Brainscan has a neat premise that couldve made for a fun outrageous sci-fi slasher but unfortunately that's not what we got. We instead got a bland middle of the road slasher that's obviously poking at the uproar of video game violence that was happening at the time. The virtual reality merging with actual reality isnt explored enough & it leaves the movie feeling pretty uneventful. The slasher elements are extremely minimal and downright tamed for an R-rated movie. Edward Furlong does an ok job but his character Michael is so dull. They try giving him a tragic backstory & life but there's not enough nuance to his performance. There's also way too many plot conveniences for him to escape trouble. The other characters aren't any better & while the trickster is a bit fun to watch in his first scene there's not much to him afterwards. He just feels like a low rent Freddy Krueger that was trying to appeal to the demographic of the 90s.
Speaking of the 90s that's really the only reason to see this film is for how much of a time capsule it is. Michael's room is like every 90s kids dream room. Hell I was born the year this movie came out and I want this room. Metal & horror movie posters appear throughout and the soundtrack is pretty good itself. It's just a shame everything else is a bore & didn't try to be more ambitious.
Speaking of the 90s that's really the only reason to see this film is for how much of a time capsule it is. Michael's room is like every 90s kids dream room. Hell I was born the year this movie came out and I want this room. Metal & horror movie posters appear throughout and the soundtrack is pretty good itself. It's just a shame everything else is a bore & didn't try to be more ambitious.