Our story begins with a pair of old people in an apartment full of crap, not unlike the old people in Rosemary’s Baby, but far less menacing. They dish up some brains they brought home from the butcher shop and take them to the bathroom, where they discover that whoever they were going to feed the brains to is gone. Then we see the olds go fucking nuts; they throw/break all their stuff out of the cabinets looking for this pet of theirs (or whatever) named Elmer, and finally they start screaming and foaming at the mouth.

Meanwhile, in another apartment, a reasonably attractive young man named Brian tells his girlfriend to just go out with his brother tonight because he feels too bad to go anywhere. He goes back to sleep, but wakes up in a pool of blood that seems to be coming from the back of his neck to find that he is TRIPPING BALLS. Which, when you haven’t taken any drugs, means you are crazy.

But Brian is not crazy. He has been found and drugged by Elmer, whose real name is Aylmer. Aylmer is a blue and black penile puppet creature which attaches itself to the back of the host’s neck and squirts blue hallucinogens into the spinal cord and brain. It’s a great time for Brian until he realizes that Aylmer has been controlling him so that he can get out of the apartment concealed on Brian’s person and go eat people’s brains. The old people were keeping him locked up, you see, so he had to move on. But the old people aren’t dead as previously thought, plus Brian’s girlfriend and his hot brother have noticed some changes in Brian…

Brain Damage is a kick ass gross-out horror comedy from Frank Henenlotter, maker of such films as Frankenhooker and Basket Case. Mr. Henenlotter doesn’t make a ton of films, but he makes the one he does do count. They are not only hilarious, they also give Cronenberg a run for his money in the body horror department. Henenlotter typically features lots of scenes of New York City when it was really disgusting, and usually (I think) sneaks a moral of sorts into his films. He has said that his films are intended to be exploitation films. If there was any doubt that the director himself is a huge horror fan, the inclusion of horror host John Zacherle as the voice of Aylmer would clear up any confusion. If you have not seen Brain Damage, I suggest you pick it up. Maybe make it a weekend of Henenlotter films, since it wouldn’t take long to watch all of them. You have nothing to lose but your mind.

Now, for your listening pleasure, it’s “Aylmer’s Tune,” sung by the creature himself. Enjoy.