The Brain That Wouldn't Die (1962)

If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

This is not a good at all. It is awful. It is not scary. It is badly written. It is also badly acted. The ending is awful. It is one of the worst horror movie of all time. 4.1 is not a good ratting. But this is such a bad movie that 4.1 is overrating it. I give this 1 out 10. 4.1 doe not real show just how bad this movie is. See tales of Frankenstein. Do not see this movie. This is one of the worst horror movie ever. It is very stupid. There are movie older then this that way scarier so age is no excuse. Frankenstein (1931) is way scarier then this. Do not see this movie. It is awful. I need more lines and I am running out of thing to say.

This outrageous, no-budget shocker might as well be the '60s equivalent of RE-ANIMATOR, what with its graphic carnage, mad scientists, fantastic serums and monsters assembled from the body parts of the dead. It's quite an eye opener and a definitive so-bad-it's-good viewing experience, somehow turning a downbeat and sadistic plot into upbeat, often funny viewing pleasure. It's another of the films in the living-severed-head canon, which feature disembodied bonces still managing to speak although they have nothing below the neck. The film begins on a high with a surgery scene featuring a graphic shot of a patient's exposed brain, so you know straight off that you're in for something different from the normally tame early '60s fare that most people watch.The rest of the film is deceptively simple, but blessed with a script with high aspirations featuring hilarious philosophical discussions over life and death and the ethical implications involved. Our scientist anti-hero crashes his car and decapitates his girlfriend, but carries her head back to his secret countryside laboratory and keeps it alive in a pan. Virginia Leith plays the head and magnificently manages to retain her dignity and character even though she spends the film kneeling beneath a table with only her head visible. Our old friend the mad scientist decides to find her a new body, which means travelling to the nearest burlesque club and checking out the well-proportioned strippers on view.The plot slows down as the cameraman lingers on the lingerie-clad dancers strutting their stuff, and there's even time for a saucy cat fight too. Unfortunately the scientist gets the cold shoulder and is forced to flee. Meanwhile, back at the lab, the assistant (with a withered arm no less) is engaging in aforementioned debates with the severed head, which is very opinionated and just wants to be put out of its misery. A great addition to the plot is a unseen monster kept in a closet in the corner of the room which keeps on banging on its door repeatedly before escaping at the end - Paul Naschy borrowed it for his gore flick THE HUNCHBACK OF THE MORGUE, so it must be decent. The unseen monster actually works very well, building up the suspense and the viewers expectations throughout as it makes horrific noises and causes the door to judder all the while, biding its time before it escapes.The gory highlight of the film sees the goofy lab assistant getting too close to the beastie, at which it promptly rips off his arm. He then goes on an incredibly extended death stagger around the entire house before making back to the lab again, smearing his bloody stump all over the walls as he does so. I couldn't believe I was watching a film first made in 1959/60 when I saw this moment, its so over-the-top! The climax involves the scientist preparing to behead an innocent victim when the monster escapes. Turns out its an incredibly tall and well-built bloke with a cheesy rubber mask on, which is fine by me. The creature tears a strip of flesh from the scientist's face, bloodily killing him, before chucking it on the floor in disgust! Meanwhile the severed head burns as the lab goes up in flames and the monster and the female victim live happily ever after.Well, what can I say? This film is an exploitation classic and never lets up for a second. Although the story and plot elements are in bad taste the campy script and performances give it an enjoyable edge. Herb Evers in particular is good as the slimy scientist and there are plenty of pretty girls around for the viewer to ogle. The living head and the cheesy monster make for fine horror elements and the climax is worth the wait. Chills, thrills, laughs and gore combine to make THE BRAIN THAT WOULDN'T DIE a sleazy dream come true for fans of the schlocky B-movie.

A doctor (Jason Evers) experimenting with transplant techniques keeps his girlfriend (Virginia Leith)'s head alive when she is decapitated in a car crash, then goes hunting for a new body.This film was made in 1959, but floated around a bit until picked up (and re-cut) by American International and Sam Arkoff. Over the years, and due largely to its falling into public domain, it has become a late-night staple. Many people -- and all horror fans -- have probably seen this film in some form.Worth pointing out is that the monster in the closet is played by Eddie Carmel in his first "cinematic role". Carmel was a well-known Israeli-born circus performer who worked under the name "The Jewish Giant". Those who want to see him in action again ought to track down a copy of "50,000 B.C. (Before Clothing)" (1963). Interestingly, author Tony Sasso believes the monster in the closet is symbolic of repressed homosexuality. It is an interesting interpretation, and one he makes a big deal out of, but I certainly have my doubts on its veracity: the "closet" metaphor did not really take root until the 1960s, so there is no way the writers could have referenced it.On the whole, this film is pretty decent, with some great ideas and concepts. In an age when transplants were still in their infancy, it makes sense to use them for a horror or science fiction jumping off point. And it is clear to see how this might have influenced other pictures. Some have said "Jan in the Pan" is a precursor to the head in "Re-Animator". Whether or not this has been confirmed, the resemblance is there.What the film lacks is some realism. Early on a brain is exposed inside a head, apparently without a skull. Huh? And later, a woman's head is lifted from a car crash without being cut or forcibly removed. It was just lying there. Maybe that is possible, but it seems rather silly.The film also drags a bit because it is weighted down by dialogue. Dialogue can be a very good thing, and create exposition or add character depth. Here, however, it just seems repetitive. Jan says variations of the same line multiple times. And even in the opening scene, the elder doctor makes a point of arguing against "playing God" multiple times. We get it. The film would be much stronger at 60 minutes than it currently is in the longer form.For those who prefer longer, however, Synapse Films has graciously released an uncut edition running closer to 85 minutes with more cat-fight goodness, and a picture that is vastly improved from the awful public domain prints floating around. Whether or not you want to pay more when you can get a cheap version for free is up to you.Still not good enough? Scream Factory has jumped into the game. They say their 1080p uncut edition, scanned from the negative, is "new" (suggesting it is even better than the Synapse print. That may or may not be true. But regardless, they have definitely brought out the superior disc because they have added commentary from film historian (and king of the commentary) Steve Haberman and Tony Sasso, who literally wrote the book on this movie. What really makes the Scream disc the must-have version is that it also includes the full episode of "Mystery Science Theater 3000" where the film is riffed. Well done, Scream. They previously released "Squirm" in two versions: the MST3K version and a new collector's edition. All features should have been on one disc. So perhaps they are learning...

When a mad surgeon/scientist's fiancé is horribly injured in an auto accident he manages to preserve only her head alive. He then goes searching for a body upon which to transplant her disembodied head. And exactly how does he go about that? By cruising suitably zaftig 50s babes in his '58 convertible, how else?The 1950s were the heyday of really bad science-fiction movies, the kind that were so bad they were good. This one has to rate pretty near the top of the genre. Roger Corman once remarked that a filmmaker cannot set out to make a cult-movie, only the audience can make a cult movie. I think that "The Brain That Wouldn't Die" is a perfect case in point. From beginning to end everybody concerned, director and cast, seems to be taking everything absolutely seriously, and that is precisely what makes the whole thing so enormously funny. One doesn't need to watch this movie on "Mystery Science Theater 3000", accompanied by a steady stream of snide remarks, in order to find oneself laughing out loud. The filmmakers may not have meant it to be, but it really is that funny. This movie deserves a '7' not for it's direction, it's acting or it's cinematography, but simply on the basis of being so outrageously bad that it is an absolute joy to watch. Check it out and see for yourself.