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Brainscan

Play trailer Poster for Brainscan R 1994 1h 35m Sci-Fi Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
14% Tomatometer 14 Reviews 61% Popcornmeter 10,000+ Ratings
Horror films and computer games fascinate teenager Michael (Edward Furlong), and a CD-ROM that portrays murder from the killer's point of view combines these interests. The first time Michael plays it, he kills a stranger and cuts off a foot, thinking the events take place in virtual reality. But the next day Michael finds a foot in his refrigerator, and cyber-ghoul Trickster (T. Ryder Smith) emerges from the program and forces him to keep playing -- and to continue committing violent crimes.
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Brainscan

Critics Reviews

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Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times Jan 1, 2000
2/4
Brainscan is interesting not so much because of the plot, the murders, and the Trickster, as because of its portrait of a teenage boy living at one remove from the world. Go to Full Review
Matt Brunson Film Frenzy Apr 6, 2021
2/4
More entertaining as an artifact of mid-90s sci-fi than anything more substantial. Go to Full Review
Mike Massie Gone With The Twins Sep 10, 2020
4/10
Something is missing; perhaps it's the sparseness of edgy scares, or the infrequency of gore, or the conclusion - which just doesn't know what it wants to be. Go to Full Review
Daniel Barnes Dare Daniel Oct 8, 2019
2/5
Brainscan offers a grab bag of intriguing ideas, but the pieces never fit together. Even without the clumsy execution, though, no film could surmount Furlong's complete lack of charisma, energy, talent and screen presence. Go to Full Review
David Nusair Reel Film Reviews Aug 9, 2019
1/4
...the director delivers a sluggish narrative that's been peppered with a whole host of uninteresting and flat-out tedious elements... Go to Full Review
Malcolm L. Johnson Hartford Courant May 31, 2018
Brainscan' works with a true phenomenon: the total immersion of young minds in the most gruesome horror movies. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Robert P @Superbad Sep 16, 2026 Brainscan = 3 star Movie! See more
Sean D @RT32113921 Aug 20, 2026 Loved this film as a kid, and still quite holds up. Feels like thry predicted the future now, virtual gaming and talking computers See more
SubXer0 2 @RT85890905 Aug 4, 2026 I’ve always liked this movie and I thought that it was really cool how he got Brung into the game itself and came back in two hours whenever to him it felt like days like that’s just wow See more
Baelzar t @Baelzar Feb 16, 2026 This movie is worth it for the character of Trickster alone. What a fantastic performance. The rest is just frosting on the cake. See more
David S. @baxter667 Jan 8, 2026 One of those rare nineties horror films that hold up today, this surprisingly good horror film, is still relevant all these years later. It still looks great, the storyline is decent, and there is a good male lead and there is a predictable, but decent twist, it's fun, exciting and not overly long, a film not for everyone, but if you like this kind of film, there are worse movies out there, and this is not one of these. Four stars all the way. See more
Jacob M @RT76517086 Jul 6, 2025 It's an interesting horror mark of 90s teenage culture. Though at times nothing more than an rated R Goosebumps episode. It's still highly entertaining. See more
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Brainscan

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Cast & Crew

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John Flynn

Director

Edward Furlong

Michael Bower

Frank Langella

Detective Hayden

T. Ryder Smith

Trickster

Amy Hargreaves

Kimberly

Jamie Marsh

Kyle

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Brainscan

Brainscan (1994) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Horror films and computer games fascinate teenager Michael (Edward Furlong), and a CD-ROM that portrays murder from the killer's point of view combines these interests. The first time Michael plays it, he kills a stranger and cuts off a foot, thinking the events take place in virtual reality. But the next day Michael finds a foot in his refrigerator, and cyber-ghoul Trickster (T. Ryder Smith) emerges from the program and forces him to keep playing -- and to continue committing violent crimes.
Director
John Flynn
Producer
Michel Roy
Screenwriter
Andrew Kevin Walker, Brian Owens
Distributor
Columbia Tristar, Laurenfilm S.A.
Production Co
Coral Productions, Admire Productions Ltd.
Rating
R (Strong Violence|Some Sexuality|Language)
Genre
Sci-Fi
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Apr 22, 1994, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Jan 1, 2012
Box Office (Gross USA)
$3.1M
Runtime
1h 35m
Sound Mix
Stereo, Dolby, Surround
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