Head Case (2007)

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Awesome Movie

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

Head Case is a raw, gruesome (and at times, darkly comedic) 'found footage' style horror film about a serial killer who videotapes his crimes, while his wife watches (and occasionally participates). The film is unapologetic in its brutality and isn't afraid to go places some horror films won't. Paul McCloskey plays serial killer Wayne Montgomery with a dry, deadpan demeanor that is both creepy and endearing. His wife Andrea (Barbara Lessin) provides some of the film's comic relief, as she watches her husband commit murder after murder while commenting (and sometimes critiquing) his work. The familiarity of the characters hit home for me (I know people just like Wayne and Andrea), which added to the overall creepiness of the film. Head Case is certainly not for all tastes, but I liked it.

In this subtle, yet unsettling compilation of "home movies" created by Wayne & Andrea Montgomery, filmmaker Anthony Spadaccini affirms his instinctive aptitude for creating both a successful cinematic showpiece and an unnerving playground for his actors to perform. The realism that this film contains is both distressing and comical; a compound genre that I feel is rather difficult to accomplish. Through the camera's scope, the viewer does not witness an organized, calculable story, rather an intelligently assembled collage of personal movies filmed by Andrea and Wayne to both document their quite casual domestic family life as well as their gruesome escapades that are performed in secrecy. Wayne Montgomery (Paul McCloskey) portrays the ordinary American Family Man with a quite shocking hobby that he has excelled into an elusive art form that he takes very seriously. To withhold a family infrastructure, fulfill his talent of dismembering bodies, and filming the murders for later satisfaction, Wayne affirms himself to be quite the bachelor of demented serial killers! His accomplice and spouse, Andrea Montgomery (Barbara Lessin) is not any less motivated. (Her character, the candid matriarch, is comparable to a contemporary Lady Macbeth.)At the beginning of the film, Wayne decides to end his long era of reticence. Now that his children are older, he can return to his former hobbies previously restrained by raising his two children. This time, Andrea doesn't want to feel left out, so they form a successful duet, picking up strangers, dismembering their bodies, and cleaning up afterward. However, while this film initially appears to be geared towards horror fans, it has the quite unique and mature characteristics of a dark comedy. As Spadaccini's first horror film, he is proving himself to be quite an evolving polymath of film genres. As the category of serial killer films is not uncommon, I have to point out this film carries a quite deviant approach to realistic story telling. The hand-held filming quality allows for the audience to take the voyeur's point-of-view into a world that appears identically parallel to our own. The loose cinematography is quite remarkable.This is a film that I would suggest for everyone to watch no matter what genre of film you prefer. Also, anyone interested in good film-making, I promise that you will not be let down. This film is remarkable.

Headcase has one of the most interesting plots I've ever heard of or seen in my life. The filmography was amazing and extremely effective in what the film was trying to accomplish.If you aren't fond of blood and gore, this movie might not be for you, but if you are a fan of the horror and gore movies, this one is certainly one to see. You never know what is going to happen next and Spadaccini keeps you guessing.Altogether I very much enjoyed this film and I would recommend this movie to anyone who loves a good horror story or appreciates great filmography.

Head Case is a dark and chilling film, but if you solely take it in the context of a gratuitous horror film, then you are clearly going to overlook the main impetus Spadaccini is striving for. Although the acts of murder and vile mutilation are a major and indeed gruesome part of the plot, there is a more wholesome and intriguing aspect to the film which often neutralises its more shocking elements.The discourse between Wayne and Andrea is perhaps the strongest element of Head Case, and as much as it can be witty and incisive it can equally be cold and chilling. There are some wonderfully humorous exchanges between husband and wife and initially infers Andrea holds equal footing with her husband. But the more we observe their day-to-day activities we soon realise Andrea is nothing more than an interested spectator, and without the camera we could imagine her to be nothing more than a disinterested housewife. Spadaccini does capture this emotional dichotomy of the couple beautifully, such as when Wayne and Andrea are having a minor domestic argument in the bedroom, and Wayne considers the only way to soothe his wife's rising anger is to take her on a drive to find another hapless victim that will sooth his own.But when deconstructing their behaviour it seems fairly obvious this is not a gruesome tale of two serial killers, but a tragic tale of a married couple seeking to invigorate their sterile marriage. Both characters display an overt sense of emotional detachment that comes forcefully through when dealing with their victims. While Wayne dissects one such victim and discovers her to be pregnant, Andrea cannot find any maternal sympathy other than briefly pass the camera over the bloody carcass of the foetus. Ironically, this is the brutal turning point of the film when Monica enters the room to make the horrific discovery, and Wayne enacts punishment in the only way he knows best. From this moment it is clear who holds the real power in the relationship, because despite Andrea's pathetic pleas of "That's enough," Wayne can only see one way of preventing his dark secret from seeping out. I am sure Spadaccini will take criticism for this shocking moment, but does enforce who is in real control of the film, regardless of the critical character of Andrea: "Look at the mess you've made!"But these dichotomies often keep you interested in the film, much as the dichotomy of Crime & Punishment keeps you interested in the motivation of Raskalnikov, and whether he will seek redemption and salvation in a greater good. But if marriage and family have not saved Wayne, then it is doubtful his moments of familial good will outweigh his greater moments of sadistic evil. For a man who can lovingly take his son on a driving lesson but sadistically ignore the crying pleas of a soon-to-be butchered mother forcefully realises how far beyond redemption Wayne has gone, and the spiral of madness he is influential for leaves little possibility of a reconciliation by the close of the film. Indeed, when Wayne seeks to initiate Andrea into his sadistic world we know there is no hope for this couple, and the sooner this nightmare is destroyed the better it will be for all concerned. Naturally, Spadaccini has the last word on this matter.For an independent film Spadaccini has worked hard with many genres and movie styles; considering the constraints he must have been working under. He has done very well to provide a unique experience for the discerning horror fan, and I can appreciate why this film will not be to everyone's taste. But based on the characterisation, the humour and the plot, I do think Head Case has the capacity to become a cult favourite for many others. Following on with other comments, we are seeing here the development of a very talented writer and director, who seems to be able to inject something fresh and compelling into a very tired and overdone genre.