Man with the Screaming Brain
dir. Campbell
Opens Fri July 8
Hollywood Theatre
Jesus Christ, what a disaster. I mean, I–like anyone else who’s seen the Evil Deads, or Bubba Ho-tep–love Bruce Campbell. He’s funny, likable, and pretty damn cool. But this… man, what a clusterfuck.
Campbell’s Man with the Screaming Brain should be a gift from heaven for Campbell’s legions of fans–a film written by, directed by, and starring Campbell. Unfortunately, Screaming Brain is an ill-conceived homage to D-grade sci-fi/horror films; the overlong, sloppy plot has something to do with Bulgaria, mad science, annoying characters, and a lot of crappy physical comedy (which, depressingly, Campbell seems more than happy to rip off from his Evil Dead 2 shtick). Also, the film’s budget is apparently somewhere in the $50-60 range, and the actors (even Campbell) either phone in their lines or imbue them with a pathetic feel of desperation. None of this would detract from the film if it wasn’t so relentlessly, painfully joyless–the film has all the humor of a children’s burn ward, and none of the charm.
And that’s what really wears Screaming Brain down: A passionate filmmaker can work wonders with a non-existent budget, make likeable characters out of underwritten ones, and even–though it’s rare–make a decent film from a shitty script. But Campbell’s perfectly content to let mediocrity be this film’s chief attribute; one senses he isn’t interested in a making a good movie so much as is in creating an easy vehicle for himself. Watching Campbell slum it is sad enough, but knowing that he’s fine with doing so–he’s the one in charge, after all–makes it all the worse.
Oh, and another thing: The title’s missing a definite article (“the”) that should precede it. Maybe it’s a stylistic choice, maybe they didn’t have room for “the” on the poster, maybe Campbell’s taking a stand against definitive articles preceding nouns and adjectives in film titles. Whatever it is, it says a lot that I chose to ponder a boring-ass, syntax-related question during Man with the Screaming Brain–and that doing so was way more entertaining than watching the film.
