Head of the Family

Year: 1996

Director: Robert Talbot

Written by: Benjamin Carr

Threat: Mad Scientist

Weapon of Choice: Fire

Based upon: nothing

IMDb page: IMDb link

      Head of the Family

Other movies in this series:
None

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 skull
Bad premise skull
Bad acting
Bad dialogue
Bad execution
MTV Editing
OTS skullskull
Girl unnecessarily gets naked skull
Wanton sex skullskull
Death associated with sex skull
Unfulfilled promise of nudity
Characters forget about threat
Secluded location skull
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 skull
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 skull
Beheading
Blood fountain
Blood spatters - camera, wall, etc.
Poor death effect
Excessive gore
No one dies at all skull
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? skull