freakboy on film: BRAIN DAMAGE (1988)

Are you bored?  Lonely?  Unhappy with life?  If you answered yes, worry no longer!  You just need Aylmer in your life!  No, not Elmer.  Aylmer! 

“Come to me and get my juice.”

After Aylmer, a slimy, slug-like alien creature, befriends you while you sleep by drilling a hole in the back of your neck, he will always have your back or at least be on it.  For whenever you’re feeling down, Aylmer will simply insert his long stem into your newly acquired orifice and splash your brain with his electric blue juice so you will begin to see the world in a whole new feel-good hallucinogenic light.  

A little dab’ll do ya.

You will no longer have to worry yourself with work, relatives or love.  Aylmer’s juice is now all you need.  However, he will give you the courage to meet new and interesting people at dance clubs and communal showers.  You may even share some pleasurable interactions with your new friends before Aylmer eats their tasty brains.  Is that too high of price for this type of intensely deep parasitic friendship?  I think not!  I mean, Aylmer will even sing to you when you’re suffering withdrawal symptoms from a lack of his juice.  Isn’t that sweet? 

All aboard for this juice trip!

So, be cool like Brian in BRAIN DAMAGE and get your brain hooked an Aylmer’s juice!  Not sure where to find an Aylmer of your own?  Check random puddles or your neighbor’s bathtub.  When he’s not devouring human brains, Aylmer loves a-splishin’ and a-splashin’! 

A boy’s best friend is his Aylmer.

How the hell did I not see BRAIN DAMAGE until now?  It must not have turned up on HBO back in the day and my town’s local video store must have failed to stock it.  Whatever the reason, I’m glad I stumbled upon this late ’80’s gem on Tubi.  Writer/director Frank Henenlotter (best known for BASKET CASE) creates a wild and weird mash-up of sci-fi, horror and comedy.  The plot and visuals are crazy, gruesome and “so wrong but so right” style of funny.  Seriously, the back alley fellatio scene encompasses all of those attributes and will blow your mind, so to speak.  

Rick Hearst (best known to me for the daytime soap GENERAL HOSPITAL) is a blast to watch as Brian, especially when the character is joyously high on Aylmer’s juice.  Then there is the voice of Aylmer.  Yes, the slimy phallic symbol talks and he is voiced by “Dinner With Drac” singer John Zacherle.  It’s brilliant that Aylmer sounds gentle and intelligent instead of gross and scary. 

In conclusion…BRAIN DAMAGE truly entertained and defied my expectations at every turn.  So, if you need a fun distraction or a mood enhancer, draw a bath and lose your mind in a good way with BRAIN DAMAGE! 

CONFESSION:  I haven’t seem the two sequels to Frank Henenlotter’s BASKET CASE, but they are also currently streaming on Tubi, along with the first one and FRANKENHOOKER.  Guess it’s time for a Frank Henenlotter movie marathon! 

Freak Out, 

JLH 

P.S. Get your brain hooked on my  modern take on 1950’s sci-fi horror flicks and what happens after the end credits roll…