Editorials
[It Came From the ’80s] Elmer Causes ‘Brain Damage’
With horror industry heavy hitters already in place from the 1970s, the 1980s built upon that with the rise of brilliant minds in makeup and effects artists, as well as advances in technology. Artists like Rick Baker, Rob Bottin, Alec Gillis, Tom Woodruff Jr., Tom Savini, Stan Winston, and countless other artists that delivered groundbreaking, mind-blowing practical effects that ushered in the pre-CGI Golden Age of Cinema. Which meant a glorious glut of creatures in horror. More than just a technical marvel, the creatures on display in ‘80s horror meant tangible texture that still holds up decades later. Grotesque slimy skin to brutal transformation sequences, there wasn’t anything the artists couldn’t create. It Came From the ‘80s is a series that will pay homage to the monstrous, deadly, and often slimy creatures that made the ‘80s such a fantastic decade in horror.
Frank Henenlotter’s follow up to Basket Case brought a much more effective anti-drug campaign than that of first lady Nancy Reagan’s “Just Say No,” in the form of pint-sized parasitic Elmer. Or Aylmer, for the initiated. When an older couple loses their ancient parasite in their apartment complex, it finds a home in Brian (Rick Hearst). More specifically, it attaches itself to Brian’s brain stem and injects its addictive blue liquid, sending Brian into a euphoria that he can’t get enough of. The only problem is that Elmer demands to be fed human brains in return.
Set in the same seedy underbelly of New York as Basket Case (Kevin Van Hentenryck even cameos with the basket during a scene set in the subway, and Beverly Bonner plays a neighbor), Brian’s relationship with Elmer mirrors the journey of an addict. The bright colors of his highs and the ecstasy he feels quickly erases the bloody, violent way in which he first meets Elmer. Before long, he’s sleeping all day and disassociating with everyone around him. He ventures out all night, tripping on Elmer’s blue liquid while Elmer takes over to kill victims for their brains. None of their deaths are pleasant, and one in particular proved to be very controversial. When Brian finally realizes the bad outweighs the good, he tries to let his girlfriend in on his dark secret, but Elmer refuses, inducing nightmarish hallucinations and shooting pain. Further cementing the heavy addiction metaphor is the extreme withdrawal to those who no longer receive regular injections from Elmer.
The phallic blue Elmer, with his cartoonish eyes and sharp hooked mouth came from creature designer Gabe Bartalos (Leprechaun) and the animatronics of Elmer by David Kindlon (The Blob, DeepStar Six). With a fiberglass skeleton underneath a foam rubber skin, the animatronic Elmer puppet contributed to most of the appearances in the film, with visual effects supervisor Al Magliochetti’s work overlapping the animation and visual effects of Elmer. Bartalos also sculpted a much larger version of Elmer for close ups, where Elmer’s mouth unhinges and his hooks protrude to latch on and inject his addictive venom.
Later revealed to be Aylmer, though still pronounced Elmer, the phallic little parasite stems from Faustian legend, handled in a darkly humorous way that only Henenlotter can relay. If the creature’s design wasn’t indicative enough of the humor, then Elmer’s unique voice does. Elmer is a wily charmer, with a comedic voice that doesn’t seem to quite match the short stature. He’s voiced by John Zacherle, a singer, radio personality, and voice actor. Zacherle was most known, however, for his lengthy stint as television horror host Roland for WCAU’s Shock Theater in the late ‘50s.
Like most of Henenlotter’s work, Brain Damage doesn’t exactly have a mainstream appeal. While it was given a limited theatrical release 30 years ago, on April 15, 1988, the film was mostly ignored or disliked until building an eventual cult following on home release. It wasn’t until Synapse Films’ DVD release around 2007, where a lot of the gore was put back in, that it really started to find its audience. The quirky design by Bartalos and Henenlotter’s equally quirky sense of humor meant another memorable horror comedy that was ahead of its time.
Having grown up in a religious family, Christian movie night was something that happened a lot more often than I care to admit. However, back when I was a teenager, my parents showed up one night with an unusually cool-looking DVD of a movie that had been recommended to them by a church leader. Curious to see what new kind of evangelical propaganda my parents had rented this time, I proceeded to watch the film with them expecting a heavy-handed snoozefest.
To my surprise, I was a few minutes in when Denzel Washington proceeded to dismember a band of cannibal raiders when I realized that this was in fact a real movie. My mom was horrified by the flick’s extreme violence and dark subject matter, but I instantly became a fan of the Hughes Brothers’ faith-based 2010 thriller, The Book of Eli. And with the film’s atomic apocalypse having apparently taken place in 2024, I think this is the perfect time to dive into why this grim parable might also be entertaining for horror fans.
