Review: Amongst most of the films that I get to review there are a few that just get sent to me randomly and the film I have here today to review is one of those random ones. From first glance I was drawn in by the cover art as well as reading that film icons Udo Keir and Dee Wallace Stone are in the film. Those two things had me hooked, but did Headspace turn out to be just another lame horror film that has a plot that we have seen done to death over and over again or is it something that comes at you with something different and entertaining. Well you'll have to read on and see!
I will first start off by saying that this is a re-release of this film which comes with way better artwork than the initial release and also it's supposed to be the director's cut, which I am not sure if it really is a different cut than the older DVD. Nonetheless this is one great release of what I see as a much overlooked horror gem. The synopsis from this film goes like this.When Alex (Christopher Denham, Shutter Island) encounters a mysterious
stranger, he begins to get smarter each day. It''s not long before he
realizes that his new intellect comes with deadly side effects.
Headaches and visions plague him at every step. Soon, savage
unexplainable murders are linked to him. Now, it''s a race against time
as Alex discovers that the source of this evil may not be human and the
key to this mystery may be in his own past.
I really can't believe this film went under my radar for 7 years, I can say that I absolutely loved every minute of this film. From the beginning that packs a punch to the end that hits you even harder I found myself drawn into this film. I have used this term before and I will you it again for this film and that is that this film is a decent into hell and madness. The main character of Alex starts off as a somewhat shy guy that gets driven into madness after an encounter with a certain person very much like John Trent (Sam Neill) in the film "In The Mouth Of Madness". Both also have a supernatural path they must go down which will test them each demented step. I originally thought that I would see Udo and See Wallace as the 2 shining stars in Headspace but I was very much wrong. Christopher Denham played an amazing role as Alex and he brought a very professional and convincing performance to the screen.
Psychological horror fans as well as gorehounds will both like this film because when it comes to atmosphere and suspense both are delivered superbly when needed and also when there is gore it is top notch and they use practical effects. The one effect I really liked is when a women gets shot in the head and you see what the blast did, let's just say my jaw dropped. Now I really don't want to delve into this film too much because I could spoil it way too easily. Overall this is a great film that has a solid cast, great writing, well balanced atmosphere, and some damn good practical special effects, what more could you ask for!
-Daniel "Damnation" Lee
Director: Andrew Vab Den Houten
Genre: Horror
DVD Release Year: 2012
Theatrical Release Year: 2005
Time Length: 84 mins.
Company: MVD Visual
