The Brain Machine main backdrop
The Brain Machine main poster

The Brain Machine

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2.8/10 • 16

1972-01-011h 25m

DramaThrillerScience FictionHorror

It Has No Conscience, It Shows No Mercy.

Several people volunteer for a scientific experiment about mind-reading and memory, but the experiment goes horribly wrong.

Directors
Joy N. Houck Jr.
Editors
Robert A. Weaver

Top Billed Cast

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  1. James Best

    James Best

    Rev. Emory Neill

  2. Barbara Burgess

    Barbara Burgess

    Dr. Carol Portland

  3. Gil Peterson

    Gil Peterson

    Dr. Elton Morris

  4. Gerald McRaney

    Gerald McRaney

    Willie West

  5. Marcus J. Grapes

    Marcus J. Grapes

    Judd Reeves

  6. Doug Collins

    Doug Collins

    Dr. Roland Roth

  7. Ann Latham

    Ann Latham

    Minnie Lee Parks

  8. Thomas Hal Phillips

    Thomas Hal Phillips

    The General

  9. Christian Garrison

    Christian Garrison

    Garrison

Reviews2

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talisencrw Avatar

talisencrw

Apr 22, 2016

5/10

This is a low-budget 70's film which stems from the cinematic crazes of both the 'evilly-implemented mind control' ('The Manchurian Candidate' and 'The Ipcress File') and 'paranoia about government conspiracy' subgenres that were fervently expressed in the Vietnam/Watergate era of American cinema. For me, growing up watching James Best as Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane in 'The Dukes of Hazzard', it was intriguing to watch him here, as a priest selected as one of 4 paid volunteers for an experiment supposedly run by the ECC, an environmental organization. It ends up that it's just a cover to test an experimental mind-control 'Brain Machine' that the U.S. government wants, in order to keep it's citizens in line, in the name of 'keeping social order'. Admittedly, when one of the directors says that the future is surveillance, I couldn't help but shudder at the parallels to society today, in this post-9/11 era. Unfortunately, the more time that passes, the closer these Orwellian cinematic views of civilization and its discontents come to mirroring the way life has become. No spoilers, but the machine forces the person to tell the truth. Growing up, I have learned that honesty is not always the best policy. In fact, life has to endure the 'little white lie' in order to have things run peacefully. While no cinematic masterwork, this film more than suffices as Exhibit A for evidence. Definitely worth a watch, especially if you can handle 1970's, TV-movie-style filmmaking.

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Status
Released
Original Language
English
Budget
--
Revenue
--
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