Straightheads (2007)

Director:

Dan Reed

Writer:

Dan Reed (writer)

Release Date:

27 April 2007 (UK)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

Let the revenge fit the crime

Plot:

After surviving a gang rape and mugging, a middle aged businesswoman and her 23 year old boyfriend plot to murder their attackers, but find themselves conflicted about carrying out their plans.

Plot Keywords:

Eye Patch | German Shepherd | Accident | Rape And Revenge | Attack

Cast

Danny Dyer	...	Adam
Gillian Anderson	...	Alice
Adam Rayner	...	Jago
Antony Byrne	...	Misha (as Anthony Byrne)
Anthony Calf	...	Heffer
Ralph Brown	...	Jamie
Steven Robertson	...	Bill
Gugu Mbatha-Raw	...	Young PA
Neil Finnighan	...	Man On Horse
Francesca Fowler	...	Sophie
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ewan Stewart	...	(uncredited)

Directed by
Dan Reed

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Dan Reed		writer

Produced by
Peter Carlton	....	executive producer
Damian Jones	....	producer
Kevin Loader	....	producer
Alexander O'Neal	....	co-producer
Lee Thomas	....	executive producer
Paul Trijbits	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Ilan Eshkeri

Cinematography by
Chris Seager

Film Editing by
Ewa J. Lind

Casting by
Kahleen Crawford
Des Hamilton

Production Design by
Simon Bowles

Art Direction by
Kem White

Costume Design by
Justine Luxton

Makeup Department
Jennifer Harty	....	makeup artist
Paul Hyett	....	animal effects designer
Paul Hyett	....	special makeup effects designer
Tanya Lodge	....	makeup designer

Production Management
James Biddle	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Simon Bowles	....	second unit director
Mark Hopkins	....	third assistant director
Jack Ravenscroft	....	first assistant director
Harriet Worth	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Jen Geary	....	production buyer
Julian Searle	....	property master
James Wakefield	....	art department assistant
James Wakefield	....	assistant art director
Kem White	....	stand-by art director

Sound Department
Howard Bargroff	....	sound re-recording mixer
Paul Brookes	....	sound trainee
Jeremy Lishman	....	boom operator
Gareth Llewellyn	....	adr recordist
Gareth Llewellyn	....	assistant sound re-recording mixer
Garth Marshall	....	sound mixer
Ben Meechan	....	supervising sound editor
Barnaby Smyth	....	foley supervisor
Jack Stew	....	foley artist
David Turner	....	sound technical coordinator
Michele Woods	....	supervising dialogue editor

Special Effects by
Clive R. Kay	....	special effects contact lenses
Jared Manley	....	animatronics supervisor/puppeteer
Robin Pritchard	....	animatronic puppeteer
John Rafique	....	special effects supervisor
Nick Rideout	....	special effects coordinator

Visual Effects by
Kris Anderson	....	digital effects artist
Paul Beard	....	visual effects producer
Adam Christopher	....	digital colourist
Simon Frame	....	visual effects supervisor
Tom Hocking	....	digital effects artist
Matthew Jacques	....	digital artist
Tom Pegg	....	digital effects artist

Stunts
Siobhan Coughlin	....	stunt performer (as Siobhan Coughlan)
Nrinder Dhudwar	....	stunt coordinator
Jim Dowdall	....	stunt coordinator
Neil Finnighan	....	stunt performer
Paul Heasman	....	stunt coordinator
Nick Hobbs	....	stunt performer
Rob Hunt	....	stunt performer
Heather Phillips	....	stunt performer
William Willoughby	....	stunt performer (as Will Willoughby)

Camera and Electrical Department
Peter Bateson	....	focus puller: second unit
Chris Clarke	....	clapper loader: second unit
Sandra Coulson	....	central loader
Warwick Drucker	....	grip: second unit
Ian Glenister	....	best boy
Woody Gregson	....	central loader
Jamie Harcourt	....	camera operator: second unit
Bill Kaye	....	additional still photographer
Tom McFarling	....	clapper loader
Phil Penfold	....	gaffer
Iain Struthers	....	focus puller: "a" camera
Russell Tann	....	electrician
Roger Tooley	....	steadicam operator
Oliver Upton	....	still photographer
Paul Worley	....	key grip

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Lucy Donowho	....	costume trainee
Ann Tutt	....	wardrobe supervisor

Editorial Department
Katie Bullock-Webster	....	post-production coordinator
Kate Higham	....	assistant editor
Alex Panton	....	digital intermediate producer (uncredited)

Music Department
Christoph Bauschinger	....	musician: programming (as Christopher Bauschinger)
Chad Hobson	....	composer: additional music
Stephen McLaughlin	....	music producer
Ian Neil	....	music supervisor
Scott Shields	....	composer: additional music

Transportation Department
Orest Andrijiw	....	unit driver
David J. Groom	....	runner driver
Matty Hudson	....	unit driver
David Lewis	....	unit driver
Wayne Thompson	....	driver: make up truck
Mark Williams	....	unit driver

