The Brain 1988

Dr. Blake, David Gale, runs Independent Thinking, a television show that presents a glossy self-help program with a quasi-religious air reminiscent of Scientology. Behind the polished surface, Blake uses mind control and brainwashing through an alien entity he calls The Brain to push his followers toward global influence. The lone obstacle standing in his path is a brilliant but troubled high school student, Jim Majelewski, Tom Bresnahan, whose quick wits and vivid fantasies keep him resistant to manipulation.

After a prank goes too far—Jim is caught flushing sodium down a school toilet—he is punished and warned that further mischief could cost him graduation. He reluctantly agrees to enroll in Blake’s program as an alternative. Under the lab lights, he endures the experiments, but his exceptional intelligence and fertile imagination render him immune to the brainwashing. He begins to have visions of The Brain and other unsettling images. He is aided by his girlfriend Janet, Cynthia Preston, and his best friend Willie, Bret Pearson, as Blake’s assistant Verna, George Buza, tries to pull him back to the lab.

Willie is killed by the Brain, and Jim and Janet do their best to free the town from Blake’s influence. The Brain and Verna work to brainwash the population into believing Jim is a murderous threat, turning Janet and Jim’s parents against him as well. Jim returns to Blake’s headquarters just as the plan to broadcast Independent Thinking to a nationwide audience moves toward execution.

In a shocking confrontation, Jim beheads Blake in front of a live audience, exposing that the man leading the show is not human. The Brain breaks loose and kills Verna, then closes in on Jim and Janet. Cornered, Jim finds a canister of sodium and throws it into The Brain’s mouth, detonating the creature and ending the threat. The town returns to normal, and Jim resumes a quiet, ordinary life with his parents as he and Janet drive off to school.