I was recently drawn to watch “Brain Dead”, a 1990 offering that includes both Bills e.g. Pullman and Paxton. (Together at last!) It was billed as a thriller, but I could tell from the promo material that was like calling “Natural Born Killers” a romcom.

I was immediately guarded when the intro credits were rendered in a plain, sans serif font of the sort you might find as a default in Microsoft Word. It didn’t speak to high production values.

From there, I proceeded to watch/endure a film that I can say is what David Lynch would have made if he consumed gallons of liquid LSD and also had a very dry sense of humor.

The plot begins straightforwardly. Pullman’s neuroscientist character Rex and Paxton’s Jim both work for the same corporation. Jim cajoles Rex to visit a former fellow employee who is currently in an asylum for killing his family. This maniac, Jack Halsey, played by “Harold and Maude’s” Bud Cort, has some key information in his brain, but because of his psychotic state, it’s inaccessible. The hope is that Rex, using his neuroscience mojo, can retrieve it. (Fetch, Rex, fetch!)

Upon leaving the asylum, Rex is hit by a car and then the movie just completely loses it. There’s really no point attempting to describe the utterly insane series of events other than to say it lands in familiar “is it real or is it an illusion” territory. One frequent question: are Rex and Halsey the same person?

I will say Pullman and Paxton are a delight in their scenes together, and Cort bristles with manic energy.

I would have enjoyed this film more when I was younger and had a greater appreciation for Hollywood films that went against the grain. But as a wizened adult, “Brain Dead” was a chore will little payoff. It has one of those “twist” endings where you’re like, “I don’t care. Please kill me.”

Oddly though, I’d be open to watching it again if I had some booze and friends willing to engage in Mystery Science Theater 3000 narration.

All that said, if you know what you’re getting into, you might enjoy this one.