Movies
The Brain That Wouldn’t Die
“The aforementioned qualities do not justify the film as a classic, but it does merit it as an underrated gem. I dare anyone to watch the film and not find it at least mildly entertaining.“
Although The Brain That Wouldn’t Die is often lumped in with z-grade schlock and was even amusingly mocked on Mystery Science Theater 3000, it is an underrated horror/sci-fi gem. The argument can be made that the film was actually influential in terms of its use of gore and sexuality. Additionally, there are interesting themes such as morality and the potential of science.
The picture centers around a surgeon named Dr. Bill Cortner (Herb Evers) who has developed a new serum in order to make organ and limb transplantation possible. The serum is supposed to prevent tissue rejection; this obstacle has plagued Dr. Cortner’s previous attempts. Dr. Cortner gets the chance to use his new serum when his girlfriend Jan Compton (Virginia Leith) is killed in a car crash. After the crash, Dr. Cortner saves her severed head and attempts to find her a beautiful body in order to perform a transplant. Jan would rather die than have this transplantation performed by her unethical boyfriend.
Although the plot may sound a little ridiculous it is somewhat grounded in science (aside from a severed head being able to talk). The movie was filmed in 1959, just five years after the first successful kidney transplant. It would be nearly another decade before the first successful heart transplant and not until 1998 for the first successful limb transplant (there was one in 1964, but it rejected after two weeks). Aside from the then contemporary issue of organ transplantation, the concept of tissue rejection is examined. Although the issue may have appeared to be “sci-fi” at the time, it remains a pertinent scientific issue plaguing doctors to this day.
Despite being a cheaply made B-movie, The Brain That Wouldn’t Die explores sophisticated concepts such as the role that science and medicine play in our lives, as well as ethical dilemmas involved in science. Dr. Cortner is essentially “playing God” in the sense that he is willing to take the life of an innocent woman in order to prevent the death of his girlfriend.
With that being said, this is still a cheaply produced flick which features cardboard sets, some obvious discontinuity and so-so acting. If the viewer is willing to look past this, or better yet, embrace it; the film is undeniably entertaining. Herb Ever’s performance as the leading man is decent enough and Virginia Leith is effective in her role as the severed head. Lee Daniels who plays Dr. Cortner’s assistant overacts a bit, but it is not overly distracting.
The writing is decent for a movie of this ilk. One might expect a multitude of cringe-worthy lines to be sputtered about due to the film’s budget, but there are none really to be found. Even though the concept is a little outlandish the writers (Rex Carlton and Joseph Green) have obviously done a little scientific research which makes the dialogue somewhat grounded in reality. Additionally, the two writers must have also been familiar with H.P. Lovecraft’s “Herbert West: Re-Animator” short story.
Unlike other sc-fi/horror film in late 1950s and early 1960s, “The Brain That Wouldn’t Die” features a couple gory scenes as well as some overt sexuality. Both gore scenes involve a deformed monster who is essentially Dr. Cortner’s guinea pig. *Spoiler Alert* The first scene involves the monster (Eddie Carmel) ripping off the arm of Dr. Cortner’s assistant Kurt (Lee Daniels). The second involves the monster taking a bite out of Dr. Cortner’s neck. Both sequences showcase a good amount of blood which was usually not evident in films from this era. The release of the film was actually delayed due to its gore content and when it was finally released it was censored.
Furthermore, the use of sexuality in the film is risqué for its time. There is a scene in which Dr. Cortner peruses a burlesque club in search of a body for his experiment and a scene in which two strippers engage in a cat fight. Near the end of the film Cortner makes one last attempt at securing a body by visiting a model’s lingerie photo shoot. The scenes may appear tame by today’s standards but these scantily clad women must have raised a few eyebrows upon the film’s initial release. The film’s “seedy” scenes are accompanied by equally sleazy sounding music. The sax-heavy jazz music nicely compliments the “body shopping” scenes and makes Dr. Cortner’s intentions appear to be all the more seamy.
The aforementioned qualities do not justify the film as a classic, but it does merit it as an underrated gem. I dare anyone to watch the film and not find it at least mildly entertaining. Not to mention that it’s was ahead of its time in terms of the future of medicine and science. After nearly fifty years since its release it is time that this film receives its just due as an entertaining early sci-fi/horror flick.
A contemporary reimagining of H.P. Lovecraft’s short story Herbert West: Reanimator is on the way, and Deadline has unveiled the first look at the new Herbert West and the pathologist drawn to his orbit.
Adam Simon (The Haunting in Connecticut, “Salem”) and Tim Metcalfe (The Haunting in Connecticut, Kalifornia) penned the script. The original screenplay and storyline come from Jade Sandberg Wallace.
Michael Grossman (“The Originals”, “Pretty Little Liars”) directs.
The new images introduce star Joseph Morgan (“Vampire Diaries“), who plays “brilliant surgeon and scientist Herbert West, who is obsessed with creating a serum to reanimate the dead.” Katie Cassidy (Speed Demon) stars opposite as the pathologist with a troubled past who joins his efforts.
Together, they prove that conquering death may be the ultimate sin against life itself.
The film’s official synopsis: “As a child, Herbert West watches his father Peter reanimate his dead mother Judith in a secret basement lab — only for Judith to mortally wound Peter and nearly kill Herbert before Peter shoots her. The trauma leaves its mark on Herbert, but so does one final image: his mother’s finger, twitching after death. Thirty years later, Herbert West is a brilliant, secretive surgeon still chasing his father’s obsession.
“Pathologist Kate Locke arrives in town and is drawn into his orbit — first through a spark at a hospital fundraiser, then through his secret lab, where he reveals a serum capable of reanimating severed tissue. Kate, hiding a dark past of her own, is thrilled rather than horrified, and moves into West’s mansion to work alongside him. Their early experiments on a cadaver succeed only briefly. West concludes that dead tissue is the problem — they need something fresher.”
Supporting cast includes Scott Aiello, Ira J Amyx, Randall Newsome, Emma Reinagal, James D. Bryce, Kathryn A Bentley, Jack Lancaster, Amy Holland Pennell, John Pierson, Mindy Shaw, Eric Dean White, Tristan Wilder Hallet, Adrienne Lamping, Aaron Crippen, and Drew Patterson.
Makeup artist Jeff Lewis (“Star Trek: Voyager,” “Star Trek: Enterprise”) and cousin Roger Lewis are heading the production via their newly established Woodlake Entertainment.
Lovecraft’s short story, first serialized in Home Brew magazine in 1922, is the first among his works to mention the fictional Miskatonic University. It was most famously adapted into a 1985 horror movie from Stuart Gordon, starring Jeffrey Combs as Herbert West.
Herbert West: Reanimator is set in Alton, Illinois, where production is now underway.
Herbert West: Reanimator. Photo credit: Matt Lief Anderson
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