User reviews

Attempting to live a quiet life together, a pair of serial killers decide to document themselves and their everyday lives while trying to hide their crimes from everyone as well as their children, but as time goes on it soon grows to increasingly more difficult proportions trying to ensure their lives together.

For the most part, this was quite an impressive serial killer effort. One of its better aspects is the outright chilling mundane-ness associated with their action that should be heinous and brutal yet comes off another ordinary day. Initially shown to be bickering in a friendly manner over who gets to hold the camera while videotaping themselves killing a victim, this is then almost immediately followed up with their spirited discussions on the decorations of the murder-room in their house and all the decorations and accouterments that need to be there comes off with quite a disturbing air realizing the conversations are about the space in which they're going to murder their victims. That carries over into the matter-of-fact kills that they partake in. from the opening scene of them dunking a victim under running water to suffocating under a pillow, being drugged and carved into pieces while the victims' unconscious and can't feel anything. These are done with a mostly calm, calculated manner that denotes more of a business-as-usual approach that doesn't spark any kind of emotional outburst from them about anything, yet there's nothing much on display here. Later on, when they're out hunting for victims whether they're successful or not keeps that dark and disturbing air to it with their focus on keeping the grisly features off-screen and only getting an idea through the sounds and glimpses we get about everything. These are what make this a fun time over its negative aspects. Overall, there isn't much wrong here but it does have some slight, nagging flaws. The fact that it's so home-made and down-to-Earth can make this one feel like a total drag and become quite dull. The very nature of this one tending to be very much of their own-filmed scenes can make this come across so flatly and underwhelming that it's boring. The lack of blood and gore in the kills could be a slight disappointment in the sense that it keeps cutting away without showing anything resulting in some rather unremarkable deaths. As well, the finale is quite underwhelming with a low-key and generally just a downer, ending without much resolution or impact as it seems to be as if they ran out of money with what happens. These few factors are what draw this down the most.

Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Violence and Graphic Language.

Okay, first off, this film is not everybody's cup of tea. But if it is yours, and you can handle the graphic violence and frightening look at the human psyche at its most damaged, then you'll be amazed.

It was disturbing as hell. It made me sick to my stomach (and I wasn't going into this blind--I'd been warned it was graphic). These people act so normal about what they're doing and that just threw me. This film has a very unique and little-before-seen take on serial killers and this fresh new approach is what makes it so frighteningly powerful.

The lady wants to put pictures up in the basement where they torture people. Wow, she's a regular freak, though, isn't she? Little details like that throughout the film remind the audience that something is so very wrong in these two character's heads. (And actually, I nearly typed 'people' instead of 'characters' because they are way too real. The documentary style gives it that extra-real feel as well.) I was grimacing through the whole thing.

The husband and wife bicker, like a real couple. He throws out ideas on how to approach their murders and she's eager to see and learn. Between their murdering sprees they have "loving" moments with their two children. "You need to clean up that mess"... These characters probably seem normal outside the house but they're so subtly "off." They're the type of people who would, if you were to pass them in the grocery store or on the street without knowing who they are, give a gut feeling that says "STAY AWAY--don't know why just STAY AWAY." And the grotesque sound effects and the wife's Christmas present.... You'll need to see it to believe. Normal words fail me here.

Now--on to the aesthetic parts of the film (and yes, believe it or not, there ARE some): The lighting and color is gorgeous (is that the right word for a film like this?). The entire film has a desaturated, slightly off-color look which helps bring you into this off-kilter world of the home-video-making serial killer. It's easy on the eyes but it's the only thing that is.

The entire movie was shot home-video style, which lends for a slight camera shake throughout. It works well, making everything feel much more real, but also causes the film at times to move a bit slowly.

The music in the background at the beginning is reminiscent of...really old cartoons. Like the kind where one of the characters is mischievous by nature. It evokes a really interesting feeling from the get-go, sort of like everything is off-kilter. And it's very subtle. The music never proclaims the characters are doing something dramatic or evil.

The actors are phenomenal. They totally made me believe it. And the way the film opens--over black, with narration...it sets the mood for the dark that will follow.

In closing, this film felt way too real and that made it very uncomfortable (well...that word's too tame in this case...). But wow. Just wow. Disturbing on a level I can't even contemplate because these characters were just. so. WRONG. And this is an amazingly scary movie, not because of the blood and gore, but because of the way this film captured the darkest and frankly most disgusting parts of humanity. It's sickening because it's real--because there are people like that. Heck, I'm pretty sure I've passed one or two in the supermarket--we probably all have.

So, this film is AMAZING in its own right--again, if it's your cup of tea. If not, avoid it like the plague; but if you're ready for a dip into the dark and everything we fear but never talk about, then watch this film. You won't be disappointed.

Wayne Montgomery (A nicely underplayed and not bad performance from Paul McCloskey) is a suburbanite, in insurance and married to his domineering older wife Andrea. (Barbara Lessin) They have two kids, Todd (Bruce De Santis) and Monica (Emily Spiegel).

