BRAINSCAN (1994)
Directed by John Flynn
Starring Edward Furlong and Frank Langella
This overlooked and underrated fear flick was hampered by a tagged-on, happy ending which I suspect was insisted upon by film executives. Like many good horror films, the story centers around how evil is able to inject itself into a broken home. Furlong (last seen in "Terminator 2") is mourning the death of his mother by escaping into a fantasy world of video games.
He eventually orders a virtual reality game known as "Brainscan," which makes him feel like he's killing people. The only problem is, the killings he's experienced in the game appear to be happening in real life. Langella is excellent as a cop who suspects Furlong as the killer. The film's story builds and builds and builds, as Furlong finds himself under the nightmarish control of the video game.
Then it all turns out to be a dream. What a pisser.
It's a rip-off ending apparently crafted to prevent the film from finishing on a depressing note. It doesn't completely ruin the story, however. There's some crafty gore scenes and a devil-like character named Trickster who pops out of the video game and torments Furlong, an obvious attempt to create a Freddie Krueger-like character for a franchise that never happened. A solid horror film about teenage degeneration, "Brainscan" is a worthwhile watch.