Entertainment
Extremely R-Rated 90's Sci-Fi Thriller Is A Mind-Bending Hidden Gem
By Robert Scucci
| Published
Nearly a decade before The Matrix proposed the whole brain in a jar idea that we all know and love, or are genuinely afraid is an accurate depiction of our simulation-induced reality we are not yet ready to face, writer director Adam Simon gave us 1990’s Brain Dead. While there is not a red or blue pill to be found in Brain Dead, we are taken on a trip through the human psyche at its most fractured, resulting in a visually disturbing journey through the subconscious that is not afraid to hallucinate your greatest fears into existence. Starring and carried by Bill Pullman and Bill Paxton, Brain Dead is one of those increasingly odd trips through the human mind that is willing to get violent and kaleidoscopic to drive its point home.
With a reported budget of $2 million dollars, Brain Dead was always destined to become a cult classic thanks to its cheap but clever special effects, surreal set design, and constantly unraveling narrative that keeps you questioning what is real versus what is imagined. Bill Pullman’s straight-faced concern with his own mental wellbeing as his research sends him spiraling is especially effective here, because this film fully commits to taking you on a trip. Any overacting would have softened its impact, and Pullman wisely avoids that trap.
What makes the experience even stronger is Bill Paxton, who also plays things surprisingly straight. He brings a level of corporate scumbaggery to the mix that only he could convincingly deliver, grounding the film’s more outlandish ideas in something that feels uncomfortably familiar.
Brains In A Jar, Near And Far
Brain Dead introduces us to Dr. Rex Martin (Bill Pullman), a highly respected neurosurgeon who focuses his research on mental abnormalities through brain mapping. Rex knows his stuff and takes his work seriously, so seriously that when he is approached by old friend Jim Reston (Bill Paxton), a successful entrepreneur working with the Eunice Corporation, the offer immediately raises red flags. Jim looks the part, with slicked back hair and a fixation on results and the bottom line in whatever experiments Eunice is overseeing without any regard for their ethical implications.
Jim’s proposition to Rex is simple but morally grey. He wants Rex to map the brain of a psychotic mathematician named Jack Halsey (Bud Cort), who previously worked for Eunice before going off the deep end and destroying his own research. Rex’s job is to poke around inside Halsey’s brain in hopes of either recovering the lost research or wiping his mental slate clean so the information cannot be shared with competing companies.
Conflicted about the work, Rex decides to interview Halsey to size up the job. What he finds is a broken man who talks a mile a minute and speaks almost exclusively in conspiracy theories. After Rex is struck by a van, he wakes up and inexplicably decides to move forward with the research, setting off a chain reaction of traumatizing events that he can no longer distinguish as real or imagined.
Rex soon learns that Halsey murdered his family and research assistants after completing his work, and that a man named Conklin (Nicholas Pryor) may actually be behind the slayings for reasons that remain unclear. As Rex begins exhibiting the same paranoid behavior as Halsey, especially after losing his grants and laboratory access, he finds himself trapped inside a labyrinthian mystery involving Halsey, Conklin, Jim, and Eunice. Solving it may be the only thing standing between him and the complete loss of his faculties.
A Stylish, Low-Budget Cult Classic
Brain Dead thrives on showing rather than telling, forcing the viewer to piece the mystery together with the same creeping paranoia its protagonist experiences in real time. The film earns serious points for suggesting that we might all be brains living in jars housed by the Eunice Corporation, while never fully committing to that explanation. Just because the idea is implied does not mean it is true, and that uncertainty is part of the appeal.
Bill Paxton delivers the goods as a corporate sleazebag desperate to placate shareholders by extracting valuable research at any cost, which perfectly offsets Rex’s more ethically driven approach to the work. The tension between those perspectives gives the film its emotional weight beneath all the hallucinations and fractured realities.
Is Rex losing his mind because he has gone too deep into his own research, or is he on the verge of exposing a conspiracy involving brain manipulation at the hands of the Eunice Corporation? The only way to find out is by watching Brain Dead, which is currently streaming for free on Tubi.
Entertainment
The DJI Mini 5 Pro drone is $500 off right now at Amazon — save on this content creator favorite
SAVE $500: The DJI Mini 5 Pro Fly More Combo is on sale for $1,099 at Amazon. That’s $500 off the list price of $1,599.