Wayne however, sometimes gets stressed with life. Some of us listen to Bach, drink a beer or smoke a joint to unwind, when life gets on top of us. Wayne on the other hand likes to kill people. He's also an avid fan of home movies and recording in general, and is more than happy to document his acts for posterity. Andrea has no problem with this and in fact helps him dispose of the evidence, all the while hen pecking him. And it's all captured on camera...

Head Case, despite its rather lurid title, is actually a not bad fly-on-the-wall look at murderous psychopathy as a way of life.

Wayne and Andrea bicker regularly in a banal, ordinary manner, and chit chat when they're not disposing of their victims, and the whole thing comes across as intentionally boring, yet absorbing at the same time.

In terms of content, it's pretty restrained, probably due to budgetary constraints, and owing more to the likes of Shane Ryan's Amateur Porn Star Killer series than to Fred Vogel's August Underground films. (although it's shot better) However in tone, although purposely banal, it's extremely mean spirited in parts, with director Anthony Spadaccini getting under your skin with some wince-inducing concepts, and disturbing sound effects, even if it isn't full on in-yer-face grue.

Overall, I rather liked it and it held my attention for its entirety. Worth checking out for horror fans, but gore hounds will feel shortchanged. 6/10, but a not bad film and worth a watch.

A very dark and twisted sense of humor runs through the entire film. The urge to laugh often replaced with laughter. Reminiscent of the Raimi classic "EVIL DEAD", and like that film we are seeing the beginnings of a great filmmaker. Such a combination is a very hard thing to get done on film. One example of such irony would be when the lead characters argue over whose turn it is to clean up a bloody mess. macabre, disturbing and compelling all words used by others to describe this work. We travel though the ordinary a most unusual elements of the lives of the Montgomery's. I will never see a cheese grater the same again. This film was one of the selections at the Newark Film Festival.

With a few exceptions, most horror films are scary but there's a certain unreality to them. You watch them and jump when you're meant to jump and you scream when you're meant to scream, but at the same time you're thinking that this could never happen to you.

Head Case is different. The way it's filmed as to be edited from home movies certainly helps to make it seem realistic, but even more so it's the way the characters act and interact. So many of the exchanges between the husband and wife are just so ... ordinary. Their bickering tends to be rather boring, something you've heard a thousand times from listening to your dull neighbors. At times I began to tune them out. However, when they're planning or carrying out their horrific murders, they're just as casual about it! The way they can nonchalantly describe to each other the way a woman is chewing up ground glass or how it's so difficult to saw through a spine, as though they're doing nothing more than talking about the weather, is what makes this film so absolutely chilling.

This film being so realistic, it has to be one of the most horrifying I have ever seen. I will never again accept a car ride or a glass of ginger ale.

Headcase has one of the most interesting plots I've ever heard of or seen in my life. The filmography was amazing and extremely effective in what the film was trying to accomplish.

If you aren't fond of blood and gore, this movie might not be for you, but if you are a fan of the horror and gore movies, this one is certainly one to see. You never know what is going to happen next and Spadaccini keeps you guessing.

Altogether I very much enjoyed this film and I would recommend this movie to anyone who loves a good horror story or appreciates great filmography.

In this subtle, yet unsettling compilation of "home movies" created by Wayne & Andrea Montgomery, filmmaker Anthony Spadaccini affirms his instinctive aptitude for creating both a successful cinematic showpiece and an unnerving playground for his actors to perform.

The realism that this film contains is both distressing and comical; a compound genre that I feel is rather difficult to accomplish. Through the camera's scope, the viewer does not witness an organized, calculable story, rather an intelligently assembled collage of personal movies filmed by Andrea and Wayne to both document their quite casual domestic family life as well as their gruesome escapades that are performed in secrecy.

Wayne Montgomery (Paul McCloskey) portrays the ordinary American Family Man with a quite shocking hobby that he has excelled into an elusive art form that he takes very seriously. To withhold a family infrastructure, fulfill his talent of dismembering bodies, and filming the murders for later satisfaction, Wayne affirms himself to be quite the bachelor of demented serial killers! His accomplice and spouse, Andrea Montgomery (Barbara Lessin) is not any less motivated. (Her character, the candid matriarch, is comparable to a contemporary Lady Macbeth.)

At the beginning of the film, Wayne decides to end his long era of reticence. Now that his children are older, he can return to his former hobbies previously restrained by raising his two children. This time, Andrea doesn't want to feel left out, so they form a successful duet, picking up strangers, dismembering their bodies, and cleaning up afterward. However, while this film initially appears to be geared towards horror fans, it has the quite unique and mature characteristics of a dark comedy.

As Spadaccini's first horror film, he is proving himself to be quite an evolving polymath of film genres. As the category of serial killer films is not uncommon, I have to point out this film carries a quite deviant approach to realistic story telling. The hand-held filming quality allows for the audience to take the voyeur's point-of-view into a world that appears identically parallel to our own. The loose cinematography is quite remarkable.

This is a film that I would suggest for everyone to watch no matter what genre of film you prefer. Also, anyone interested in good film-making, I promise that you will not be let down. This film is remarkable.

