YMMV / Brain Damage

• Awesome Music: The downright gorgeous end credits theme by Gus Russo.
• Complete Monster: "Aylmer" is an ancient parasite that is coveted by humans due to his ability to produce a juice that is an addictive drug for humans. Aylmer is in the possession of elderly couple named Morris and Martha, who keep him alive by feeding him animal brains. Aylmer grows bored with this, desiring human brains to consume, and escapes to another apartment. Aylmer meets a young man named Brian and exposes him to his juices. Aylmer offers to give Brian his juices again, if he takes him for a walk. Brian, high out of his mind, is messing around in a junk yard, when a security guard tries to detain Brian. Aylmer kills the security guard and eats his brain. Later, while at a club, Brian meets an attractive woman and they go to the roof to have sex, but Aylmer eats her brain. When Brian discovers what Aylmer is doing, he tries to stop being Aylmer's pawn, but goes through horrible withdrawal pains and suffers from nightmarish illusions, with Aylmer mocking him and demanding that Brian obey him in exchange for his juice. Brian eventually breaks down and helps Aylmer kill another man at a motel. Later, while high and under Aylmer's influence, Brian kills his girlfriend. When Morris and Martha try to reclaim Aylmer and take him from Brian, Aylmer kills both of them.
• Crosses the Line Twice: Brian suffering from withdrawal? Not funny, Aylmer singing Elmer's Tune complete with background music while Brian cries onto the sink? Hilarious.
• Realism-Induced Horror: A man's life and mental health disintegrate while his loved ones are helpless to save him. You could take out Aylmer and replace him with any number of recreational drugs or mental conditions which could do the same thing.
• Unintentionally Unsympathetic: Brian's girlfriend has a moment of this when after a fruitless search for the vanished Brian, she talks about how she feels worthless and discarded after he dumped her, then hooks up with his brother. It's understandable she'd be upset, sure, but her ex did vanish mysteriously after demonstrating extremely unusual behavior, part of which was dumping her while rambling insanely about how his senses and perspective were all different now. It would seem logical to assume that he wasn't in his right mind when he left and that he could be in danger instead of worrying about how he made her feel.

---