I Watch Films: The Atomic Brain

The Atomic Brain

Aka Monstrosity, this is a short 1963 black and white horror film. A old woman, Mrs Marsh, intends to have her brain transferred to the body of a younger woman by Dr Frank who is experimenting in the basement with atomic power. He has already transferred the brain of a dog to a man, who is now a weird beast. She has invited three women from Australia, England and Mexico, claiming to want to employ them, but in fact they are to be candidates for her new body.

One of them has a birthmark (in the shape of Cyprus?) and so is used for the final trial run, and she receives the brain of the cat Xerxes. This is possibly the most successful part of the film as the other two women try to talk to her, not understanding, and she keeps climbing on things, hissing and scratching – making another of the women unsuitable.

There are then some overlong shenanigans, as Mrs Marsh, her “companion” Victor and Dr Frank all betray each other, and Xerxes makes a final sinister appearance.

Watch This: For a quick mad-scientist horror science fiction
Don’t Watch This: For anything actually interesting or scary or that makes sense