The Brain is a 1988 Canadian science fiction

Science fiction film

Science fiction film is a film genre that uses science fiction: speculative, science-based depictions of phenomena that are not necessarily accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial life forms, alien worlds, extrasensory perception, and time travel, often along with futuristic...

 horror film

Horror film

Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...

 depicting a giant brain

Brain

The brain is the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals—only a few primitive invertebrates such as sponges, jellyfish, sea squirts and starfishes do not have one. It is located in the head, usually close to primary sensory apparatus such as vision, hearing,...

 like alien that terrorizes. The film has developed a small cult following.

Plot

Dr. Blakely runs a TV show called "Independent Thinkers", which is a Scientology-like self-help/religion program. But he's not making his audience think any more independently - with the help of an alien organism he calls The Brain, he's using brainwashing and mind control. The only thing that stands between them and world domination is a brilliant but troubled high school student with a penchant for pranks.

Cast

• David Gale
  David Gale (actor)
  David Quentin Gale was a British actor.He is primarily known for his role as the evil, autocratic Dr. Carl Hill in the 1985 cult classic film Re-Animator, and its 1990 sequel Bride of Re-Animator...
  
   as Dr. Anthony Blakely
• Tom Bresnahan as Jim Majelewski
• Cynthia Preston
  Cynthia Preston
  Cynthia Preston , sometimes credited as Cyndy Preston, is a Canadian television and film actress.Preston was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada...
  
   as Janet
• George Buza
  George Buza
  George Buza is an American-born Canadian actor who is best known for voicing Beast in the X-Men Animated Series.-Biography:Born in Cleveland, Ohio, he moved to Canada as a young man and became a Canadian citizen in 1998. He appeared as Chief Jake McKenna multiple times in the TV series Honey, I...
  
   as Varna
• Brett Pearson as Willy

Release

The movie was released on videocassette

VHS

The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....

 and laserdisc

Laserdisc

LaserDisc was a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium. Initially licensed, sold, and marketed as MCA DiscoVision in North America in 1978, the technology was previously referred to interally as Optical Videodisc System, Reflective Optical Videodisc, Laser Optical...

 in 1989 by International Video Entertainment. The movie has never been officially released on DVD and as of 2011, Lionsgate Entertainment has not yet announced any plans to release the movie on DVD.

Outside references

In one scene a container with the words "TARDIS Chemicals" is shown, this being a reference to the BBC

BBC

The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

television series, Doctor Who.