BrainWaves

BrainWaves
Theatrical release poster
Directed byUlli Lommel
Written by
Produced byUlli Lommel
Starring
CinematographyJon Kranhouse
Edited byRichard S. Brummer
Music byRobert O. Ragland
Production
company
CinAmerica[2]
Distributed byMotion Picture Marketing
Release date
  • November 19, 1982 (1982-11-19)[1]
Running time
77 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$2.5 million[2]
Box office$3,111[3]

BrainWaves[i] is a 1982 American science fiction thriller film co-written and directed by Ulli Lommel, and starring Keir Dullea, Suzanna Love, Vera Miles, Paul Willson, Percy Rodriguez, Tony Curtis, Corinne Wahl, and Eve Brent. It follows a woman whose brain function is restored by a computer, with dangerous consequences.

Cast

Production

Principal photography occurred at the Pettis Memorial Veterans Administration Hospital in Loma Linda, California, with additional shooting taking place in San Francisco.[2] Filming completed in April 1982.[5]

Release

Box office

BrainWaves was given a limited regional theatrical release through Motion Picture Marketing, opening on November 19, 1982, in Austin, Texas[6] and Newport News, Virginia.[7] It earned $3,111 during its theatrical run.[3]

Critical response

Patrick Taggart of the Austin American-Statesman wrote of the film: "It is all absolute twaddle and would have been unbearable had there not been the elements of a murder mystery to keep us interested. Brainwaves is about one pulse away from being braindead."[1] Henry Edgar of the Daily Press gave the film a mixed review, noting that "the idea is intriguing and offer potentional for a true thriller. But the action plods so slowly you might fall asleep before you realize why a more skillful director could keep you awake all night with the same plot."[8]

Time Out published a retrospective review in 2012, describing the film as "a black hole for fading stars in which Dr. Curtis kindly operates on the heroine (Love) who is in a coma after suffering a traumatic blow to the brain. The donor is a murder victim, unexpectedly supplying not only motor reflexes but memories, so that the poor recipient is soon being stalked herself."[9]

Home media

Embassy Home Entertainment released BrainWaves on VHS in 1986.[10] Image Entertainment released a DVD edition of the film in 2002.[11]

Notes

  1. ^ The film was also released in a truncated cut under the alternate title Shadow of Death.[4]

References

  1. ^ a b c Taggart, Patrick (November 20, 1982). "'Brainwaves' manages only a feeble pause". Austin American-Statesman. p. 22 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ a b c De Leon, John (March 9, 1982). "VA Hospital stars in sci-fi thriller". The San Bernardino Sun. p. 28 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ a b "BrainWaves". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  4. ^ Lentz 2001, p. 925.
  5. ^ "'BrainWaves' filming ends". The Arizona Republic. April 18, 1982. p. 78 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "BrainWaves advertisement". Austin American-Statesman. November 19, 1982. p. E3 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "BrainWaves advertisement". Daily Press. November 19, 1982. p. 42 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "'Brainwaves' Lacks Intensity". Daily Press. November 22, 1982. p. 30 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Brainwaves (1983)". Time Out. September 10, 2012. ISSN 0049-3910. Archived from the original on March 3, 2023.
  10. ^ BrainWaves (VHS). Embassy Home Entertainment. 1986 [1982]. OCLC 14918549.
  11. ^ BrainWaves (DVD). Image Entertainment. 2002 [1982]. OCLC 52506419.

Sources

  • Lentz, Harris M. (2001). Science Fiction, Horror & Fantasy Film and Television Credits: Filmography (Second ed.). Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland. ISBN 978-0-786-40942-6.