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The Brain That Wouldn't Die

Play trailer Poster for The Brain That Wouldn't Die 1962 1h 21m Horror Play Trailer Watchlist
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33% Tomatometer 12 Reviews 29% Popcornmeter 2,500+ Ratings
Dr. Bill Cortner and his fiancée, Jan Compton, are driving to his lab when they get into a horrible car accident. Compton is decapitated. But Cortner is not fazed by this seemingly insurmountable hurdle. His expertise is in transplants, and he is excited to perform the first head transplant. Keeping Compton's head alive in his lab, Cortner plans the groundbreaking yet unorthodox surgery. First, however, he needs a body.

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The Brain That Wouldn't Die

Critics Reviews

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Rob Gonsalves Rob's Movie Vault 05/17/2017
A
How can anyone not love a movie in which a woman's bitter disembodied head snarls to a mutant locked in a closet, "I'm only a head ... and you're whatever you are..."? Go to Full Review Matt Brunson Creative Loafing 01/09/2016
1.5/4
One of those so-bad-it's-good-to-experience-at-least-once-in-a-lifetime efforts, this grade-Z cheapie is pretty wretched yet deserves extra credit for being so brazenly bizarre. Go to Full Review Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews 01/13/2007
C+
Z-budget cheapie exploitation mad scientist film from AIP. Go to Full Review Mark Palermo The Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia) 04/27/2005
2/5
Rob Thomas Capital Times (Madison, WI) 08/12/2004
1/5
Pretty awful in its un-MST3Ked incarnation. Go to Full Review Bob Bloom Journal and Courier (Lafayette, IN) 03/14/2004
3/5
One of the campiest of all the tacky, cheapo horror films. This is so entertainingly bad, that's it's good. A true guilty pleasure! Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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John C @JayDizzle209 5d This movie is so awful it's good! And I mean TERRIBLE. Not only is it visually scary, the idea that this can and will be done someday is frightening. Just frightening. Mankind is just around the corner from doing something this outrageous and absurd! The acting is beyond TERRIBLE but I like the suspense it builds. It's a midnight madness special at your local matinee with this cheap, poorly made and poorly acted horror film! The special effects are downright cheap! But like I said, this movie is so terrible it's good. See more Jason H @RT50328122 Mar 3 "I'm in another dimension!!!" See more Tamara K @Tamarak 10/06/2024 How can anyone not love a film that is this dated and ridiculous? See more Simon T @Bucksplit 02/19/2024 Atrocious and very badly acted, this also has a truly awful screenplay. A mad surgeon decides to keep the head of his fiancée alive while he seeks a body to graft on. The remarkably tedious action slows to a stop whenever the writers decide to give a purple passage to one of the protagonists. Continuity mistakes and inappropriate library music provide no respite. Dire. See more Blobbo X @Blobbo 06/24/2022 Not as inept as Plan 9 but every bit as silly. Classic of its kind. See more 10/24/2021 A terrible attempt at a film but not without some kitschy entertainment value. See more Read all reviews
The Brain That Wouldn't Die

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Cast & Crew

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Joseph Green

Director

Jason Evers

Dr. Bill Cortner

Virginia Leith

Jan Compton

Adele Lamont

Doris Powell

Paula Maurice

Brunet Stripper

Bruce Brighton

Dr. Cortner

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The Brain That Wouldn't Die

The Brain That Wouldn't Die (1962) The Brain That Wouldn't Die (1962) The Brain That Wouldn't Die (1962) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Dr. Bill Cortner and his fiancée, Jan Compton, are driving to his lab when they get into a horrible car accident. Compton is decapitated. But Cortner is not fazed by this seemingly insurmountable hurdle. His expertise is in transplants, and he is excited to perform the first head transplant. Keeping Compton's head alive in his lab, Cortner plans the groundbreaking yet unorthodox surgery. First, however, he needs a body.
Director
Joseph Green
Producer
Rex Carlton
Production Co
Sterling
Genre
Horror
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Aug 10, 1962, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Aug 7, 2015
Runtime
1h 21m
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