Trail of the Screaming Forehead

Trail of the Screaming Forehead is (I think) the 4th movie from the mind of Larry Blamire, and it's subject matter is the most eccentric yet. Basically it apes the B movies from the 1950's yet again, with the Blamire twist of more than one strand of plot happening at the same time. So this time we see a female scientist tampering with nature - she's trying to prove that human intelligence is housed in the forehead not the brain, while at the same time, as fate would have it, alien foreheads from another galaxy are invading and taking over the minds and bodies of unsuspecting humans!

The familiar cast from previous movies all return again, and not only that, they come back in this movie (See what I did there?). By now you'll have your favourites, for me it's Alison Martin, who is absolutely hysterical once again this time as the loopy librarian, and Jennifer Blaire, who again looks amazing, plus she's a very good actress and singer so I am surprised she's not seen more often. But all of the cast are great and play everything to perfection.

If anything lets the film down it's the plot, which hinges on anything associated with the forehead, so unless you find this concept funny in it's purest abstract form, you might find parts of the film bewildering. I mean, there's only so much laughter that can be extracted from the subject of foreheads! But they make a very brave attempt. There's also a slight shift in the parody aspect, as there are no more bad special effects, these have all been replaced by adequate special effects, so the humour comes from the script which is littered with just as many of the trademark stilted funny lines as before, in fact this time it feels like EVERY line of dialogue has something silly planted in it, so there's much fun to be had just by listening. I'm amazed that the cast manage to say some of them without getting them wrong.

If you've seen the Lost Skeleton movies and would like more, then this delivers, but for newcomers to this niche genre, I wouldn't start with Screaming Forehead, as it's just too plain odd to grab you as quickly as the previous three Blamire epics. Worth seeing though.

This film pays a loving homage to classic B-movies with its wild premise of aliens called "foreheads" attaching to people's heads and transforming them into bizarrely powerful entities. As these aliens gradually take over a small American town, the locals face a series of absurd and comical challenges. The movie is filled with ridiculous scenarios, dry one-liners, and over-the-top action, making it a hilariously entertaining experience. Its embrace of B-movie tropes, combined with its sheer oddity, makes it an impressively watchable gem that celebrates the charm of so-bad-it's-good cinema.

Now I need to find Lost Skeleton of Cadavra from this director.

I accidentally found Lost Skeleton of Cadavera while channel surfing one day. It became one of my top five favorite movies. I anxiously awaited Lost Skeleton Returns Again and found it to be trying hard to recapture the magic of its predecessor. Trail of the Screaming Forehead seemed to me to be doing the same. I did get a few chucks and one or two "laugh out louds" but I think that was because I knew what to expect. Now I get Larry Blamire and his "so stupid its funny" approach, however in this movie sometimes it worked and sometimes it just didn't. The actors seem less straight faced and tend to get a bit silly at times, even leaving the motivation within motivation that the actors used in Lost Skeleton (Andrew Parks is quoted as saying he imagined himself as an actor who viewed as his most important roll ever).

All thing considered I did enjoy the movie because this is the kind of humor that I enjoy. It will have a cult following I'm sure, and I will watch it again just to notice those little gems I'd missed the first time, just like the first two that I've seen.

Had a great time at the world premier in Seattle. Screaming Forehead is EXTREMELY funny, with great writing and acting. The entire ensemble from Lost Skeleton is back and in fine form, joined by some great additions to the cast. In particular, Alison Martin is hilarious as the town's stream-of-consciousness librarian.

The movie is very pleasant to look at with a wonderful 'day-glow' sixties feel, a great compliment to the grainy black and white feel of Lost Skeleton.

As a big fan, it was a given that I would see the film, if only out of respect for Larry Blamire and the team. But I'm very pleased that the quality of the film is every bit as good as their previous work. Highly recommended.

So far, the American Larry Blamire has completed five features, achieving in my opinion an admirable and likable body of work, beginning with the well-received Lost Skeleton Of Cadavra (2001). Of the four I have managed to see, each has the distinctive style of its writer-director-actor: genial and humane humour, consistently amusing parody of older genres, allied with use of an increasingly familiar stock company - all of whom seem to be enjoying themselves as much as director and audience.

Blamire writes, directs and frequently acts in his own films, his careful scripts reveling in non-sequiturs and deliberate longueurs whilst eschewing coarse dialogue. The surreal Trail Of The Screaming Forehead stands the most apart from its fellows I have seen, being made in colour, perhaps more expressly silly, with increased special effects work and the inclusion of special guest players (Dick Miller and Kevin McCarthy). Perhaps because of that, whilst still very amusing, it seems a little less characteristic and considered. However, this said, I have to report that after seeing it again lately I chuckled just as much as the first time - something which is entirely in line with those who revisit Blamire's films, which have a quiet quality all of their own and which never grow stale - which is ironic, as they constantly reference dated genres.

I think Blamire is an auteur to treasure, one who gives the art of parody back its name and quality - especially after the dismal, bigger-budgeted attempts of the likes of Jason Friedberg and the Wayans, directors who seem to have no affection for the films they imitate and always aim for the obvious. Their films are, arguably, hardly films at all - merely narrative clothes pegs on which to hang cheap laughs, slapdash and vulgar in equal measure, where Blamire is neither.

Speaking for myself, a sure-fire indication of a good parody is my willingness to revisit the work when the original joke has been seen and gone; this is true of most of Blamire's films, which grow more amusing and endearing upon re-acquaintance. And while the film types Blamire affectionately references have typically long since left our screen, I think his own work set around them remains fresh and original.

Lost Skeleton was the first I discovered and still has a special place in my affections; but there's not much between it and Dark And Stormy Night - the finest ensemble piece in Blamire's work. Only The Lost Skeleton Returns Again I think a slight disappointment - even though it too has its moments, if only because inevitably there's a sense of deja vu in any sequel of this sort while the narrative flow seems a little forced. (I hope to rent a copy of Johnny Slade's Greatest Hits (UK: Meet The Mobsters) soon, as that undoubtedly adds another dimension to Blamire's output albeit one far more commercial.) Although the liking, or not, of any film is always a matter of taste, I would recommend a discovery of Blamire's small but extremely likable oeuvre, filled with charming nonsense, endearing featured players, and quotable moments of dialogue, to anyone. In a world of CGI, bloated superstar egos and coarse humour passing as wit this all comes a pleasant discovery.