Brainscan

[Steve B]

Say, does anyone remember Brainscan?  I remember watching it when I was 12 or something and it seemed cool at the time, but I haven't seen it since.  Just wanting everyone's opinion on it.

[Chadzilla]

It's one of those worthless sh*t piles that preaches geeky teen horror fans would have more friends and fit in better if they stopped watching those brain damaging horror movies and threw out those fanzines.  I felt rather insulted by it, as it said I was one video game away from a killing spree, which I wasn't and am not.

Another weird thing, the cute teenaged girl next door that the geeky kid lusted after looked like she was well over forty or something.  Creepy.

[Steve B]

True, I agree that it sucks big ones, and hell, if video game violence truely caused violent behavior, then I should have been locked up in the pen long ago since I've played games since I was 1 year old. Oh well.

[J.R.]

I liked it, and I hate, hate hate the rationale that video games cause violence. And it didn't make him kill. In the end it was all in his head as part of the game.

[Chadzilla]

Yeah, my biggest problem with the movie was its message that film geek is unhealthy as well as uncool.

And that forty year old looking teenager, ew! *shudder*

[JohnL]

>the cute teenaged girl next door that the geeky kid lusted after looked like she
>was well over forty or something.

 I didn't think she looked that old. I kind of liked her.

[StatCat]

I liked the whole concept of the movie and some parts were pretty cool actually (the scene where he creeps into the guys house and stabs him sticks out.) I don't know I'd have to disagree and say it was one of the better horror related movies of the 90s (there are very few though.) I can see where you're coming from with the whole concept: don't be a film geek and you'll have friends though. It wasn't just about playing a video game though it actually kind of just hypnotized you into this whole big mess of a plot somewhat. Well maybe Edward Furlong was just the unhealthly film geek anyway.

[Grampa_Seth]

T. Ryder Smith seems to have dropped off the face of the planet after that film. This film, to me and many of my friends, has a permanent place as a cult classic in our film libraries. It was one of those films that, although not so great, has a certain charm to it. Not many movies out there in mainstream hollywoodland that having the subtle pacing as this film. Nor do any tackle subjects such as isolation, frustration, depression in any sort of a real way. Of course, then T. Ryder Smith comes in and it turns into a freddy Kreuger type film... but thats the charm of it. Its a conceptual piece at best...

Oh and Amy Hargreaves who plays Kimberly is hot. I'd f**k 'er.

[Steve B]

Actually, on IMDB, T. Ryder Smith did an episode of Law and Order as Det. Mathers back in '90, episode 5.19....Well, maybe I have to watch Brainscan again and see how I feel about it now...10 years later

[Grampa_Seth]

Yeah, I saw that too. Det. Mathers. There is one thing the IMDB doesn't list.. a friend of mine who works at the village voice noticed during one of his reviews of an off-broadway production, T. Ryder Smith was on the cast list.... singing showtunes no less...

[Creepozoid]

I can't believ people a re drawng all these ridiculous messages. This movie was awesome.

[WildHoosier09]

Saw this one on the old "On Demand" one night.  I like the genre because its the classic mid 1990's "fear technology" type (others in this category that come to mind include "lawnmower man" and "ghost in the machine"). This is straight out of fears that virtual reality (remember virtual reality, you pay like 5 bucks per game just to put a dorky 10 lbs helmet on your head at the arcade and see pixalated bad guys, wonder what happened to that, nobody seems to care anymore) was going to destroy all society as we know it.  Makes me nostalgic.
Some parts I liked, actually kindof digged the badguy mostly cause he personifies the game and saved the film from dragging to a standstill.  Chick at best is modestly hot, I like his "voyeurizing" from like 10 feet away on his obviously visible balcony.  We later learn she's parading around in underwear just to show off to him but this doesn't explain why he feels like he is actually "hiding" with his video camera on a tripod obviously pointing at her.  And yes, she proves her love by showing pictures she took of him.  So stalking = love, eh?
I didn't get the "video games will make you kill" message, to me it almost felt like "a christmas carol" with a 14 yr old scrooge.  If anything the video game forces him to deal with the fact that he is totaly cut off from people.  Overall I would give it 2 slimes, it's not quite as intelligent of a film as it seems to think it is, but decent for a b-type horror.  The movie probably had more impact back in the day when all the stuff he has (holy crap, this kid must be loaded with cash, I want his phone) would have actually represented the latest and greatest in technology.

[StatCat]

"arcade" would fit along with the 90s "fear technology" thing too I think.

wow more old posts from me that were bumped up. I still like this movie and yes I think the girl he likes next door was attractive, certainly didn't look anywhere near 40 as I remember  I don't think she was ever in anything else.

the movie they're watching in the school is "vampire saga" took me a long time to figure that out.