailers it carries do not include one for the film. But, at least it's anamorphic widescreen, and I'm just happy to have discovered that it is even available! Highly recommended to horror fans everywhere; that is, now that you've been warned what to expect!

Shawn Watson 2013-05-14 03:35:40

A strange, curious little movie

I liked Brainscan when I was younger but it seems a bit dated now, evenfor a film made in 1994. It just makes such a big deal out of CD-ROMtechnology. I guess the only game out back then was Myst.Michael Brower (Furlong) is a lonely kid. His mother is dead and hisdad is often away on long business trips leaving him alone in his atticbedroom with his massive computer station big enough to be the Skynetsystem core (one presumes his dad is computer salesman or something).Horror movies are his obsession and spying on his would-be girlfriendnext door breaks up the day. For him, life is easier when seen througha TV rather than dealing with it up front.His attention is drawn to an ad in Fangoria, a video game calledBrainscan which promises the ultimate high in interactive gaming. It'sa horror game that is so real it'll chill your blood etc etc. Michaelis sceptical but goes along with it anyway. He dials the number andgets his (apparently free) Brainscan disc.The object of the game is to kill and that's exactly what Michael does.He's sent into a state of deep hypnosis through the TV and wakes up onhis ultimate killing high. So THIS is what it feels like to be JasonVoorhees! Trouble is it appears that Michael really is killing peopleand when he tries to shut the game down wonderfully mad charactercalled The Trickster pops out of the TV and involves himself inconversations regarding the nature of horror that become a bit toophilosophical.Brainscan ends with a plot twist that is quite ingenious and caught metotally off-guard the first time I saw it. However, a couple of plotpoints that occur after this make no sense and throw the whole logic ofthe plot into confusion. Written by Andrew Kevin Walker (the very manwho gave us Se7en and 8mm) you can expect there to be a certaintightness to the structure of the film but it seems to be to small andrestricted for it's own good. If more opportunities created by thebizarre story were explored and fleshed out it could have been a greatfilm instead of only being a good one.The Brainscan DVD is in average looking 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreenwith average Dolby 2.0 sound. The region 1 disc is really the only wayto go as the Region 2 is in crappy fullscreen. Neither have anyfeatures. Don't pay more than 5 bucks this if you really want it.

The_Dinosaur 2013-05-14 00:20:31

Must kill.......

I had heard of this film and when it came on as a midday movie I didn'treally want to watch it, but I did watch it and I actually liked it. Ithought that the film was better in the beginning then the end.The story goes like this: A kid (Edward Furlong) gets a video gamewhich is like virtual reality and it makes him kill people. after hekill the first person he has to complete the 3 other stages whichconsist of killing witnesses and covering up evidence. The end of thefilm though is one of those endings which try to be unpredictable(might of been when it was made) but I could see what was going tohappen in the end, which is really my only problem with the film.I had only heard bad things about this movie but it is actually veryunderrated. I enjoyed this. If you just want to watch something andhaven't seen this and don't want to work hard to watch a film, watchthis.

debhenrich 2013-05-07 14:29:33

Question and comment

First my question: The computer Michael has, is there such a thing and isitout for sale or can you have someone down load the stuff and you canpersonalize it so you don't have to call it I'gore, How much would itcost?My comment: I loved the movie so I bought and watch it all the time, ifthey ever made a game like that I would try it but have a friend there totell me the day and time so I wouldn't think it actually happened or gocrazy wondering if it was true or not.

2013-05-07 01:35:52

A strange, curious little movie

I liked Brainscan when I was younger but it seems a bit dated now, even for a film made in 1994. It just makes such a big deal out of CD-ROM technology. I guess the only game out back then was Myst.Michael Brower (Furlong) is a lonely kid. His mother is dead and his dad is often away on long business trips leaving him alone in his attic bedroom with his massive computer station big enough to be the Skynet system core (one presumes his dad is computer salesman or something). Horror movies are his obsession and spying on his would-be girlfriend next door breaks up the day. For him, life is easier when seen through a TV rather than dealing with it up front.His attention is drawn to an ad in Fangoria, a video game called Brainscan which promises the ultimate high in interactive gaming. It's a horror game that is so real it'll chill your blood etc etc. Michael is sceptical but goes along with it anyway. He dials the number and gets his (apparently free) Brainscan disc.The object of the game is to kill and that's exactly what Michael does. He's sent into a state of deep hypnosis through the TV and wakes up on his ultimate killing high. So THIS is what it feels like to be Jason Voorhees!Trouble is it appears that Michael really is killing people and when he tries to shut the game down wonderfully mad character called The Trickster pops out of the TV and involves himself in conversations regarding the nature of horror that become a bit too philosophical.Brainscan ends with a plot twist that is quite ingenius and caught me totally off-guard the first time I saw it. However, a couple of plot points that occur after this make no sense and throw the whole logic of the plot into confusion. Written by Andrew Kevin Walker (the very man who gave us Se7en and 8mm) you can expect there to be a certain tightness to the structure of the film but it seems to be to small and restricted for it's own good. If more opportunities created by the bizarre story were explored and fleshed out it could have been a great film instead of only being a good one.The Brainscan DVD is in average looking 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen with average Dolby 2.0 sound. The region 1 disc is really the only way to go as the Region 2 is in crappy fullscreen. Neither have any features. Don't pay more than 5 bucks this if you really want it.

krycek19 2013-04-29 20:34:44

A pretty bad film

I used to think this was a great movie when I was younger. Now it justsucks!! I think I'm getting too old for these kind of horror movies.Just like The Scream trilogy. Used to like them but now I think they'resome of the dumbest movies ever made.Edward Furlong probably gives his worst performance ever in this film.He was much better in another horror flick: Pet sematary 2. The problemis that he has no one to act against. The father is just a voice on hisanswering-machine and besides from his obnoxious friend Kyle, theridiculous Trixter and the not very credible detective who is on histail, Furlong is pretty much alone on the screen in most of the scenes.And at that time he still wasn't a good enough actor to be given thatmuch screen time alone. His lonelines would have been more obvious ifwe had seen his father at some point in the film. Like it would havebeen nice to have seen his father leave in the beginning of the filmand Furlong asking him not to go away again. But the the whole plot ofhis mother being dead and the father being away all the time seems likea lame excuse for the real plot, the stupid video game Brainscan.And like others said pretty lame peformaces from the rest of the castand cheesy lines.

Bram-5 2013-04-29 03:36:27

keep an open mind

This is one good movie. It twists, it turns; you won't know whether you'recoming or going. It kept me on the edge of my seat. It's scary and funny atthe same time. Here's a sample: The Trickster, a sinister computer-generatedcreature, is showing Edward Furlong how tough he is. He says, "You can pullout my fingernails" while pulling out a fingernail. He says, "You can gougeout my eyes" while gouging. "But," he says with a wince, "please don't playany country music."