Bruce Campbell comes through town on his book tour and brings his latest flick, and his directoral debut, for the Sci-fi Channel with him. A great fun time, and The Man with the Screaming Brain turns out to be an interesting little film, with some very funny moments.
Man with the Screaming Brain
3 Stars
The Man with the Screaming Brain is a B movie sci-fi flick from the most recognizable B movie icon of our time—Bruce Campbell. The movie will premiere on the Sci-fi Channel this month, but I was lucky enough to see the theatrical print that the Evil Dead star brought with him on his Make Love the Bruce Campbell Way book tour. The movie gives us some vivid images about the fury of a scorned woman, and quite a few deliciously cheesy moments we have come to expect from a Bruce Campbell vehicle.
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Snooty businessman William Cole (Bruce Campbell) and his bored trophy wife Jackie (Antoinette Byron) travel on business to Bulgaria. Jackie quickly falls for their cab driver Yegor (Vladimir Kolev). Unfortunately for all concerned Yegor’s spurned ex Tatoya (Tamara Gorski), who William has fallen for, has a nasty streak and ends up killing all three of these hapless characters. Hell hath no fury… Dr. Ivan Ivonov (Stacy Keach), a local scientist, saves our characters with the help of his assistant Pavel (Ted Raimi). The doctor combines William and Yegor’s brains inside of William’s body saving their lives, but with some very odd, and often humorous, side effects. The doctor also puts Jackie’s brain into Pavel’s female robot. Our characters return to the streets of Bulgaria to try and hunt down Tatoya and get their revenge.
This is not your big budget Hollywood movie. As Campbell himself puts it, “hundreds of thousands of dollars were spent to make this movie!” Still, what the movie lacks in production value it more than makes up for in charm. If you are a fan of Steve Martin you will recognize parts of All of Me and The Man with Two Brains, and if you enjoyed either of those films I would recommend you check out this one too. Adapted from the comic book of the same name, the film takes place in Bulgaria for no other reason than the Sci-fi Channel could film cheaper there than in Hollywood. It makes some odd changes to the story, but also gives the film a very distinct look and flavor it would not otherwise have had. For example, the absurdity of a two-brained man driving a small motor scooter through downtown Bulgaria is just something you don’t get to see very often in film.
Campbell is wonderful in the physical humor of a man fighting the control of two separate brains. Byron works fine as his wife, but her character becomes much more interesting after she becomes Robo-babe. Gorski is well cast as the beautiful but deranged woman who was wronged; she strongly reminded me of Sophia Loren, and I can’t think of a better compliment to give her. The real surprise here is Ted Raimi who is brilliantly hilarious as the idiot lab assistant Pavel. I’ve only seen Raimi as an extra in his brother’s various projects; huge props for Campbell for casting him in such a large role.
I consider myself lucky to have seen this flick in a theater, but I think it will work well on television or DVD. It’s an interesting little film that is often funny, and if nothing else it’s better than the constant retreads we seem to be getting from the major studios this summer. Campbell’s full length feature directorial debut is definitely worth checking out; he gets the most out of the material, the cast, and the odd location of Bulgaria. The Man with the Screaming Brain will premiere on the Sci-fi Channel at 9:00 pm Eastern time September 10 and will be available on DVD October 4. Don’t miss it!