Good concept, poorly executed.
Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%
View MoreEasily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.
View MoreBlistering performances.
I have to admit that for the first few minutes, I thought this was going to be yet another DV amateur clunker, but wow, was I wrong.The story is very clever and full of twists, leaving no gaps, holes, or guessing on the part of the viewer. It's well acted and the characters are fully realized, so much so, you find yourself sympathizing with the protagonist. I would have liked a bit more exposition of George; a bit more history as to who the girl was and how he ended up where he did with her as that would have added more dimension to the character and added depth to the ending(I'm trying to avoid spoilers; you'll have to watch the movie to understand what I'm talking about), however, the story is tight enough that this is not a deal-breaker by any means.Technically, the cinematography is first rate and plenty atmospheric, surprisingly so, and I'm no fan of DV, so that's saying something. It's well edited,and briskly paced. Sound is clear and very well mixed. The music is eerie and fits beautifully, adding a tremendous depth.Hats off to all involved; it's amazing what they accomplished on a budget of what was reported as just over $125k. I wonder what they could have done if they had twice as much, or even ten times as much, but in the end, I can't say they really needed it as there's really no fault I can find in this film. A lot of much bigger budget producers and directors could learn a few things from watching this film.Overall, fans of low budget supernatural thrillers will love this flick, and fans of big budget movies will be pleasantly surprised.
View MoreNicely done indie from out of left field. I wasn't sure what I was watching at first, was it supposed to be horror? Drama? Thriller? It begins a bit on the slow side, but quickly starts to set a nice pace and pulls you into the story. Quite different looking visually by independent film standards, it is presented as a dismal existence for the main character "George", who is played wonderfully by actor Vince Mola. I found his acting refreshing and quite believable, as he is not your typical leading man, but rather a portrait of a 30 something slacker set against a horrifying reality. Jamil Mangan and Mary Monahan are equally convincing in their supporting roles and help the story unfold in a believable fashion. Director Lance Weiler seems to have a knack for only showing the viewer as much as needed at any given moment, then turning on all cylinders and pushing forth the horror. Very much in the same realm as "Stir of Echos", "Head Trauma" is a well crafted ghost story that delivers the scares on an ever changing plate of circumstances.
View MoreI always seem to be the film critic about horror movies. Especially nowadays. Someone like Eli Roth can make a movie like "hostel" and make a squillion dollars and have people scared out of their wits because they never thought they'd see the day someones eyeball gets cut off or arm severed, etc.Horror seems to be focused on shock factor nowadays. What's gory and what you think you can feel by looking at it. I think it's unfortunate for one: because the mind will always be the best scare tactic, and for two: there are so much worse (gratuitous) movies out there than American forerunners "saw" and "hostel". (Check out Ichi the Killer, or read a Chuck Palahniuk novel...then say how "bad" those movies are).Head Trauma is a subtle, well-played and paced indie psychological horror movie. Not for gore or action hounds this movie sets a great pace and lets you become familiar with the characters, finally twisting you to realize you don't know the characters at all. I do think the acting wasn't the best at points, but I also think that added to the 'oddity' of the movie. There are some "scare points" that made me jump out of my seat because I never saw them coming. Coupled with that, Head Trauma is full of nail-bitters, guess-who's, and 'DONT OPEN THE DOOR's.I loved it and I'd recommend it to any one in the mood for a great psych. thriller. Anyone who's a fan of Session 9, Primer, any David Lynch films, or anyone in the mood for a good scary mind screw; check this movie out.I can only imagine more experience in directing will send Lance Weiler to the top of the indie list. I wish I could thank him in person for making such a great movie. Check it out.On a side note, I don't mean to belittle new horror movies like the "saw" or "hostel" series. I'm not a fan of them, but I do give them loads of credit in the special effects field. I just wish horror amounted to more than how real a decapitation scene looked. Head trauma gives horror films that chance.
View MoreI saw this DVD on the shelf and noticed it right away.It has a really cool and catchy cover with amazing artwork on the cover. I knew nothing about this movie but the place I rented it at specializes in indie and harder to find titles. I got into it right away and liked the simplicity of it and the dark,spooky score in some areas of it.I read that some people understood it and even said it had an ending that made sense.I am a little confused because in one of the interviews (on the special features section) it said it was a true story.I'm not sure if it really was or if that was just added for effect. It was a bit confusing in some parts.I wasn't sure if he was dreaming in some scenes since he was in 2 places at one time, and when did the head trauma happen? Did it happen after he was pushed by the black guy out of the house when he hit his head,or when he was in the car crash? I guess I will have to watch it again. The scene where George Walker is having a dream within a dream was filmed perfectly and it made me jump out of my chair! Also the explosion scene was awesome! I would like to see more good movies by Lance Weiler.
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