The Brain That Wouldnt Die

The Brain That Wouldn't Die, discovered during the British virtual festival Frightfest, is an exercise in style, but above all a faithful rereading of a science-fiction B-series classic of the same name, released in 1962. Director Derek Carl and screenwriter Hank Huffman, offers us a rereading of The Brain That Wouldn't Die (1962) and we discover the story of a doctor who experiments with transplant techniques to keep alive the head of his girlfriend who was decapitated in a car accident. The rather basic scenario will remind many of the atmosphere of Stuart Gordon's Re-animator (1985) but with an approach closer to the cinema of the 60s. This desire to rediscover the essence of this era is felt in the film's sets, the themes addressed but also through special effects that some will consider kitsch but which only contribute to give this film a very special aura.

In spite of very limited means, the director Derek Carl who signs there his first film not only succeeded in capturing all our attention but also in delivering an original film and embodied by a particularly invested cast starting with the actress Rachael Perrell Fosket who plays the girlfriend of this surgeon ready to kill to find him a body after the terrible accident that decapitated him. One will also appreciate the presence of a man who has become a real monster in the movement of a Frankenstein. This film does not hesitate to assume its kitschy side and to make us relive the carefree period that was the 60s.

The Brain That Wouldn't Die was certainly one of the must-see films of the Frighfest selection and we hope that it will be presented in other festivals in order to allow it to gain an audience and to make known a young director who is totally committed and who proves to be a science-fiction film enthusiast as his first film attests.

The Brain That Wouldn't Die
Directed by Derek Carl
Produced by Derek Carl, Hank Huffman, Molly Preston
Written by Hank Huffman
Starring Rachael Perrell Fosket, Patrick D. Green, David Withers, Jason Reynolds
Cinematography: Kevin Forrest
Edited by Derek Carl
Release date: June 21, 2020 (USA), October 22, 2020 (UK)
Running time: 97 minutes

Viewed on October 21, 2020 (screener press)

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