Brain That Wouldn't Die (Full Screen)

You think you really know the woman you love - until you take her decapitated head, put it in a pan, and keep it alive with your own special blend of neck juice. Dr. Bill Cortner (Jason Evers), a new-breed doctor who bravely goes where most doctors (at least, those not named Frankenstein) fear to tread, could have just let his fiance Jan (Virginia Leith) die after her head gets chopped off in an auto accident. Instead, he grabbed her head, hustled it up to his personal lab, set it up all nice and neat in his own special recipe of life-maintaining gravy, and went out in search of a new body for the woman he loved. But does Peggy appreciate everything Bill has done for her? Nooooo. Not one bit. All she does is turn into the mouth that wouldn't shut up and makes "you should have let me die" her new mantra. Apparently, all of her nice qualities were located in her torso because she turns into a vengeful little spitfire who proclaims herself the leader of the doctor's army of mutant creations (all one of them). In her defense, Dr. Cortner is one weird dude with a pretty disturbing hairstyle, but she knew that before she dropped 95% of her body mass. Maybe she's just mad that the selective doctor is seeking an upgrade model for her new body, but you can hardly blame the guy for that. Why settle for pancakes when you can have the whole hungry man's breakfast?

The Brain That Wouldn't Die is everything a campy cult classic should be, with its radical experimental medicine, bloody amputations, a talking decapitated head, a deformed monster, and a really cheap set. It even features some nice point-of-view shots that earn it bonus points in my book. The filmmakers may have had a hard time even remembering the name of the film (it's listed as The Head That Wouldn't Die in the end credits), but The Brain That Wouldn't Die is nothing less than schlock-tastic. Don't buy the regular DVD of the film, though, not when you can get the original film itself included alongside the hilariously heckled version on the Mystery Science Theater 3000 DVD release.

This was a GREAT "B" movie! Not only does it contain some cheesy special effects, bad acting, and a script that is just laughable, it's one of the WORST movies I've ever seen! Low-budget has never been this bad! I LOVE IT!!! Herb Evers plays the role of mad doctor Cortner who is illegally experimenting with transplant surgery. But when his girlfriend (Virginia Leith) is killed in a gruesome car accident, Cortner takes her disembodied head and keeps it alive with a special serum which he made himself. Unfortunately, the head takes a mind of it's own and forms a special bond with a hideous monster, another failed experiment of the doctor, while he's out searching for a new body for her. Plenty of shocking blood and gore which was edited out of the television version, this 1962 B&W horror flick is good for it's time and gore buffs of today will still not be disapointed. If you're looking for an award-winner though, this is NOT the movie for you! This turkey will probably only please the average "B" movie buff. IT'S SO BAD, IT'S ACTUALLY GOOD!

To me, THE BRAIN THAT WOULDN'T DIE is the perfect horror movie. It has my three favorite elements: Mad scientists, experiments / organ transplants gone wrong, and zombies. In this case, the mad doctor and his wife get in a car crash, severing her head from her shoulders. The doctor rushes her dome to his lab, where he keeps it alive in a tub of chemicals. He then attempts to locate and kill a beautiful stripper to provide a body for his spouse. Meanwhile, Mrs. mad scientist's head has decided that her husband is crazy and needs a lesson in "head-side" manner. She befriends a strange zombie / monster in a closet made of her hubby's other botched experiments. She's the brains and it's the brawn, so to speak. Together, they take care of the mad doctor and his lab. A classic schlock-o-rama! Highly-Highly recommended...