Brand Upon the Brain! 2007

As Erik Steffen Maahs reprises his role as the adult Guy Maddin, and Sullivan Brown shines as his younger self, the narrative returns to Black Notch, a desolate island where a once-thriving lighthouse now stands as a testament to the protagonist’s family legacy. This erstwhile orphanage, helmed by Guy’s parents, serves as a canvas for memories long buried, which are now stirred to the surface by Guy’s meticulous house-painting endeavors.

In this cinematic odyssey, we find 12-year-old Guy immersed in a clandestine gathering of orphans, overseen by the enigmatic Savage Tom. As Tom reveals his intention to excise the very essence from Guy’s friend Neddie, the domineering mother intervenes, utilizing her “aerophone” - a radio-loudspeaker that allows her to broadcast across the island and maintain control over her brood. The lighthouse’s revolving light is also equipped with a telescope, permitting Mother to surveil her children with unyielding vigilance.

Within the confines of the orphanage-lighthouse, Mother revels in stifling the orphans’ desires, particularly the burgeoning sexual longings of Sis. As she regales Guy with tales of her own troubled past, we learn that she was once an orphan herself, a victim of circumstance stemming from Maddin’s grandmother, who had bald and scalped her sister for her hair. The jealousy that ensued led to a literal severing of motherly ties, as Maddin’s mother was “cut out” of her own mother’s womb.

Meanwhile, Guy’s father remains an elusive figure, content to toil in his basement laboratory, leaving Mother to dictate the terms of their isolated existence. As the memories unfold, we are granted a glimpse into the complex web of relationships and events that have shaped Guy Maddin’s psyche, all set against the haunting backdrop of Black Notch’s desolate landscape.

As fate would have it, Guy’s chance encounter with Wendy Hale, a brilliant and feisty teen detective, sets in motion a chain of events that would unravel the dark secrets shrouded around the isolated orphanage. Wendy’s investigation into the mysterious holes drilled into the heads of adopted orphans piques Guy’s curiosity, and their shared fascination blossoms into a tender crush. The pair joins forces with Sis and Neddie for a lively game of spin the bottle, where Wendy’s competitive spirit is matched only by her burgeoning feelings for Sis. Unbeknownst to Guy, Wendy assumes the identity of Chance, Sis’ twin brother, in order to pursue her newfound love, while Guy remains oblivious to the deception.

As their relationships deepen, Guy and Wendy/Chance team up to uncover the sinister truth behind the orphanage’s eerie atmosphere. Their probing uncovers a disturbing reality: Father, driven by an insatiable hunger for the coveted nectar extracted from the orphans’ brains, has been using his sharp signet ring to drill into their skulls. The harvested nectar is shipped to the mainland, and Mother, fueled by her own youthful ambitions, uses it to maintain her vitality, reversing the aging process with each daily dose.

However, as Sis becomes increasingly aware of Chance’s true identity, she finds herself torn between her love for Wendy and her duty to uncover the truth. In a shocking twist, Sis’ self-defense against Father’s manipulation results in his untimely demise. The orphans are left to mourn the loss of their patriarch and face the consequences of his dark deeds.

In the aftermath, Mother’s grief turns to despair as she discovers the extent of her husband’s transgressions. In a desperate bid to relive her youth, she resorts to the very same nectar-harvesting methods that drove Father to madness, only to find herself perpetuating a cycle of agelessness at the expense of her own sanity.

As tensions reach a boiling point, Guy stumbles upon Mother’s gruesome act of cannibalism, prompting Sis to orchestrate an exodus from the island. With Guy left behind, he finds solace in his love for his mother, as they share tender moments across the water. Ultimately, fate intervenes once more, and Guy is whisked away from the island, leaving him to navigate the complexities of foster care.

As Present-day Guy stands triumphant amidst the newly restored lighthouse’s radiant glow, a spectral visitor materializes before him - the ethereal Wendy - who reveals the dark truth about his mother’s legacy. Sis, it seems, had insidiously seized control of their island sanctuary, exploiting the innocence of orphans to further her own twisted desires, much like she had once done with her late husband’s mother. The weight of this revelation is crushing, as Wendy recounts how Chance abandoned her and fled the island in desperation, driving Sis to a madness that ultimately consumed her in a fiery blaze within the lighthouse’s lamp. The arrival of Mother, now blind and accompanied by the vengeful spirit of Father, sets the stage for a desperate bid to reclaim her former dominance, with Guy - her sole surviving child - at the center of her machinations. Yet, as Guy resists his mother’s attempts to reassert her tyrannical grip, life on the island becomes increasingly stagnant and uneventful… until the brutal murder of Father at the hands of sailors he had once tormented, their gruesome act of revenge witnessed by Guy’s helpless gaze. With Mother’s health failing, Guy prepares to catch her final breath in a glass bottle - but just as he does, the ghostly Wendy intervenes, and Mother expires in a fury, fueled by Guy’s distraction. Left alone on the island, Guy is torn between the haunting memories of his past and the uncertain possibilities of his future, his thoughts increasingly consumed by the dark allure of self-destruction.