Break out your horror prosthetics and prophylactics. Good Head has no problem shoving its sense of humor down your throat. And that’s a compliment. Let’s review!
While we’re at it, prove you’ve got a good head on your shoulders by submitting to the Killer Shorts Horror Short Screenplay Competition, open now!
The Plot
On the set of superhero mega franchise: The Silver Streak, lead actor Cooper Bradley (writer/director Matt Servitto) could not be phoning it in harder if he was a Nokia. When the next day’s scene calls for a prosthetic head mold, Coop begrudgingly agrees to make the trip to an FX lab of nightmares (or fantasies?).
Before long, the intentions of the special effects guru (Henry Zebrowski), and coincidental Silver Streak mega fan, prove sinister. Coop and his assistant (Addie Weyrich) are forced to confront the SFX wizard on his turf: a funhouse of haunted terror and off-the-wall gags.
Way A-Head of You
You may recognize a number of familiar faces from Adult Swim’s Your Pretty Face is Going to Hell. Tonally, a lot is similar, though the comedy writing style is a little different. Good Head isn’t super scary, but it is much more interested in horror as a genre than YPFiGtH. It has more in common with Creepshow, if Creepshow went in on the comedy. The pacing and soundtrack are especially reminiscent; a sickly charming, made-for-TV quality that really sucks you in.
The piece is also an open love letter to Atlanta special effects guru Shane Morton (art director for YPFiGtH btw), who Zebrowski’s character is a carbon copy of, down to the hat, but minus the voodoo* (maybe). The in-joke will be lost on anyone who doesn’t know who Shane Morton is, but he’s amassed a decent level of Atlanta celebrity for his altar ego as “Professor Morte.” Even if you don’t get the reference, Zebrowski’s version is a standalone riot.
“Dontcha think this blood and guts, low budget horror stuff is kind of obsolete?”
The greatest strength of the short is the utilization of Zebrowski’s acting chops juxtaposed against writer/director/star Matt Servitto’s straight man. Playing an effective Robert-Downey-Jr.-meets-Steven-Segal, Servitto’s gruff celebrity is all that much more clawing as he slips into malaise. Never before have I seen the claustrophobic horror of full face makeup/molds depicted as creatively as Good Head does it.
Prosthetic limbs (and shlongs) abound. While such items are the tools of the trade for horror movie magic, Good Head examines something inherently horrific about the horror prosthetic itself. You may have heard of the reported native American belief that a camera steals your soul when a picture is taken. Good Head cleverly applies that same idea to mold-making. What happens if someone makes a mold of your foot? Your pinkie finger? Or Sylvester Stallone’s bicep?? It’s a great premise that Good Head runs with, overindulging perhaps a touch. The runtime is a bit longer than its narrative bones want to take it. But who cares when you’re having fun dodging busts and foam latex.
The Silver Streak
We open on “The Silver Streak,” in a triumphant pose in his power-rangers-esque armor, only to reveal: the shot is 100% greenscreen except for Coop himself, covered head to toe in tracking marks. Just after that, Good Head quotes Marty Scorsese’s hot take on Marvel films, as Coop squirms in a TMZ-like interview. We’re about to lambast superhero movies, right? Not quite.
In lieu of major social/cultural commentary (thank goodness), Head engages with the tension that often arises between fandom and the franchise machine’s showrunners, directors, and celebrities. Who gets to decide if Batman has a fling with Mr. Freeze, or Harry Potter takes up pickleball? The Disney executive and their marketing team, or Joe Schmo who bought his first issue back in 1973? Head seems to make the case for Mr. Schmo, while simultaneously pointing out how that’s basically impossible in the face of a million gatekeepers and the bottom line.
While the right answer may be that neither fans nor executives should have the keys to the narrative kingdom (what ever happened to artists?), Good Head doesn’t take the question too seriously that it spoils the fun.
And on that note, boy is this short a riot. The title, and its immediately apparent implications, made me a little nervous. It’s very difficult to make light of sexual violence in a way that doesn’t come off as misguided, at best, or crassly insensitive at worst. I think they get away with it. The sheer irreverent absurdity of Good Head‘s execution earns it a free pass from me.
What Makes it Killer
This special effects extravaganza proves that the blood and guts, low budget horror stuff is NOT obsolete. Especially when it’s Henry Zebrowski and Matt Servitto so intimately exploring the idea. Check it out on Alter.
MediaTeam’s offbeat horror comedy credits continue to grow (check out Yule Log), and I’ll certainly be on the lookout for more.
Meet the filmmakers!
Shane Morton and Silver Scream
*The history of the term “voodoo” is intensely troublesome, and the filmmakers would have done well to avoid using it. “Magic,” or, “witchcraft,” though not quite right, could have been a better choice.
