Brainscan (1994)

IMDb plot summary: A teenager is part of an interactive video game where he kills innocent victims. Later, the murders become real.

Directed by John Flynn. Starring Edward Furlong, Frank Langella, T. Ryder Smith, and Amy Hargreaves.

For as much fun as that premise is, I had higher expectations for the movie as campy fun, but it never quite meets those. Part of this is due to the movie not being fully sure what side of camp it wants to land on, whether to go with the over-the-top terror of "I may have murdered my best friend" or just plain goofy with the appearance of the Freddy Krueger-esque demon living inside the video game. The two styles just don't mesh very well, with the actual deaths and danger seeming just slightly too real for the goofy body horror gags of the central villain. That's not to say that ANY of this feels "realistic," but it's hard to combine existential "what have I done" horror with quippy men in silly monster makeup. It's not terrible, but it could have been a lot more fun than this.

How it entered my Flickchart:

Brainscan < To Be or Not to Be (1942)

Brainscan > Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier

Brainscan < Snatch.

Brainscan > Tiramisu

Brainscan > Burning Annie

Brainscan < Dracula (1931)

Brainscan < Water for Elephants

Brainscan < The Inspector General

Brainscan < Saboteur

Brainscan > Frida

Brainscan < The Unsinkable Molly Brown

Final spot: #2165 out of 3306, or 35%.