The Brainiac (1961)

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This outrageous Mexican horror gem opens in the 17th century, where Spanish Baron Vitelius is being sentenced to death for heresy, thanks to his reputation as a Casanova and practitioner of the black arts. Before his death, he curses the bloodlines of the Inquisitors -- a curse heralded by the appearance of a comet, which Vitelius declares will mark his vengeance when it passes again. Flash forward 300 years to the swinging '60s, where the comet does more than just appear in the sky -- it slams into the Earth, releasing a brain-sucking demon with a forked tongue, which then transforms into the shape of Vitelius. The Baron heads to town and immediately goes to work on the locals, inviting them to a party where he manages to identify and list the Inquisitors' descendants in order to plan his revenge. Seeking them out one by one, he sucks their brains dry with his spiked tongue, then burns their bodies. When the police eventually discover Vitelius' secret stash of human brains, they manage to track him down and destroy him before he claims his last victim. Despite laughably bad dubbing that turns every character into a complete moron, this is still a clever little no-budget film, filled with wild imagery and goofy monster effects (e.g. the demon's rubber head occasionally swells and deflates via air-hose). Released theatrically in Mexico, this film saw its American debut on television and soon became a late-night creature-feature favorite. ~ Cavett Binion, Rovi