So here we are watching home movies? No. No one makes movies like these. But here they are...and...its tough to turn away, isn't it? Thats the key behind 2007's Head Case from Anthony Spadaccini and team. And i say team because his use of ad-libbed dialog is phenomenal in this story of two mad parents bent on setting the record for homicides in the family tub. What ramps the creepiness up to 10 is their behaviour; neither over the top or demented, or mad-man speech is present. Its the very subtle interest and action these two psychos keep wrapped under their suburban-home cover. Their more interested in bickering over how to slice a stomach akin to a typical married couple deciding on where to order out for dinner. Another great use of the "home movie" type of filming, Anthony has shown that this is very familiar and comfortable territory, and eagerly exploits the cast and their pleasure at living out these characters.

Movies like this are a rare find. Truly mesmerizing to watch and insanely haunting. "Captivated" doesn't even begin to describe what I felt throughout the entire film. The performances of every actor were dead on. I asked myself more than once through the first sitting, "wait, this is fiction, right?" Something that almost no movie ever makes me question. Wayne Montgomery is one of the most disturbing characters I've ever seen. It all just seems so real. That's what sold it for me. Nothing seemed pretend. This hit me on a gut level because it felt like this could really happen. You don't know who you're living next door to. The thought of living in the same universe as Wayne makes me want to crawl out of my skin. This takes found-footage horror to the next level. Head Case drowns the audience in Wayne's unsettling depravity and breaks the tension with dark humor and sarcasm. Part ultimate cult horror film, part black comedy. Quite an achievement and, in my book, a must-see.

Apart from The Exorcist, Requiem For a Dream, and Marmaduke, there are very few films that genuinely disturb us. We first saw Head Case back in February of last year. We revisited it the other day and it still messes with our heads.

For one thing, as we said in our original review, this does not feel like a proper film. It feels like a home movie. From the dialogue to the acting to the camera-work, everything about Head Case feels about a million times more real than The Hills.

And while the gore can be plentiful and icky, the most horrific scene shows absolutely nothing but if you are "enjoying" the film up to this point, the sequence will absolutely chill you. Make no mistake, though. You will either love this film or hate it. There is no middle ground, and that is a good thing.

We've become big fans of Mr. Spadaccini, and not just because he put a quote from our original review on the DVD cover. Every film of his that we have seen is unique, beautiful in it's own twisted way, and even if you don't like them, you will never forget them.

And that is a good thing.

I have had the great honor to experience many films in my lifetime. To my great fortune, I have lived in large cities that have theatres devoted to independent and small production films. So, to my pleasant surprise, I can across an independent film by a filmmaker in my own hometown. Admittedly, I didn't expect much—small town director, local interest, and a modest, grassroots release. Reading beyond the teaser, one realizes that this is more than a simple local film—this is deeper than one may expect. This film spoke to a teleological focal point that may beyond grasp for so many of us, yet much like an accident on the highway, we can't resist watching.

"Head Case," by filmmaker Anthony Spadaccini, takes place in Claymont, DE; a quaint hamlet born out of the burgeoning steel industry of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, located just outside the Wilmington metropolitan limits. Situated in this once prosperous, suburban context, the film details the sojourn of Wayne and Andrea Montgomery from a couple in a stagnant, archetypal marriage to a malevolent duet feeding their rapacious thirst for unsuspecting victims. Wayne, the more experienced of the pair, imposed upon himself a hiatus from his vicious activities during the birth and childhood of the couple's two children. Now as their progeny reaches adolescence, Wayne and Andrea team up to recommence Wayne's interest. Taking a more scientific approach to homicide, these serial executioners test methods, techniques, poisons concentrations, and demographics all the while documenting their episodes on film—the source for this filmmaker's canvas. However, this is more than just a gruesome documentary on the countless murders of the Montgomery's victims; it is a glimpse inside the darkness within all of humanity.

Guided by the filmmaker's careful hand, the observer is immersed in the intoxicating vantage point of a voyeur during these crimes. Indeed, the enthralled film audience moves with the gritty, oft times jittery camera movement, shifting their bodies so as to coax the camera to move in closer, get a better look, experience the milieu of another's fleeting life. Returning to the aforementioned vehicular accident scene, we slow down and move about in any way possible, in the hope to see more that what is being made visible for our consumption. In ways beyond my naïve understanding, the filmmaker invites his audience to slow down and look deeper—he wants us to feel more than simple voyeurs, we are commissioners along with Wayne and Andrea.

I encourage you to investigate beyond my feeble review and experience this movie for yourself. What are your reactions to each murder? How do you react to the heightened paranoia on the part of Wayne and Andrea? How do you think the story will really end? Check out Anthony Spadaccini's, "Head Case."

This is, without a doubt, a true masterpiece. The ending leaves you guessing and wanting for more, but not unsatisfied. The cinematography is beautifully done, it gives you a up-close and personal look at the characters. During the murder scenes you feel as though you are right there experiencing it with the Montgomerys. Paul McCloskey, and Barbara Lessin create a disgustingly casual feeling to the film that makes you want to hide under your blankets. Spadaccini truly captured the feeling of the Montgomery family and their sick passion. If you're squeamish I do not recommend this movie, as it is not for the faint of heart. Nonetheless this film will forever go down in my books as a classic. Job well done Mr. Spadaccini!