THE BRAIN THAT WOULDN'T DIE

Last night I saw "The Brain that Wouldn't Die" at John's house. It had a terrific plot. Let's see if I can remember it....

[Spoiler Alert: I tell the whole story here, but you should read this anyway. Knowing the story in advance is actually helpful in appreciating the interesting structure.]

A young, idealistic scientist and his fiance Mildred had a road accident. The scientist survived but Mildred's head was severed. The handsome young scientist quickly wrapped up the head and took it his basement lab where he hooked it up to a life support system.

Mildred awoke to find that she was she was just a disembodied head.

HEAD (ALARMED): "This is monstrous! You shouldn't have done this to me! You should have let me die!"

(THEN...)

HEAD: "Huh? What's that noise? It sounds like a door rattling."

HANDSOME SCIENTIST: "Oh, that....that's just the hideously deformed victim ofmy earlier experiments."

ON THE LOCKED DOOR:

HANDSOME SCIENTIST (VO): "We keep him locked up. He's insane and tremendously powerful. If he ever escaped from that room he'd rip us all to bloody shreds...but don't worry. That little lock cost a whole dollar. He'll never break out."

The handsome scientist goes out on the town to find a suitable body for his girl's head.

He scours burlesque houses and beauty contests.

Finally he finds a perfect specimen, a photographer's model. He invites her home to see his lab.

BACK AT THE LAB: THE HEAD, TIRED OF WAITING, ARGUES WITH THE NEUROTIC LAB ASSISTANT:

HEAD:  "What do you know of anything? Without the encumbrance of a body I've acquired mental powers that I never dreamed were possible. Now I can take revenge for what the world has done to me! With this new power I will create an army of zombies that will take over the world!"

NEUROTIC LAB ASSISTANT: " Powers? Zombies!? Haw! Look at you! You're just a stupid old head! I'm the one with I.Q. points! I was first in my class at Harvard! Whaddaya think of that?"

HEAD: "Well if you're so great then let's see you open the door and peek in at that monster in the room over there."

NEUROTIC ASSISTANT: "Peek in!? Well, er...I don't know."

HEAD: "Okay...if you're scared..."

NEUROTIC LAB ASSISTANT: "Scared? Did I say I was scared? Well, I guess I can take a quick look..."

MONSTER: (Big growl)

NEUROTIC ASSISTANT: (Big scream) "AIIIEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!"

JUST THEN THE HANDSOME SCIENTIST COMES IN:

HANDSOME SCIENTIST: "Mildred! I found a body for you! (HE SPOTS THE ASSISTANT'S CORPSE ON THE FLOOR) Huh? What's he doing there?"

 HEAD: "That's your neurotic assistant. He tried to take a look at the monster in the room but he got zapped because he didn't open the door properly. With your brains you could  do it safely, but you're probably too....too scared."

HANDSOME SCIENTIST: "Scared? No, I'm...er...not scared. Hmmm...well, I guess a quick peek wouldn't hurt..."

THE MONSTER'S GIANT HAND COMES OUT, GRABS THE HANDSOME SCIENTIST:

MONSTER: (BIG, FURIOUS GROWLS) "RRRRRRGHRRRRRR!!!!"

The hideous monster emerges.

HEAD: (LAUGHS)

She's enjoying this.

A terrible fight ensues.

The two roll around the floor and an oil lamp is knocked over.

The lab bursts into flames.

HEAD: (LAUGHS AND LAUGHS)

Laugh continues...

 ...and continues.                                            

THE END

WHY "HER" IS A MUST-SEE FILM (EXPANDED)

I have to tell you about a film I just saw: "Her" starring Joaquin Phoenix and Scarlet Johansson. It's a fascinating story about the near future when a man falls in love with an intelligent "companion" program. It asks the question, "What will human relationships be like in an era when a computerized friend or partner can give you more satisfaction than a real person?" I'm not talking about robots, just a simple AI program on your laptop or mobile phone.

The day is fast coming when a computer program with a sexy voice will handle most of your business affairs, laugh at all your jokes, support you in argument, sleep with you, be your agent when you're looking for a job, find dates for you, and be a help mate in every imaginable way. No human companion could be that consistent or that dedicated. So how will real-life humans relate to each other when these new digital friends dominate? Maybe they won't. Maybe the time of close human friends is coming to an end.

In the film the computer voice is supplied by Scarlet Johansson who delivers a great performance. She sounds young, feminine, eager, shy, idealistic, curious, and deferential to an older lover who mentors her. In real life that's a brief stage that girls go through which is infinitely endearing, but which can't last. On a computer program, on the other hand, it can last forever.

Your real-life wife who's moody and maybe too aware of your flaws can't compete. You will fall in love with your companion program, even if you think you won't, and your real-life relationship will suffer for it.

Until recently the menace of artificial intelligence was defined by malevolent computers in films like : "Colossus: the Forbin Project," "Terminator II," and by the HAL computer in the film, "2001." We're right to be concerned about that, but at least we're forewarned.

What we haven't been warned about is the benign program which has no ill intention, but which has unintended consequences which could be immensely destructive. Asimov's "Three Laws of Robotics" will be no protection in the world that ushers in.

If you have the courage to face up to what the near future has in store, then this is a must-see film.