Horror Extreme Movie Catalog

After Terminator 2 - Judgment Day was released, alot of people thought computer monsters would be movies of the future. Alot of them went straight to video and are barely remembered, some went to theaters but never did much. I remember seeing this movie preview when I was younger and it freaked me out, and I finally bought it on dvd. I previewed the trailer again after buying it and thought "ut oh, i bought a crapfest." They do have T2 star Edward Furlong, which I guess at thus time was still considered a star. I thought the downfall of the movie was the Trickster, who was enjoyable but didnt really flesh out to be a villian and the cop he run into alot, should have had a slightly bigger part. Furlong is perfect in his role as a bored teen who loves metal, video games, and horror films. The downfall is the rest of the cast falls flat. A few good scenes are scattered about but nothing exciting. The ending started off as crap but the real ending was enjoyable but I guess. This film is watchable a few times but I wouldnt rank it as a top film.

If Brainscan were released today, there's absolutely no doubt it would be straight to video, but the early 90s still rocked coz the direct to video market wasn't so huge then and fun little horror flicks like this still got theatrical releases(Hell, Leprechaun did. Even Leprechaun 2!). Brainscan has Edward Furlong as a loner horror film obsessed metalhead teen who decides to spice life up a bit by ordering a new horror video game from Fangoria. It's interactive!! It puts Eddie in a kind of trance where he believes he's committed a senseless, random killing. After the game, he's totally psyched about it until he finds out that the murder actually happened. Soon he's visited by Trickster, a kind of metalhead demon that emerges from his t.v. Trickster convinces Furlong to play the rest of the discs in the series. Ya see, each disc has a catch that traps the player into having to play the next disc or risk getting caught by the police. This includes destroying evidence and even murdering witnesses. Soon Furlong is nearing the end of his rope. His best friend ditches him, the police are starting to snoop around, but on the positive side he does seem to be finally establishing a relationship with his neighbor who he has a secret crush on. So, how does Furlong pull himself out of this trap and get the girl of his dreams? Can he even do it? The answer is actually a very satisfying one if you ask me. I really liked the way this movie ended, though some don't.
On the acting front, Furlong is Furlong. The guy looks and talks like he's stoned in just about everything I've seen him in, and this is no exception. Frank Langella isn't given much to do other than be a snoopy detective, but he does it with style. He's a rather underused actor if you ask me. Amy Hargreaves is decent enough. She's no knockout, but that is what I loved. She's just cute enough to look like a real high school girl a young man might have a crush on rather than the fake supermodel types that tend to creep into these movies. Alot of flak is given to T. Ryder Smith, or just the character of Trickster in general. The character is usually seen as an annoying poor man's Freddy Krueger. Well, I liked him. The technology in this film, both the effects and the equipment in Furlong's room might seem ancient already, but it was a product of the day. That stuff was state of the art at the time, right there at the beginning of CD-ROM. It's kinda neat to see it actually, and it shows how far we've come in so short of time. Although I don't think the doodad Furlong uses as his telephone exists yet, at least not quite the way he uses it. Maybe I'm wrong about that though. Brainscan remains a fun little gem to rediscover, it does still deliver the goods for the horror fan. It's directed by the same guy who gave us the Steven Seagal opus, Out For Justice. And who on earth didn't love that film?