Trophy Heads

This is not Alfred Hitchcock. In terms of production values it's not even Ed Wood. But that doesn't matter. It's made with a great deal of love for the subject matter, and actually allows the scream qeens to have their time in the spotlight.

The whole film is very tongue in cheek, and obviously not meant to be taken as more than a love letter to a genre, and a group of women that made the genre what it is. Which is why it deserves eight stars. It succeeds at its mission with gusto.

Trophy Heads (2014) is a Full Moon Features movie I recently watched on Tubi. The storyline follows a serial killer and his mom on a mission to collect the heads and mount them on his wall of all the famous scream queens. Unfortunately for the killer, the queens won't stop talking to him even after being killed and mounted.

This movie is directed by Charles Brand (Puppetmaster) and stars Maria Olsen (Paranormal Activity 3), Adam Noble Roberts (Evil Bong 666), Brinke Stevens (The Slumber Party Massacre), Darcy DeMoss (Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives), Jacqueline Lovell (The Killer Eye), Linnea Quigley (Night of the Demons) and Carel Struycken (The Addams Family).

I liked the storyline and the concept, which definitely had potential. The main character and his mother could have been better written but they were fun to watch as the movie evolves. The acting overall is fairly mediocre but the film didn't take itself seriously and it felt that way. The kill scenes are just okay and the CGI blood was bad. The best part of the movie is a random topless character that sits in a jail cell the entire film.

Overall Brand had a good concept and cast for this movie but didn't seem to take the potential of the film serious enough. Unfortunately this is a mess that could have been good. I would score this a 4/10 but would still recommend seeing it once for horror genre enthusiasts.

I am fan of Charles Band watching his movie for past some time. Unlike his other movies in the past, this movie has focus on killing screaming B queens in a different passion. The story is known to everyone at the beginning. No complaints on Charles Band as there is nothing in the story. Unlike other Charles Band movies, this movie has no surprising start and no surprising end. But all the characters in the movie done a good job.**** worth to watch scene in this movie is actress Irena Murphy topless gag scene! (yes she did nude finally, no fake or body double). The Full moon productions website has additional scenes of Irena Murphy topless bondage scenes.

Trophy Heads (2014)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Max (Adam Noble Roberts) is a loser of a man who has no job, lives in his mom's basement and all he wants to do is watch horror movies from the 80's. Frustrated that nothing stays the same and that his beloved Scream Queens are getting old, he decides to kidnap them with the help of his mother (Maria Olsen) and cut their heads off, which is what gives the film its title.

TROPHY HEADS actually has a very good idea in its head. The idea of a mentally messed up man, who lives for movies and finally cracks and begins to go after the people he sees in movies, is something that would have made for a terrific drama and I can only imagine what some top-tier directors could do with it. This film isn't that though as it's a Full Moon production and on that level the thing actually remains somewhat charming and at least is a great throwback to those, such as myself, who grew up watching these type of direct-to-video horror movies back in the 80s.

The real reason to watch this movie is because it features some of the biggest Scream Queens from this era. Brinke Stevens working as a massage therapist. Michelle Bauer is selling juice and signed posters to whoever knows her.Then there's Jessica Morris and Darcy DeMoss who are still out there trying to score auditions. Best of all is Linnea Quigley who finds herself selling the word of Jesus before she's kidnapped. It was great getting to see all of the actresses and another selling point of the movie is that it shows clips from their previous movies. Stuff like CREEPOZOIDS, SORORITY BABE IN THE SLIMEBALL BOWL-A-RAMA and HEAD OF THE FAMILY are seen and spoofed. We also have Stuart Gordon making a hilarious cameo.

The film was obviously shot on a very low-budget so most of the deaths are off screen, which is actually a good thing because the one that is on the screen looks horrible with its cheap CGI. The film's tone is quite charming in its own right as Charles Band is obviously winking at his fans and also showing off various Full Moon films. The pace of the movie is also quite good as it certainly manages to hold your attention throughout but you're enjoyable factor will depend on how old you are or what type of films you like. If you have no idea who these Scream Queens are or what Full Moon is then you're just going to find this boring as the same thing happens over and over.

However, if you're a fan of these Scream Queens then you're going to enjoy seeing them all together on the screen again. TROPHY HEADS isn't a masterpiece but I think it really does succeed at what it tried to do and that's be an 80's horror movie with these Scream Queens.

Basement trash-horror fan teams up with his brownie-baking mother to ghoulishly preserve the magic of the passing generations of scream-queens.

Comedy horror mostly pisses me off, but this is a great idea. The genre is splashed all over the screen and, although a bit coy on the sex, this should hit the spot for experienced fans of US slasher movies. Myself, I can't ref the films or actresses.

Clunky production that gets into its stride, and I liked the performances as it went along. Dialogue and editing a bit slow, so the humour sometimes fails to spark and a lot of jokes are left at the table, but the pace is good. Favourite scene was at the audition, where the actors get to play it up. Plus the ending doesn't disappoint.

It also hits a good note on the nostalgia of a film fan - the first reaction to watching a movie recedes, the regret becomes overwhelming. Kill it before it dies. Mom!

Overall - low rent, dirty irony, but lack of sharps on the sleaze and humour.