Source: Netflix Instant
Every now and then you just need a little cheese in your movie. That's exactly what I got from this little 1990 gem starring genre vets Bill Pullman and Bill Paxton. If I had to label this as anything I would say it's psychological horror. Also, it seems the director is playing around with the fear of losing one's identity in this film as we watch Dr. Martin (Pullman) get put through the psychological wringer. Paranoia, loss of self, self esteem issues abound during Martin's breakdown and we are right there with him until the literal bitter end. There is a heavy dose of the surreal going on here as well...butterflies in your brain anyone?
So, the film starts out with Dr. Martin experimenting on a brain, in fact he has entire shelves full of brains that he can test. His job is trying to find ways to fix neurological disorders His assistant is quite the butterfingers and drops a brain, fluid and all to the floor. But why test responses on the brains of the deceased, when you can test on a real live subject. Enter Martin's friend Jim (played with devilish glee) by Mr. Bill Paxton. Paxton works for the corporation Eunice and has a deal for Martin. It seems there is a colleague of his (Halsey - a mathematical genius) that went a little insane and offed his entire family, and there was this pesky equation he was working on and when he went insane he accidentally or deliberately wiped off some of the numbers. No one can recall what those numbers are, so it's up to Dr. Martin to try to get the information back by doing a little bit of brain tickling on Mr. Halsey, if he can get him to accept. Thankfully, he doesn't have much of a problem and before you know it, we see Martin playing Operation with his exposed brain...in front of a lot of his former cohorts...all they want are the numbers. And things appear to be going ok, until he see's a blood soaked man in a white trenchcoat out of the corner of his eye. And as the night goes on, he starts seeing him everywhere, even at his home. And why is his best friend Jim having sex with his wife on the pool table...that doesn't seem right either. And why all of a sudden is HE in the insane asylum and they are calling him Dr. Halsey...he didn't murder his family did he? Is he losing his mind?
So folks what we have here is a twilight zone-ish movie where you never quite know what is reality and what is fantasy. The speed at which these events keep changing is dizzying, but the ever affable Pullman makes it a real joy to behold. As we watch Martin come apart at the seems, we are treated to all sorts of trippy scenarios and backdrops...yeah that closet that has clothes in it, now you can just fall off the ledge and keep falling.
I really like movies like this if they are pulled off well, and this one is. It's just a lot of fun. We get a lot of the classic 80's synth music to go along with all the brain teasing stuff we are subjected to. Bill Paxton is great as Martin's buddy Jim and most of the acting ranges from decent to solid. The Mr. Halsey character is a bit over the top, but he is supposed to be suffering from mental aliments, so he might just be playing it extremely well. The "Who am I really?" theme is explored as we follow Martin's descent into madness, and it works because he's such a likable guy, we care about what happens to him.
In short I had a lot of fun with the very tight (85 min) movie. Just realize that it's kind of cheesy and has great early performances from Bill Paxton and Bill Pullman and..well it is what it is. If you like Twilight Zone type material, you will be right at home with this flick. And it also benefits greatly from that 80's, early 90's nostalgia factor. You will be wondering what is going to happen next.
8 out of 10
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