The Brain That Wouldn't Die (1962)
The Brain That Wouldn't Die (1962)
AKA: The Head That Wouldn't Die
The 1950's and 1960's were the atomic age of science fiction and horror films, featuring a plethora of films about mad scientists, and creature features, of science and atomic energy gone wrong, many of these films became cult classics, written off by critics at the time, but developing a strong underground following. One of these great cult classic mad scientists films was The Brain That Wouldn't Die from 1962, though to be fair the film was actually completed in 1959 with the title The Black Door, but wouldn't see a theatrical release until 1962. The film follows the story of a brilliant brain surgeon who is performing secret experiments in a lab in his families country home. He is experimenting in techniques to keep tissues alive so that it can be transplanted, and also in a technique to keep that tissue from being rejected from the body. His past failures had resulted in a man made monster that keeps locked in a closet, and his assistant's twisted deformed arm. But when he and his girlfriend get in a car accident and she loses her head and her body is destroyed, he takes her severed head to his lab, and goes body hunting so that he can rebuild his love. But she is not too happy about being brought back to life, and with her newly discovered power to speak with the creature behind the door, she vows her revenge on the man who wouldn't let her die. Maybe this film serves as a lesson about letting go when things come to an end, and not forcing things to continue.
The Brain That Wouldn't Die was directed by Joseph Green, with screenplay by Green and Rex Carlton. Carlton was also co-producer for the film, with Mort Landberg. The film was distributed by American International Pictures, and released in 1962. Due to a mistaken failure to include a copyright credit on the film, it went instantly into public domain. The Brain That Wouldn't Die was heavily criticized by the critics for it's excessive violence and gore, campy and low budget special effects, and awkward directing and dialogue.
The Brain That Wouldn't Die stars Jason Evers as Dr. Bill Cortner, Virginia Leith as Jan Compton, Leslie Daniel as Kurt, and Adele Lamont as Doris Powell. The film also features an appearance by "The Jewish Giant" Eddie Carmel, who was best known as a circus performer but had appeared in a couple films, and was billed as being around 9 foot tall because of him having acromegaly, which caused him to grow to giant proportions, which is the same thing that Andre The Giant, and several other famous pro wrestlers had. The cast is exactly what I expect from a low budget b-sci-fi horror film, they are definitely not top notch actors, and some of the dialogue and acting feels a bit hokey and unnatural. However that works for this film, this is a campy film, that comes off as being unintentionally comedic, which works effectively for the type of film that it is.
This was never a film that the high-brow critics would have found appealing, it is a film that was destined to be a cult classic, and all of the things that the critics derided it for are the exact same things that have garnered its cult following. This film doesn't shy away from gore, which is impressive for the time period, because it seems that gore was pretty minimal until George Romero's Night Of The Living Dead, but this film has some things that would definitely have shocked viewers at the time. Also as much as this is a low budget film, and many of the special effects are pretty shoddy, I will say that there are a few times that this film is impressive as far as effects go. I remember the first time that I saw it, being impressed when the camera pulls back from the table, where her head is, and the bottom of the table isn't hidden, which meant that her body had to be removed from the shot, and it was done pretty well. This isn't a film if you are looking for a serious film, but if you like low budget science fiction horror films, with a level of cheesiness then this is a pretty great film. I do actually recommend this film, it isn't a must-see at all, but it is still a pretty great film for what it is, and I can definitely be a fun time, with just enough gross out and horror to make it great. Also just want to show a little appreciation for Eddie Carmel, and Jan Compton, whose performances and effects were great as the monsters/victims of the story. If you haven't seen The Brain That Wouldn't Die, I recommend checking it out.
The Brain That Wouldn't Die was directed by Joseph Green, with screenplay by Green and Rex Carlton. Carlton was also co-producer for the film, with Mort Landberg. The film was distributed by American International Pictures, and released in 1962. Due to a mistaken failure to include a copyright credit on the film, it went instantly into public domain. The Brain That Wouldn't Die was heavily criticized by the critics for it's excessive violence and gore, campy and low budget special effects, and awkward directing and dialogue.
The Brain That Wouldn't Die stars Jason Evers as Dr. Bill Cortner, Virginia Leith as Jan Compton, Leslie Daniel as Kurt, and Adele Lamont as Doris Powell. The film also features an appearance by "The Jewish Giant" Eddie Carmel, who was best known as a circus performer but had appeared in a couple films, and was billed as being around 9 foot tall because of him having acromegaly, which caused him to grow to giant proportions, which is the same thing that Andre The Giant, and several other famous pro wrestlers had. The cast is exactly what I expect from a low budget b-sci-fi horror film, they are definitely not top notch actors, and some of the dialogue and acting feels a bit hokey and unnatural. However that works for this film, this is a campy film, that comes off as being unintentionally comedic, which works effectively for the type of film that it is.
This was never a film that the high-brow critics would have found appealing, it is a film that was destined to be a cult classic, and all of the things that the critics derided it for are the exact same things that have garnered its cult following. This film doesn't shy away from gore, which is impressive for the time period, because it seems that gore was pretty minimal until George Romero's Night Of The Living Dead, but this film has some things that would definitely have shocked viewers at the time. Also as much as this is a low budget film, and many of the special effects are pretty shoddy, I will say that there are a few times that this film is impressive as far as effects go. I remember the first time that I saw it, being impressed when the camera pulls back from the table, where her head is, and the bottom of the table isn't hidden, which meant that her body had to be removed from the shot, and it was done pretty well. This isn't a film if you are looking for a serious film, but if you like low budget science fiction horror films, with a level of cheesiness then this is a pretty great film. I do actually recommend this film, it isn't a must-see at all, but it is still a pretty great film for what it is, and I can definitely be a fun time, with just enough gross out and horror to make it great. Also just want to show a little appreciation for Eddie Carmel, and Jan Compton, whose performances and effects were great as the monsters/victims of the story. If you haven't seen The Brain That Wouldn't Die, I recommend checking it out.
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