Monday, October 27, 2014

DVD Review: Header

Header is a horror film about some hicks and the peculiar way they get their revenge on each other.

The Film

Federal agent Stewart Cummings (Jake Suffian) is dealing with increasing medical costs for his sick girlfriend by going on the take. He even says, “I’m a fed on the take.” He is supposed to be busting moonshiners (really?), but instead becomes interested in a series of murders happening in the area. The murders are committed by Travis Clyde Tuckton (Elliot V. Kotek), who just got out of jail and laments that nothing is going right for him. His grandfather teaches him the art of the header, which is drilling a hole in someone’s skull and then having one’s way with the hole. Travis quickly becomes an aficionado, and his grandfather enjoys watching and cheering him on (“Hump that head, boy, hump it!”). Supposedly, these murders are done in revenge, but the filmmakers neglected to really develop that angle.

The dialogue is awful. The acting is dubious, at best. All of the characters are despicable, and so you just don’t care what happens to any of them. Even Stewart’s sick girlfriend turns out to be a terrible person. This could have been a much creepier and scarier film. Oh well.

The Special Features

·        The Director (This is a six-minute interview with Archibald Flancranstin, conducted during production. He says his expectation for the film is “Notoriety,” but the goal is to “Wake up America.” Oh boy.)
·        The Author (This is a ten-minute interview with Edward Lee, who says the characters are just as he pictured them when writing the story. Toward the end of this feature, he rehearses the lines for his small role.)
·        The Guest (This is a twelve-minute interview with novelist Jack Ketchum, who performed a small role in the film. The guy who conducts the interviews must be in junior high, because he asks stupid questions like, “If you were a woman, would you suck your own nipples?” He asked that one to both Edward Lee and Jack Ketchum, so clearly he’s proud of that particular question.)
·        The Star (This is an eight-minute interview with Jake Suffian, which was conducted toward the end of production. He says it’s his first feature film.)
·        The Producer (This is a nine-minute interview with Michael Anthony.)
·        The Effects (This feature includes interviews with Alex Marthaller, David Plunkett, Brian Ray and Ryan Carroll, as well as some behind-the-scenes footage. It is approximately eleven minutes.)
·        Promotional Trailers (There are two trailers, each approximately a minute long.)

The Specs

·        Widescreen Presentation (1.78:1 aspect ratio)
·        Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
·        Time: 89 minutes
·        Language: English

Header was released on DVD in 2009 through Synapse Films.

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