Head of the FamilyYear: 1996 Director: Robert Talbot Written by: Benjamin Carr Threat: Mad Scientist Weapon of Choice: Fire Based upon: nothing |
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The tyranist's thoughts
While not bad, this one wasn't exactly good. Still, it was a Full Moon production and it
was about what I would expect of them, perhaps even a little better.
So in a small town filled with politics and a shaggy looking mobster wannabe, two lovers
conceive of a plot to rid themselves of her husband that involves the town's rich family,
who happen to be mutants. Well, the 'head of the family' happens to be mutated into a
super-smart mad scientist type who doesn't like to be played. Nudity and mayhem follow.
Jacqueline Lovell made this movie worth watching. She really shines as the single actor
in the movie that seems to actually get lost in her role. Of course, it helps that her role
called for healthy doses of nudity, but still, she was easily the most likeable and believable
character. Other than her, the cast is pretty mediocre. The production values are relatively
low, but what would you expect. On the other hand, the script sparkled. The dialogue was
snappy and accurate and well done. Very unusual for this type of movie, but
refreshing.
This one is definitely worth checking out if you run across it. It would probably be even
more fun if you had a good group of people to watch it with.
Rish Outfield's reviews
I want to go into a little more detail on something tyranist didn't tell you about the flick.
It seems that this vaguely Southern town lives in wonder of the Stackpool famly, a
group of quadruplets that live in a big house out in the middle of nowhere. Each one is
a mutant with a special enhanced ability: Otis is a huge ox of a man; Wheeler has
enhanced sight, smell, and hearing; Ernestina has seductive powers over any man; and
the brilliant Myron (the head of the family) is basically a giant head on a baby's body.
But with an enormous tongue, oddly enough. Myron has converted his basement into
a sort of menagerie of his botched medical experiments, which reminds me of my own
uncle Rex who was into that sort of thing when I was a kid.
Even though it has an atrocious pun as a title, I greatly enjoyed this film. I was
refreshed to see a Full Moon Picture that for once didn't feature dolls, puppets, or
evil toys. Wait, was it a Full Moon Picture, boss? Somebody somewhere told me
that director Robert Talbot is actually Charles Band with a hat and fake moustache on.
Hmmm.
Jacqueline Lovell first caught my attention in the abomination known as The
Killer Eye, which was so bad it took my own eyes several weeks to recover.
She was so beautiful, though, that I was willing to give Head of the Family a
chance just because she was in it. And the babe was not only extremely hot and
extremely naked but managed to be cutely compelling and comedically talented as
well. I don't suppose she learned these skills during her time as a porn star, but you
never know.
The dialogue was well-written and the comedy was actually funny instead of coming
off as idiotic. I enjoyed the hick town accents and caricatures and was greatly
amused by Myron (J.W. Perra), who goes on and on about his intellectual superiority
and then surprised me by being smart enough to not give in to Lovell's considerable
feminine wiles (sure know I would've). It was a lot of laughs, and though never scary,
not all horror films have to be The Shining.
Unfortunately, the film is hampered by its lack of budget, and the final scenes suffer
greatly, ending on a confusing note rather than a clever, apt, or funny one. Tyranist
may be right in that Head of the Family wasn't exactly good, but it was highly
entertaining and a lot of fun, and if that's not a recommendation, I'm not sure what is.
Total Skulls: 13
Sequel | ||
Sequel setup | ||
Rips off earlier film | ||
Horror film showing on TV/in theater in movie | ||
Future celebrity appears | ||
Former celebrity appears | ||
Bad title | ||
Bad premise | ||
Bad acting | ||
Bad dialogue | ||
Bad execution | ||
MTV Editing | ||
OTS | ||
Girl unnecessarily gets naked | ||
Wanton sex | ||
Death associated with sex | ||
Unfulfilled promise of nudity | ||
Characters forget about threat | ||
Secluded location | ||
Power is cut | ||
Phone lines are cut | ||
Someone investigates a strange noise | ||
Someone runs up stairs instead of going out front door | ||
Camera is the killer | ||
Victims cower in front of a window/door | ||
Victim locks self in with killer | ||
Victim running from killer inexplicably falls | ||
Toilet stall scene | ||
Shower/bath scene | ||
Car stalls or won't start | ||
Cat jumps out | ||
Fake scare | ||
Laughable scare | ||
Stupid discovery of corpse | ||
Dream sequence | ||
Hallucination/Vision | ||
No one believes only witness | ||
Crazy, drunk, old man knows the truth | ||
Warning goes unheeded | ||
Music detracts from scene | ||
Death in first five minutes | ||
x years before/later | ||
Flashback sequence | ||
Dark and stormy night | ||
Killer doesn't stay dead | ||
Killer wears a mask | ||
Killer is in closet | ||
Killer is in car with victim | ||
Villain is more sympathetic than heroes | ||
Unscary villain/monster | ||
Beheading | ||
Blood fountain | ||
Blood spatters - camera, wall, etc. | ||
Poor death effect | ||
Excessive gore | ||
No one dies at all | ||
Virgin survives | ||
Geek/Nerd survives | ||
Little kid lamely survives | ||
Dog/Pet miraculously survives | ||
Unresolved subplots | ||
"It was all a dream" ending | ||
Unbelievably happy ending | ||
Unbelievably crappy ending | ||
What the hell? |