Headspace (2005)

25-year-old Alex Borden is handsome, charming, and intelligent. In fact, he may be too smart for his own good as his life is swiftly becoming a living hell. Alex's nightmare begins when he ... See full summary »

Director:

Andrew van den Houten

Writers:

Troy McCombs (story), Steve Klausner (screenplay)

Stars:

Christopher Denham, Sean Young, Larry Fessenden

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Christopher Denham	...	Alex
Sean Young	...	Mother
Larry Fessenden	...	Father
Daniel Manche	...	Young Harry
Quinn Lujan	...	Young Alex
Jennifer Mekalonis	...	Nude Model in Painting
Tatiana Vidus	...	Nude Model
Erick Kastel	...	Harry
Patrick Wang	...	Sammy
James Spruill	...	Lloyd
Paul Sparks	...	Jason
Mark von Kreuter	...	Mark, Ambulance Orderly
Andrew van den Houten	...	Charlie, Ambulance EMS
Paula Kelly	...	Alice, Ambulance Driver
William Atherton	...	Dr. Ira Gold

Storyline

25-year-old Alex Borden is handsome, charming, and intelligent. In fact, he may be too smart for his own good as his life is swiftly becoming a living hell. Alex's nightmare begins when he meets Harry, a mysterious artist and chess-master. Alex becomes alarmed when his intellect mysteriously begins to grow, and so do the horrors that invade his nightmares, and soon his waking hours. Long-suppressed memories surface and Alex must face the terrors of his violent past, a vanished older brother, a father who abandoned both his sons, and a mother who was viciously murdered. The visions intensify and he begins to experience intense headaches that ultimately cause him to blackout. But it is only the beginning of Alex's calamity. Friends and neighbors are disappearing, and people are whispering rumors of a serial killer. Menaced from all sides by the forces of evil, Alex must overcome his past and contain his own deadly urges so he can hopefully discover what demons, both real and imagined, ...

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Plot Keywords:

covered in blood | wearing a hospital gown outside | birthday cake | nose bleed | seeing mother killed | 

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Taglines:

Fear. It's All In Your Head.

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Genres:

Horror | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong horror violence/gore, sexuality and language

Did You Know?

Goofs

(at around 40 mins) When Alex is in the ambulance, the paramedic is incorrectly wearing his phonendoscope (the eartips should point forward). Moreover, it's quite difficult to hear chest sounds through many clothing layers (as shown in the movie) so the diaphragm's usually placed directly on the skin.

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Connections

Referenced in The Making of 'The Girl Next Door' (2007)

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Soundtracks

PARTY DRESS
Performed by After Midnight Project
Under License From Diversified Music Group,
A Unit of Diversified Entertainment Properties, Inc.
Written by Jason Evigan and Greg Evigan
Published by Publishing Designee of Jason Evigan

User Reviews

Checkmate!

Before I even properly read what exactly the story of "Headspace" was about, I already knew damn sure that I wanted to see it, simply because it assembles one of the most impressive B-movie casts of the last 15 years! Even though they all just appear in supportive roles, "Headspace" managed to snare legendary names such as Olivia Hussy (who still looks yummy even though well passed 50, I may add…), Udo Kier, Dee Wallace-Stone, Mark Margolis, Sean Young and William Atherton! With names like that, who needs extra motivations to buy a ticket? Now that I've seen the movie during a festival screening, I regretfully can't claim that it's a genuine masterpiece but nonetheless it's a truly creative and intelligent production that definitely has more trumps than just an attractive cast. Young director Andrew Van den Houten dedicated an equal amount of energy to telling a good story AND supplying the film with exhilarating gore! We're introduced to Alex Borden, a confused young man who carries some severe childhood traumas around with him. Every morning when he wakes up, Alex discovers that his intellect and storage capacity has remarkably increased but; even though this sounds fantastic, he begins to suffer from terrible headaches and nightmarish visions about demons. When people in his surrounding start to get brutally slaughtered, Alex (righteously?) fears that he might be the murderer without fully realizing it. The ideas and sub plots of "Headspace" are so many-sided that the film might have worked even better as a mini-series! Now some of the potentially very interesting story lines (like Alex' family background or the dubious intentions of his doctors) look slightly underdeveloped even though I'm sure they were initially meant to get processed more carefully. But hey, I'm really not complaining since this probably resulted in more action and gore! "Headspace" contains some very effective shock-moments and graphic make up effects that will surely appeal to all horror fans! The set pieces and locations are convincing, with a very nice portrayal of typical New York City suburbs and street life. The camera-work and choreography is terrific, at times even downright artistic, and the screenplay even manages to be educational! How many horror movies can honestly say that teach you interesting facts about the game of chess? Recommended!

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 September 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

Głowa pełna koszmarów

Filming Locations:

Katonah, New York, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$1,430, 19 February 2006

Gross USA:

$1,650

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$1,650

Company Credits

Production Co:

Modernciné, Modern Headspace Productions LLC

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min 84 min (Director's Cut) 95 min (International)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1