I first became aware of the film Headspace back in early 2006 after reading a featured article in Fangoria, one of my favorite horror mags. The article was interesting, as they usually are, but what enticed me most about this little, independent gem was the insanely original storyline, which we'll get to shortly. I was also attracted to the filmmakers themselves and the producers, writer and director all seemed very self motivated, intelligent and determined to make an awesome film. So, you could say I was expecting a little more than usual going into Headspace.
Let me fill you in on the plot. We see a young, troubled guy known to the world as Alex Borden, played by Christopher Denham. By troubled, I mean a pretty rough childhood which, at one point, involves him and his brother viewing their dad blow their mom's face to smithereens with a shotgun. Serves her right for getting too far away from the kitchen
Alex has been a smart guy all his life but, at the age of twenty-five, his intelligence begins increasing by the minute. This dude reads books in minutes, learns how to master chess in a day's time and can even understand women. Actually, I'm kidding
Nobody's that smart. Eventually, Alex learns that he can see events that have taken place in the past and, towards the end of the film, can even see into other dimensions, which is where the crap really hits the fan.
This Good Will Hunting Gone Wild tale could have easily been a disaster if it were not for the TLC given by the people involved. The look of the film really enhanced the quality for me. Headspace looks like it cost five to ten million to make and I would bet my dead rabbit Penny's water bottle that the budget was nowhere near that amount. Headpsace recently took home the Best Cinematography Award at the New York Horror Film Festival and with good reason. The film is colorful, shot well and looks magnificent over all.
Another element that boosted the quality of the film for me was the casting. It seemed like every five minutes, some blast from the past was popping up. We have Olivia Hussey from Black Christmas, William Atherton from Ghostbusters, Sean Young from Bladerunner and Dee Wallace-Stone from The Hills Have Eyes. I could keep going but I think you get the idea. These seasoned vets not only make the film more fun because of that, "Oh I remember them!" factor but, they also bring some serious acting chops to the table. Newcomer Christopher Denham definitely holds his own as well and he's interesting to watch as he manages to find a balance between the nice guy next-door and the freak with the expanding brain. I mean, I liked the guy throughout the entire movie but I wasn't sure if someone should spend time scouring the Earth for the best doctor available or just drag him in the back yard behind the shed and put him down Ol' Yeller style! It was a nice dynamic.
With all this being said, the bottom line is that I really respect the filmmakers of Headspace for truly caring about the material. They set out to make one of those B rated monster movies that we all remember as kids and they nailed it. It was like watching USA's Creature Double Feature night with the only difference being that it was Tuesday and there was only one featured Creature Feature as apposed to two featured Double Creature Features. Huh? Anyway, those films were never this well done. Bravo!
Overall, I really enjoyed Headspace and feel very comfortable recommending it to everyone, even the casual fans of the genre. One thing to the gore lovers though; these characters spend a lot more time talking than chopping so, if you're looking for a blood bath, try something else. I highly suggest watching the film in the dark on a Saturday night with a big fat bowl of popped corn floating in butter. It's that kind of film!