$1,099
at Amazon
$1,599
Save $500
What’s going to happen to the drone market in 2026? Due to legislative pressure on DJI imports in the U.S., there is so much uncertainty at the moment. We expected stock issues by now, but we’re actually seeing strong discounts on some of the best drones in the DJI range.
The DJI Mini 5 Pro Fly More Combo is on sale for $1,099 at Amazon. That’s $500 off and close to the record-low price.
The DJI Mini 5 Pro offers a huge 1-inch CMOS sensor, so whether you’re shooting 50MP stills or 4K/120fps slow-motion, the dynamic range more than delivers. The DJI Mini 5 Pro also makes use of forward-facing LiDAR that powers the new Nightscape Omnidirectional Sensing, meaning it can dodge branches, power lines, and buildings even when you don’t have eyes on your drone.
This popular drone offers 42GB of internal storage, meaning you can actually capture a full session of 4K footage without needing an external card as backup. That can have a massive impact for content creators.
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Save $500 on the DJI Mini 5 Pro this weekend.
Entertainment
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Right now, you can streamline your AI workflow with a lifetime subscription to 1min.AI Advanced Business Plan for only $79.97 (reg. $540) through May 10.
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Imagine seeing results from dozens of popular AI models in one window, with no tab-hopping or copying and pasting required. That’s what 1min.AI offers — a one-stop-shop for all your AI needs.
With 1min.AI, you can see responses from major AI models like ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, Mistral, and more, all in one spot.
Compare them all and easily find the best answer. You can get help with coding, video editing, image generation, answering simple questions, and much more. Just always give things a human once-over, because edits might be required.
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Entertainment
NYT Connections Sports Edition today: Hints and answers for May 2, 2026
Today’s Connections: Sports Edition will require some knowledge of popular U.S. sports and pop culture.
As we’ve shared in previous hints stories, this is a version of the popular New York Times word game that seeks to test the knowledge of sports fans.
Like the original Connections, the game is all about finding the “common threads between words.” And just like Wordle, Connections resets after midnight and each new set of words gets trickier and trickier — so we’ve served up some hints and tips to get you over the hurdle.
If you just want to be told today’s puzzle, you can jump to the end of this article for the latest Connections solution. But if you’d rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.
What is Connections: Sports Edition?
The NYT‘s latest daily word game has launched in association with The Athletic, the New York Times property that provides the publication’s sports coverage. The sports Connections can be played on both web browsers and mobile devices and require players to group four words that share something in common.
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Each puzzle features 16 words, and each grouping of words is split into four categories. These sets could comprise anything from book titles, software, country names, etc. Even though multiple words will seem like they fit together, there’s only one correct answer.
If a player gets all four words in a set correct, those words are removed from the board. Guess wrong and it counts as a mistake — players get up to four mistakes before the game ends.
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Players can also rearrange and shuffle the board to make spotting connections easier. Additionally, each group is color-coded with yellow being the easiest, followed by green, blue, and purple. Like Wordle, you can share the results with your friends on social media.
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Here’s a hint for today’s Connections: Sports Edition categories
Want a hint about the categories without being told the categories? Then give these a try:
Here are today’s Connections: Sports Edition categories
Need a little extra help? Today’s connections fall into the following categories:
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Yellow: A Pittsburgh Athlete
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Green: Seen on an MLB Scorebug
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Blue: Teams in the PWHL Playoffs
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Purple: Horse Racing Triple Crowns
Looking for Wordle today? Here’s the answer to today’s Wordle.
Ready for the answers? This is your last chance to turn back and solve today’s puzzle before we reveal the solutions.
Drumroll, please!
The solution to today’s Connections: Sports Edition #585 is…
What is the answer to Connections: Sports Edition today?
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A Pittsburgh Athlete: PANTHER, PENGUIN, PIRATE, STEELER
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Seen on an MLB Scorebug: COUNT, INNING, OUTS, SCORE
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Teams in the PWHL Playoffs: CHARGE, FLEET, FROST, VICTORIE
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Horse Racing Triple Crowns: AFFIRMED, CITATION, JUSTIFY, WHIRLAWAY
Don’t feel down if you didn’t manage to guess it this time. There will be new sports Connections for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we’ll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints.
Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today’s Strands.
If you’re looking for more puzzles, Mashable’s got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.
Not the day you’re after? Here’s the solution to today’s Connections.
Late penalty extends New England's unbeaten streak vs. Charlotte
Joel Embiid, 76s knock out second-seeded Celtics
