April 22, 1994
Brainscan is a 1994 American science fiction slasher film directed by John Flynn and written by Brian Owens and Andrew Kevin Walker. The film stars Edward Furlong, Frank Langella, Amy Hargreaves, Jamie Marsh, and T. Ryder Smith. The soundtrack was composed by George S. Clinton.
Storyline[]
After a car accident killed his mother and permanently injured his leg, teenager Michael Brower lives an isolated existence in his absent father's house. He spends his spare time watching his neighbor and crush, Kimberly. A horror films and video games fan, Michael's only friend is a similar-minded misfit named Kyle. They are members of the school's Horror Club, which draws the principal's ire. After Kyle tells him about a new, ultra-realistic game called Brainscan, Michael mail-orders the first disc.
The game warns Michael that the experience is similar to hypnotic suggestions. Trickster, the game's host, greets him and encourages him to act like a psychopathic murderer. For the first mission, he murders a stranger, taking a foot as a trophy. Michael wakes up shocked and thrilled by the experience. However, he is horrified to discover that the exact same murder happened in the real world, down to the victim's details.
Kyle begs Michael to let him play the game, but he refuses. Later, Trickster materializes into reality and torments Michael. His second mission is to kill a possible witness to the earlier murder. Michael refuses at first but eventually relents. This time, however, he has no memory of playing the game. He finds Kyle's bloody necklace in his freezer and realizes Kyle was murdered.
Michael calls Kyle, but the phone is answered by Detective Hayden. Michael becomes paranoid that he will be sent to jail. Trickster continues plaguing him and ultimately instructs him to kill Kimberly.
At nightfall, Michael sneaks into Kimberly's room but refuses to hurt her. Trickster reveals himself to be an evil counterpart within Michael's mind. He possesses Michael, who resists him. Their struggle wakes Kimberly. Kimberly reveals she has been watching and photographing Michael, which allows him to break free from his own inner darkness. At the last minute, the Trickster materializes and opens the bedroom door. Detective Hayden enters and shoots Michael dead.
Michael awakens in his room, the whole experience having been a fantasy. After ranting at the game about his traumatic experiences, he excitedly realizes that no one died, including Kyle. Having gained confidence from the game's iteration of Kimberly, he goes over to her house and asks her out, to which she agrees.
The next day, Michael brings the Brainscan disc to show the principal, who had demanded to preview all games and movies. He sees Trickster grinning at him in approval.