Brainscan

Switch on and power up for HI-TECH HORROR MONTH at Mondo Mondays, featuring terrifically trashy tales of technology gone wrong … so very wrong!

“Wanna play?  I dare you.” VR stands for “Virtually Ridiculous” in this nutty ‘90s cyber horror flick about a homicidal video game that’s out to destroy a grungy teen and give him the ultimate Brainscan! In this interactive trip into bad movie hell, lonely teenager Michael (Edward Furlong, Terminator 2: Judgement Day) loves horror films and computer games, leading him to order the hot new CD-ROM video game, “Brainscan,” which allows players to commit murders from the killer’s point of view while inside the game.  So far, so ‘90s. Trouble is, the first time Michael plays the game, he kills a stranger and cuts off a foot, thinking the events take place in virtual reality, only to find a foot in his refrigerator the next day. Uh oh. Murders in the game turn out to be murders in real life, and soon Michael is being haunted by the wise-cracking, flame-haired cyber-ghoul Trickster, who emerges from the game and forces him to keep playing … and killing. Pursued by a relentless homicide detective (Frank Langella, Dracula) who doesn’t believe in video game serial killers, Michael must decide if he should keep the cursed game going or just switch to Donkey Kong Jr. instead. A tacky and fun tech horror goof-fest awash in flannel, Aerosmith posters and hilarious early-‘90s VR special effects, Brainscan will have  you crying, “Game Over, Man!” (Dir. by John Flynn, 1994, USA, 96 mins., Rated R)