Sheila And The Brainstem [Blu-ray]

Sheila and the Brainstem Blu-ray presents Russell Bates and Matt McDowell’s long-unreleased 1989 punk rock road movie in a 2-disc region free collection from Severin Films. Shot on 16mm by UCLA film students and later passed around as an underground bootleg legend, the film now receives its official worldwide home video premiere.

A strange trip through love, death, convenience stores, kidnapped newlyweds and a magical brainstem promising immortality, Sheila and the Brainstem captures the offbeat energy of late-1980s American independent cinema. The film also features appearances tied to the L.A. music scene, including Redd Kross, Milo Aukerman of Descendents and Peter Case of The Plimsouls, with soundtrack vocals by Bob Forrest of Thelonious Monster.

Scanned in 2K from the original negative, this edition includes both the Original Version and Producer’s Cut, plus 3 hours of all-new special features including commentary, interviews, locations tour, music video, introduction and trailer.

directed by: Russell Bates, Matt McDowell
starring: Lisa Jane Todd, Richard Paxson, Terry Fury, Rod Gillespie, Tom Bate, Darren Harris
1989 / 80 min / English Stereo Audio / 2-Disc Region Free Blu-ray