‘There’s a party at Doc’s and it’s B.Y.O.B. …bring your own brain!’
Housesitter: The Night They Saved Siegfried’s Brain is a 2019 American comedy horror film about a mad scientist seeking human brains. The 1987-shot movie remained unfinished for thirty-two years until post-sound and final image production was added and it was finally completed!
Directed by Robin Nuyen (who played a thief in Wes Craven’s Deadly Friend) from a screenplay co-written with Richard Gasparian (who went on to be an animation timing director on series such as Family Guy and The Simpsons), the Basement Productions movie stars the latter alongside David Karsten, Holly Kaplan (Bad Milo; Shocker) and Peter Strong.
Plot:
Andy, an idealist medical student with a serious Elvis obsession, who is determined to perfect his rat-to-rat brain transfer to “help mankind and change the face of modern science”. After his final experiment fails and blows up, Andy loses his chance to travel abroad and study at the prestigious Reinhardt Institute.
With his future in doubt, and with no place to live, his future looks bleak. Little does Andy know that his beloved professor and mentor, Doc Crosby, is actually a mad scientist who has been murdering people and stealing their brains for experiments in his makeshift “black and white” laboratory.
When Doc realises that his own brain is so severely damaged from experimenting on himself that he will be dead in a matter of hours without a successful brain transfer, he hatches a scheme to acquire the thirteen human brains needed for his “brain pyramid”. Knowing that Andy is homeless and that college kids can’t resist having big parties, Doc invites Andy to housesit while he goes away on “business”.
After he frees his deranged lab assistant from the insane asylum, and with his house now full of healthy unsuspecting college kids, Doc’s trap is set. When the party begins, so does the deadly game of cat and mouse…
Reviews:
“At times, it feels like there is as much inner monologue as there is spoken dialogue, and there are loads of puns and groaner jokes, most of which fall flat, which may have been the intent of co-writers Gasparian […] and Nuyen. Housesitter: The Night They Save Siegfried’s Brain is a true labor of love that should find success as a party film…” When It Was Cool
“It’s often cartoonish and at many times clearly dubbed, but the nostalgic 80’s horror and 50’s-esque science fiction moments still make this film enjoyable to watch. There’s a few twists, some fun and cheesy gore, and enough nerdy [nonsensical] science jargon to warm my heart and make me a fan. There are also many artistic transitions to black and white for the sci-fi moments, giving the film an excellent contrast between its genre crossovers.” Wicked Horror
Release:
Housesitter: The Night They Save Siegfried’s Brain premiered at Another Hole in the Head Film Fest in San Francisco in 2019.
Available On-Demand and Blu-ray on October 2nd 2020 from Leomark Studios.
Cast and characters:
Richard Gasparian … Andy (as Richard J. Gasparian)
David Karsten … Doctor Ambrose Crosby (Doc)
Holly Kaplan … Annie
Stephen James Carver … Chase
Robert Small … Roger
Mark Pitta … Elvis
Robin Nuyen … Marlon the motorcycle man
Eric McConnell … Emerson
Carlos Nucci … Matt
Vern Stillwell … Doctor Himmel Schwartz
Brianna Noyes … Girl in Pink Dress
Lyda Stillwell … Cora Crosby
Filming locations:
Kalamazoo, Michigan
