Review of Brainscan (1994) by Ryan S — 31 Mar 2007

Brainscan - one of my top guilty pleasure movies - is one of those films that's just so bad, it's good.

The story follows young Michael Bower (Edward Furlong), a horror movie and video/computer game junkie who comes across a horrifyingly realistic computer game that allows the player to commit brutal, senseless murders against unsuspecting victims. But when Michael turns off the game and discovers that the exact same killing has occured in his own quiet, suburban neighbourhood, he realizes that the seemingly harmless computer disc contains much more than just a game.

When the terrified teen tries to get rid of the game, he meets the Trickster, who informs him that there's a problem: there are witnesses - including Michael's crush, Kimberly. And the game isn't over until they are eliminated.

The effects in this one are horrid and the acting is mediocre at best. Even as a fan of Furlong, I can't justify his lukewarm performance. The Trickster, who seems like he's supposed to be a Beetlejuice-esque character, simply becomes annoying shortly after he's introduced.

However, the ideas - technological horror and virtual reality gone horribly wrong - are incredibly interesting, though they could have been carried out better.

If you see this movie, great. It's a fun way to kill a couple of hours as long as you take the movie for what it is. If not, you really aren't missing much.