The Big Picture
Frank Henenlotter’s 1988 cult classic Brain Damage is a wonderfully transgressive allegory with a wicked sense of humor that irreverently tackles both addiction and being in the closet. ’80s horror was chockfull of films that explored taboo topics and the moral scruples of the time, from mainstream sequels like A Nightmare on Elm Street 2 and the Friday the 13th to those on the margins of the genre such as Re-Animator and Videodrome. Just like in the 1950s, cinema in the 1980s responded to the repressed and conservative social mores of the time with some of the most boundary-pushing genre films that have since become classics.
What Is ‘Brain Damage’ About?
Brain Damage tells the story of Brian (Rick Hearst), a typical clean-cut, handsome young man epitomizing the 80s standard of masculinity, who, after suffering a strange bout of fever and hallucinations, realizes that he has become the host of a strange and otherworldly parasite. The parasite, who is completely self-conscious and has a personality of its own, goes by ‘Aylmer’ (John Zacherle). Aylmer has attached himself to Brian via a small hole in the back of Brian’s head, where Aylmer injects a blue liquid into his brain, instilling Brian with an overwhelming sense of euphoria. The catch is in order to sustain his euphoria-giving abilities, Aylmer requires the consumption of human brains. The rest of the film explores the codependent relationship between Brian and Aylmer and the lengths which Brian will go to keep his supply of the blue liquid happy despite a rapidly-increasing body count. Brian’s relationship with his very sweet and concerned girlfriend begins to suffer the most. She begins to suspect that there is someone else in his life and slowly begins to pull away.
‘Brain Damage’ Reflects the Director’s Own Struggles With Cocaine Addiction
The film is clearly an allegory for addiction and wanting to completely check out of one’s life, as Brian doesn’t remember any of the grisly details of the murders. Aylmer assures Brian that he will spare him all unpleasantness in his life, that he will make sure that Brian only feels pure pleasure all the time. Brain Damage isn’t subtle in the fact that’s an allegory for addiction, but it is extremely affecting and visceral in the way in which it depicts one’s struggle with addiction. One of the most memorable scenes in the film is Brian’s attempt to resist Aylmer’s juice. The movie goes into painstaking detail to capture every stage and symptom of withdrawal, from the sweating to the vomiting to the desperation. The most horrifying body horror in the entire movie is that which could actually happen. The movie is full of disgusting moments that will make the viewer shudder upon remembering them, from Aylmer’s suckers to the tendons coming out of Brian’s ear during one of his hallucinations. Yet, the unflinching horror of watching Brian’s body turn against him is arguably the least pleasant part of a film that thrives on its own unpleasantness.
Henenlotter has openly talked about how Brain Damage was inspired by his own struggle with cocaine addiction. When Aylmer says that Brian’s new life is one without “worry or pain or loneliness,” one gets the sense that this isn’t pure fiction in nature. Henenlotter personified his addiction, channeling his own sinister urges into Aylmer, who taunts and tortures Brian throughout the entire film. Henenlotter explained to Fangoria the year that the movie came out that while the movie is about addiction, the addiction is simply a means to an end, that end being escapism. The movie becomes much darker when one contemplates how Aylmer is a stand-in for anything and everything that offers a quick ticket out of the natural suffering and struggles associated with life.
‘Brain Damage’ Exploits and Satirizes the Decade’s Homophobia
Another aspect of the film which has attracted attention from viewers, critics, and historians is the homoeroticism which pervades the relationship between Brian and Aylmer. You don’t have to get too far into the movie to see the superficial allusions to gay sexuality. For one, Aylmer literally penetrates Brian who in turns moans in pleasure and ecstasy. Because of Aylmer and his juice, Brian has completely lost interest in his very attentive and willing girlfriend. When confronted by her for his strange, evasive, and erratic behavior, Brian explains that he has a secret that he cannot share with her. He has no more time or energy to expend on his girlfriend, and as a result she finds solace in the arms of another man. The homoerotic implications continue with the design of Aylmer, who is extremely phallic both in shape and function.
There is one extremely disturbing yet hilarious scene in which one of Aylmer’s victims is de-brained by unzipping Brian’s pants, only to experience Aylmer popping out of his pants and into her mouth. She gags as Brian holds her head in place for Aylmer to suck her brains out. The scene only goes to show that the sheer design of Aylmer was not an accident, and that when we see him, we are supposed to at least partially think of a penis. This scene in particular continues the trend of trashy horror cult films which took sexual acts and added a violent context to them, such as the infamous scene in Re-Animator in which Barbara Crampton’s Megan is given head by — you guessed it — a severed head. Playing with and poking fun at social conventions and various sexual practices was a staple of 80s horror.
Sex and Violence in 80s Horror
For better or worse, pushing the envelope by combing sex and violence was not uncommon in genre films of the era. Even Freddy got a little homoerotic in A Nightmare on Elm Street 2 (see the excellent documentary Scream, Queen! My Nightmare On Elm Street for more context). For a decade in which social and sexual mores were emphasized, the threat of AIDS and homosexuality were conflated and subsequently transformed into intense homophobia, and hyper-masculinity was considered a preeminent virtue, its no wonder that horror was so concerned with the collective obsession with sex and a perceived social purity.
Either way you slice it, Brain Damage is a fascinating and unique film that has a lot to chew on and grimace at. It’s gleefully disgusting, seeking to get under the viewer’s skin in ways that only someone with the sick sensibilities of Frank Henenlotter could. It’s a film that every horror fan absolutely needs to see along with the cult director’s other classics, especially Frankenhooker and Basket Case. It’s surprisingly insightful and personal at times, depicting Henenlotter’s own struggles with addiction, and reflects the obsession with social and sexual purity throughout the 1980s. Delightfully lurid, Brain Damage has earned its place in the cult canon.
