The movie starts off with an old couple freaking out over the escape of something that was obviously living in their bathtub. Turns out, the little guy's name is Aylmer and he is a charismatic blue worm who needs to eat human brains to stay alive. So in order to find his necessary sustenance, he needs to find a human to transport him around, which just so happens to be an average teen. In exchange for the conveyance, Aylmer keeps the guy doped up on a strong liquid he injects into his brain through an opening in the back of his neck. When he decides to put a stop to the killing, the guy suffers excruciating withdrawal symptoms and is forced to take to the streets of New York with his smooth talking slug companion and drain more brains...
Apparently, the movie is based on a bad cocaine addiction Hennenlotter was struggling through at the time, which was what the underlying "message" the movie was clearly addressing and what the character of Aylmer represented (the "monkey" on the back, but with a 'gooey' Hennenlotter twist...). Again, the basic concept is pretty reminiscent of "Basket Case", what with a guy carrying around a savage creature that tests his own morality and causes chaos in his everyday life. Hell, even Duane and his basket make a show-stealing cameo in one scene... "Brain Damage" still completely stands alone as one of Hennenlotter's most favored films and rightly so. Not as good as "Basket Case" or "Frankenhooker", in my opinion, but there's some good practical effects, slightly improved stop-motion, and pools of gore that will certainly make for gripping eye-candy for fellow splatter-hounds. Check out "Brain Damage" as well as ALL of Frank Hennenlotter's films!
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