Brain of Blood (1972)

User Rating:

1.8/10   

Director:

Al Adamson

Writers:

Kane W. Lynn (screenplay)
Samuel M. Sherman (story)

Genre:

Horror | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

A Blood-dripping Brain Transplant turns a Maniac into a Monster...

Plot:

Amir, the benevolent ruler of Kalid, is dying, but there is hope. Freshly deceased, he is flown to the United States where Dr...

Plot Keywords:

Voyeur | Acid | Brain Transplant | Independent Film

Cast

Grant Williams	...	Dr. Robert Nigserian
Kent Taylor	...	Dr. Lloyd Trenton
John Bloom	...	Gor
Regina Carrol	...	Tracey Wilson
Vicki Volante	...	Katherine
Angelo Rossitto	...	Dorro
Reed Hadley	...	Abdul Amir
Zandor Vorkov	...	Mohammed
Richard Smedley	...	Angel
Gus Peters	...	Charlie
Margo Hope	...	Pale Girl
Bruce Kimball	...	Jim
Irv Saunders	...	Victim

Also Known As:

Brain Damage
The Brain
The Creature's Revenge (USA) (TV title)
The Oozing Skull (USA) (DVD title)
The Undying Brain (USA) (alternative title)

Runtime:

87 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:GP

Filming Locations:

Philippines

Company:

Independent International Pictures (I-I)

Trivia:

The local butcher provided some of the offal required for the brain operation scene.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mother and Son: The Card Game (#2.6)" (1985)

The CINEMATIC TITANIC version: review

CINEMATIC TITANIC 01 THE OOZING SKULL

First, I'm glad to see this and I want to see more. The warm sense of reunion is a fairly good substitute for genuine entertainment.

But, it was something of a let-down. Maybe my expectations were too high. MST3K is one of my favorite things. This production feels as if it was done either as a bored lark or in desperation. It is not inspired. It has the feel of a relic... a leftover... serving a niche market-within-a-niche market. The jokes refer to such a wide span of pop-culture eras, it's practically a sure thing much of the audience will be baffled at any given time during the show. MST3K referenced a more narrow window of familiarity.

The absence of Mike Nelson as head writer is keenly felt. Mike, Joel, and the rest made up a wonderful team. That team is now fragmented. RIFFTRAX, uneven as they are, are on average much funnier than the CT-riffed OOZING SKULL. The FILM CREW's version of Hollywood AFTER DARK is much funnier than OOZING SKULL's riffing. The ideal riffing entertainment experience was provided by Joel as front man with Mike as the best brain. We may never get that combination again, which is too bad.

In CINEMATIC TITANIC, There are too many on-screen riffers. Each riffer has relatively few jokes. The riffers are shown from such a long shot it's difficult to get any sense of their presence and gestures. The whole thing looks like a post-production "cheat", not that there's anything wrong with that. The riffs could very easily have been recorded comfortably in advance, and various takes of the silhouettes just standing around could be combined in editing and compositing. The simple immediacy of three clearly-seen guys in seats offered by MST3K has been replaced in CT with a less visually-involving presentation. There are long sequences in CT 01 in which individual silhouette characters appear to be held frames.

The assaulted movie, retitled here as OOZING BRAIN, was an excellent choice. It is prototypical MST3K material and presents more than enough opportunities for witty derision. Unfortunately, many of those opportunities were missed by the CT gang. While I understand the need to let a riff session "breathe", there are many dead spots in this first episode - incidents which cry out for obvious jokes and receive none, and long stretches of silence from the riffers while hilarious incompetence unfolds on the big CT screen. Five riffers should make for more riffing than three riffers, and there was certainly room for more riffing. Instead of a high-speed barrage of appropriately deadly jokes offered in the best episodes of MST3K, CT 01 gives the viewer a painfully relaxed, almost disinterested stream of moderately funny observations. There are very funny moments, and I'm sure you know what they are, but there aren't many of them. It appears the group wasn't really giving its fully-focused effort.

Both the FILM CREW and MST3K have a structure that provides a pleasant rhythm: the silhouette/voice over sequences are peppered with host segments that serve as a resting place, some eye relief, a useful summation, increased familiarity with the riffing characters in sketch material that amplifies the riffing humor in a setting that offers more freedom than the commentary offers alone. CT (and RIFFTRAX) does not offer this pleasing, desirable, interlude. The complete lack of any explanation of why the little silhouette guys are stuck in an auditorium riffing on movies is disorienting. MST3K wrapped up the entire reason for its existence nicely in a short theme song. CT offers nothing. Beyond the instrumental theme, there is no wrapper material. No extras. No explanation. What the dang heck anyway.

I hope CINEMATIC TITANIC is successful and there are many more CT shows. It has to get better, and it's great to hear these people work together again. This first show, however, is way off.

In terms of value-for-money, CT 01 is a bust. I don't need to rehash the oft-repeated complaints about CT's despicably shoddy packaging and extremely high price. DVD replication and packaging is surprisingly inexpensive these days, so the corners cut here are baffling.