Originally penned by gaming journalist and The Walking Dead: The Game co-writer Gary Whitta, the spec script for The Book of Eli was already making waves back in 2007 when it appeared on the coveted Blacklist. It wasn’t long before Columbia and Warner Bros. snatched up the rights to the project, hiring From Hell directors Albert and Allen Hughes while also garnering attention from industry heavyweights like Denzel Washington and Gary Oldman.
After a series of revisions by Anthony Peckham meant to make the story more consumer-friendly, the picture was finally released in January of 2010, with the finished film following Denzel as a mysterious wanderer making his way across a post-apocalyptic America while protecting a sacred book. Along the way, he encounters a run-down settlement controlled by Bill Carnegie (Gary Oldman), a man desperate to get his hands on Eli’s book so he can motivate his underlings to expand his empire. Unwilling to let this power fall into the wrong hands, Eli embarks on a dangerous journey that will test the limits of his faith.
SO WHY IS IT WORTH WATCHING?
Judging by the film’s box-office success, mainstream audiences appear to have enjoyed the Hughes’ bleak vision of a future where everything went wrong, but critics were left divided by the flick’s trope-heavy narrative and unapologetic religious elements. And while I’ll be the first to admit that The Book of Eli isn’t particularly subtle or original, I appreciate the film’s earnest execution of familiar ideas.
For starters, I’d like to address the religious elephant in the room, as I understand the hesitation that some folks (myself included) might have about watching something that sounds like Christian propaganda. Faith does indeed play a huge part in the narrative here, but I’d argue that the film is more about the power of stories than a specific religion. The entire point of Oldman’s character is that he needs a unifying narrative that he can take advantage of in order to manipulate others, while Eli ultimately chooses to deliver his gift to a community of scholars. In fact, the movie even makes a point of placing the Bible in between equally culturally important books like the Torah and Quran, which I think is pretty poignant for a flick inspired by exploitation cinema.
Sure, the film has its fair share of logical inconsistencies (ranging from the extent of Eli’s Daredevil superpowers to his impossibly small Braille Bible), but I think the film more than makes up for these nitpicks with a genuine passion for classic post-apocalyptic cinema. Several critics accused the film of being a knockoff of superior productions, but I’d argue that both Whitta and the Hughes knowingly crafted a loving pastiche of genre influences like Mad Max and A Boy and His Dog.
Lastly, it’s no surprise that the cast here absolutely kicks ass. Denzel plays the title role of a stoic badass perfectly (going so far as to train with Bruce Lee’s protégée in order to perform his own stunts) while Oldman effortlessly assumes a surprisingly subdued yet incredibly intimidating persona. Even Mila Kunis is remarkably charming here, though I wish the script had taken the time to develop these secondary characters a little further. And hey, did I mention that Tom Waits is in this?
AND WHAT MAKES IT HORROR ADJACENT?
Denzel’s very first interaction with another human being in this movie results in a gory fight scene culminating in a face-off against a masked brute wielding a chainsaw (which he presumably uses to butcher travelers before eating them), so I think it’s safe to say that this dog-eat-dog vision of America will likely appeal to horror fans.
From diseased cannibals to hyper-violent motorcycle gangs roaming the wasteland, there’s plenty of disturbing R-rated material here – which is even more impressive when you remember that this story revolves around the bible. And while there are a few too many references to sexual assault for my taste, even if it does make sense in-universe, the flick does a great job of immersing you in this post-nuclear nightmare.
The excessively depressing color palette and obvious green screen effects may take some viewers out of the experience, but the beat-up and lived-in sets and costume design do their best to bring this dead world to life – which might just be the scariest part of the experience.
Ultimately, I believe your enjoyment of The Book of Eli will largely depend on how willing you are to overlook some ham-fisted biblical references in order to enjoy some brutal post-apocalyptic shenanigans. And while I can’t really blame folks who’d rather not deal with that, I think it would be a shame to miss out on a genuinely engaging thrill-ride because of one minor detail.
With that in mind, I’m incredibly curious to see what Whitta and the Hughes Brothers have planned for the upcoming prequel series starring John Boyega…
There’s no understating the importance of a balanced media diet, and since bloody and disgusting entertainment isn’t exclusive to the horror genre, we’ve come up with Horror Adjacent – a recurring column where we recommend non-horror movies that horror fans might enjoy.
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