Donovan's Brain1953
“A dead man's brain in a hidden laboratory told him to KILL... KILL... KILL”
Directed by Felix E. Feist
🏆 1 nomination
The premise
A scientist takes the brain of dead man and revives it via electrodes as it lays suspended in a tank of liquid. Soon, the brain grows to possess enormous psychic powers and inflicts its personality upon the doctor who saved it, creating a "Jekyll and Hyde" paradigm.
Horror Vault's take
When a well-meaning scientist rescues the brain of a recently deceased man and keeps it alive in a laboratory tank, he opens a door he cannot close. The disembodied organ proves far more than a medical curiosity — it develops formidable psychic abilities and begins to exert a chilling influence over its keeper. What starts as a triumph of science quickly becomes a battle for the doctor's very soul, blurring the line between savior and slave. This 1953 classic poses a deeply unsettling question: who is really in control?
Content: Mild Surgical Imagery, Themes Of Mental Coercion And Loss Of Autonomy
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Cast
Lew Ayres
Dr. Patrick J. Cory
Nancy Reagan
Janice Cory
Gene Evans
Dr. Frank Schratt
Steve Brodie
Herbie Yocum
Tom Powers
Donovan's Washington Advisor
Lisa Howard
Chloe Donovan
James Anderson
Chief Tuttle
Victor Sutherland
Nathaniel Fuller
Michael Colgan
Tom Donovan
Peter Adams
Mr. Webster
Harlan Warde
Treasury Agent Brooke
Shimen Ruskin
Tailor
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