Headless (2015)

After unearthing the lost slasher film from 1978 in Found (2012), the now-grown-up skull-masked boy abducts and tortures helpless women. Now, he needs one more victim. Will her blonde-haired head end up as the Killer's latest trophy?

Director:

Arthur Cullipher

Writers:

Nathan Erdel, Todd Rigney (based on character and situations created by)

Stars:

Shane Beasley, Kelsey Carlisle, Ellie Church

5 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Shane Beasley	...	The Killer
Kelsey Carlisle	...	Jess Hardy
Ellie Church	...	Betsy Coard
Dave Parker	...	Pete Christy
Kaden Miller	...	Skull Boy / The Killer (Child)
Jennifer Lee	...	The Hitchhiker
Haley Madison	...	The Punk Chick
Brian K. Williams	...	Slick Vic (as Brian Williams)
Matt Keeley	...	The Killer (Teenager)
Emily Solt McGee	...	Mother
Jessica Schroeder	...	Sister (Teenager)
Olivia Arnold	...	Sister (Child)
Nathan Erdel	...	Eddie 'Maggot' Curr
Ben Monticue	...	John 'Roach' Triton
Magician Johnson	...	Sammi 'Spider' Farell

Storyline

In this "lost slasher film from 1978," a masked killer wages an unrelenting spree of murder, cannibalism, and necrophilia. But when his tortured past comes back to haunt him, he plunges to even greater depths of madness and depravity, consuming the lives of a young woman and those she holds dear.

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Plot Keywords:

retro | retro horror | gore | extreme gore | necrophilia | 

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Taglines:

UNEARTHED, UNCENSORED, UNLEASHED... The most shocking film you've never seen!

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Genres:

Horror

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Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 February 2015 (USA)

Also Known As:

Akefales

Company Credits

Production Co:

Forbidden Films (II), Gentleman Monster Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

85 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Headless (2015) is a feature length version of the "film within a film" Headless, featured in the award winning horror film Found (2012).

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Connections

Spun-off from Found (2012)

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Soundtracks

Outta My Brain
Written & Performed by 'Sweet Teeth'

User Reviews

Modern exploitation at its finest! Not for casual horror fans. Disturbing & extemely graphic.

***Note*** This film is extremely graphic and NOT for the faint of heart, the easily disturbed, or even casual horror fan. It is filled with staunch and violent imagery, taboo subject matter, and is extremely gory. It is the very definition of exploitation and is unapologetic in its brutality and both extreme thematic content & visual presentation, all of which begin during the opening credits and do not cease until the closing credits are complete.

Many current reviews of films are latently obvious comparisons to either other films or are done in such a way that it is immediately evident the reviewer's subjective views oppose the purpose or intent of the film - ie missing the mark due to not understanding the director's vision. That said, the purpose of this review is not to offer synopses or plot & story construction, but to comment on content and execution, with no spoilers.

"Headless" is a modern day master class in exploitation. As noted in the above warning, it is not for the squeamish, as the contents are among the most vile & disturbing visual sequences and viscerally impactful psychological horror in the recent lexicon of film. Numerous "taboo themes" unapologetically unfold in brilliantly full detail, including child abuse, necrophilia (of sorts), torture, rape, Reinfield syndrome, urophagia, incestual molestation, cannibalism, mutilation, and abbatoiric hording. There's likely even another couple of "isms" missed in this description, but suffice it to say that "Headless" is an homage to the most perpetuated brutality ever seen on screen, and pays tribute to the legacy of grindhouse cinema in the most callously obdurate presentation. The brooding texture is complemented by a constant stream of darkly intrinsic music and/or perpetually dissonant sounds that tranform and elevate each sequence of violence from mere blood & gore to brutal acts of depravity that transcend explanation. Combine these elements with professional grade camera equipment, skilled production, and quality sound & foley, and the result is a very well made independent film.

All that said, the film is not without its flaws. The acting is not superb by any means, and there are some questionable editing decisions during flashback sequences, though nothing so problematic that the film suffers. There are also some inconsistencies in character development that leave questions which would have never arisen had scenes not been included. While the purpose of "Headless" is born from its gratuitous nature, the writer and director included character development as an explanation for WHY the lead character is the way he is. As a result, the viewer is left with a questions that remain unanswered. Again, this is not hugely problematic but is indeed a flaw.

Overall, director Scott Schirmer dropped a bomb with this film, the likes of which will be difficult to top. Repeated maybe, but doubtfully equaled. He has raised the bar for exploitation cinema to such heights that it will become the model for future films of this nature.

Regarding content:

• strong bloody gore and graphic violence throughout the film. This certainly provides gorehounds with the fix they need,
• ample nudity throughout, with full frontal views shown of both men and women, though most of it is accompanied by large amounts of said blood & gore,
• moderate drug use, including cocaine and marijuana,
• strong and consistent profanity that would make George Carlin blush,
• consistent and repeated disturbing images with high intensity scenes from start to finish,

For those reviews that bash the film because of the acting performances, those viewers completely missed the mark with this film. Watch at your own risk and enjoy the film for what it is - one big, massive disgusto-fest.