times across the globe since the Middle Ages. Morris, who fed Aylmer with animal brains, warns Brian that feeding it humans will make it too strong to resist. Horrified, Brian rents a flophouse room to wean himself off the fluid and starve Aylmer, but Aylmer gleefully informs him that his body chemistry has irrevocably changed, and that the pain of withdrawal will be too much for him to bear. Brian soon relents, now consciously attending Aylmer as he hunts for victims. Returning to his apartment, Brian discovers that Mike and Barbara have begun a relationship; realizing that he cannot control himself or choose Aylmer's targets, Brian tries to warn them away before fleeing to the streets. Barbara follows and confronts him on the subway, where Aylmer kills her. Back at the apartment, Morris and his wife, Martha, hold Brian at gunpoint to steal Aylmer back; Aylmer attacks them. As he feeds on their brains, Brian begs for another injection of juice. Aylmer agrees, which distracts them long enough for Morris to regain consciousness, grabbing and crushing Aylmer during the injection process. This kills Aylmer and forces an overdose, leaving Brian in agony. Screaming and bleeding juice, he runs to his room, puts Morris's gun to his own head and fires. The police arrive at the apartment building. Joined by Mike, they break down Brian's door—finding Brian, who stares blankly with a large, glowing hole in his forehead, emanating with light and long crackles of electricity. Cast Additionally, John Reichert and Don Henenlotter appear in the film as police officers, and Kenneth Packard and Artemis Pizarro appear as subway passengers. Kevin Van Hentenryck makes a cameo appearance as "Man with Basket", a reference to his role as Duane Bradley in writer-director Frank Henenlotter's previous directorial work, Basket Case (1982). Van Hentenryck had a crew cut at the time, and so wore a wig in order to match his hairstyle from Basket Case. Themes and interpretations Drug abuse Brain Damage was reportedly inspired by Frank Henenlotter's own cocaine addiction. In a 1988 interview with Henenlotter, Robert "Bob" Martin of Fangoria referred to the imagery of Aylmer's needle entering the back of Brian's neck as being invocative of drug abuse. Henenlotter stated: To me, the drug is a function of the plot and that's that. To see [Aylmer] as a metaphor for real drugs is a very narrow reading. The needle, the fluid—all