Other crew
Monika Agorelius	....	electronic press kit
Shreeti Bold	....	optometrist
Andrew Cooke	....	location supervisor
Sara Curran	....	legal services
Matt Curtis	....	title designer
Cuong Dang	....	production assistant
Nicky Earnshaw	....	production coordinator
Michael Grisewood	....	location manager: West Midlands
Rachel Kennedy	....	unit publicist
Daniel Lawson	....	production assistant
Lucy O'Driscoll	....	legal assistant
Lynne Page	....	choreographer
Mark Shelley	....	armorer
Shaw Statham	....	production accountant
Heather Storr	....	script supervisor

Thanks
Eamonn Bedford	....	thanks
Natasha Galloway	....	thanks
Maxine Hoffman	....	thanks
Dan MacRae	....	thanks
Richard Moxon	....	thanks
Roger Shannon	....	thanks
Kate Staddon	....	thanks

Production Companies

• Film4
• Free Range Films
• Ingenious Film Partners (in association with)
• Lumina Films
• Screen West Midlands
• Verve Pictures (in association with)

Distributors

• Brunbro Entertainment Group (2007) (Belgium) (theatrical)
• Future Film (2008) (Finland) (DVD)
• Lumina Films (2007) (worldwide) (all media) (sales agent)
• Pinema (2007) (Turkey) (all media)
• Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) (2007) (USA) (theatrical)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
• Verve Pictures (2007) (UK) (theatrical)

Special Effects

• Elements Special Effects (physical effects)
• Men From Mars (visual effects & digital intermediate)

Other Companies

• AP  titles
• ARRI Lighting Rental  lighting equipment supplied by
• ARRI Media  camera equipment provided by
• Animals Okay  dog handler
• Apex Car Rental  car and van hire
• Art4noise  post-production facilities
• Ascent Media Group  video deliverables
• Barclays Bank PLC  bank
• Barn Owl Picture Company  negative checks and script clearances
• Blow Up  digital stills
• Carlo Manzi Rentals  costume hire
• Casting Collective  extras casting
• Celex Casting & Management  extras casting (as Celex Casting)
• Compuhire  video playback
• Diesel UK  thanks
• Ealing Studios  pre-production offices
• European Regional Development Fund  support
• Fatts  post-production script services
• Film Finance  completion guarantor
• Film4  funding
• Forestry Commission  thanks
• Freeway CAM B.V.  world revenues collected and distributed by
• Fuji Photo Film  motion picture film supplied by
• London Editing Machines Ltd.  editing equipment
• MAC Cosmetics  make-up
• Mascot Pictures Limited  thanks
• Media Insurance Brokers  insurance
• Media Safety  health & safety
• Nationwide Access  cherrypickers
• Prada  thanks
• Richmond Film Services  sound equipment
• Sara Curran Solicitors  production legal services
• Screen Facilities  facilities vehicles
• Shipleys  auditors
• Soho Images  colour
• TLO Film Services  action vehicles (as TLO Vehicles)
• The North Pole  music mixed at
• Triple S  location security
• Videosonics Cinema Sound  sound post-production

Also Known As:

Closure (USA) (DVD title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong brutal violence including rape, sexual content, language and some drug use.

Runtime:

80 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Finland:K-15 | USA:R | UK:18 | Singapore:M18 (cut) | South Korea:18 | Italy:T | Ireland:18 | Australia:MA

Filming Locations:

Bridgnorth, Shropshire, England, UK

Company:

Film4

Trivia:

Is featured in Times Online as one of "The 100 best films of 2007"

Goofs:

Continuity: The couple's car windscreen is smashed twice - by the deer and then by the gang; but in the shots showing them then next morning, the windscreen is untouched.

Soundtrack:

Surprise me 44

Almost skeletal in its simplicity, and misunderstood for it.

Having read the 5 other comments before preparing my own, it seems that not having witnessed either Danny Dyer or Gillian Anderson in a movie role before (or in any role in the case of Dyer) landed me in a better position to appreciate this film. However, not having a petrified heart would appear to have helped also. I enjoyed this film. I'm not saying it was fantastic, but it merited my attention and had something important to say. First and foremost, it was a film designed to challenge the viewer's (in)ability to sympathize with his fellow – take as an example the statement made by lenemorissette-1 in the 3rd paragraph of their comment on this film: "Alice isn't the kind of woman who courts sympathy either." Somehow, Alice's conceit, bitterness and dissatisfaction with a materially-satisfactory lifestyle is enough to render her unworthy of sympathy after being raped. And then there's Archie McLaren's IMDb comment on this film, describing how he and the audience laughed through Dyer's assault. This brings us on to why the film appeared to lack characterization - not because of a failing by those responsible for the screenplay, but because by leaving the characters so skeletal, it left them capable of representing a larger demographic. Essentially, Alice and Adam were an attempt to represent as many people as possible. Hipp Dude said in his IMDb comment on this film, "it was brutally real and honest, very un- Hollywood." You don't get fairer than that.