Head on a Plate

"Head on a Plate," a 2023 horror/sci-fi venture, intriguingly combines extraterrestrial lore with a small-town setting near the legendary Area 51. The film's premise, centered around a shape-shifting alien species with an appetite for human brains, is both novel and promising. It invites viewers into a world where the unknown lurks around every corner, echoing the classic tropes of sci-fi horror.

While the concept shows potential, the execution appears to fall short of fully realizing its promise. Despite the allure of its plot, "Head on a Plate" seems to struggle in engaging a broader audience. This is evident from the lack of substantial reviews and critiques on popular platforms like Rotten Tomatoes and IMDb. The absence of critical discourse and audience feedback suggests that the film may not have resonated as strongly as one might have hoped.

From a technical standpoint, the movie presents a mix of elements. The visual effects, aiming to bring the alien horror to life, vary in effectiveness, sometimes creating immersive scenes and at other times, leaving more to be desired. The performances of the cast are commendable, with each actor bringing a unique energy to their role, though occasionally overshadowed by the script's limitations.

In conclusion, while "Head on a Plate" proposes an engaging and spine-tingling narrative, it seems to miss the mark in translating its concept into a cohesive and compelling cinematic experience. It's a film that might appeal to die-hard fans of the genre but might not find a place among mainstream favorites. For those curious about the intersection of horror and science fiction, this movie might offer an interesting, albeit uneven, viewing experience.

Granted, I have to admit that I was expecting nothing from the 2023 horror sci-fi movie titled "Head on a Plate" from director Gary Dean Orona when I sat down to watch it here in 2024. Sure, I had never even heard about the movie, not that it would be a surprise, but I still opted to give the movie a fair chance.

You don't have to venture many minutes into the storyline before you come to realize just the type of movie that "Head on a Plate" is, and trust me, it doesn't get any better as the minutes drag on. So writers Gary Dean Orona and Tabitha Stevens didn't exactly deliver an extraordinary movie here. The events in the storyline were odd and I have to say made very little sense, as if the writers were just trying a bit too hard to be too avantgarde. It made for a subpar viewing experience, because the storyline was a dumpster fire if there ever was one.

Needless to say that I wasn't familiar with a single actress or actor on the cast list. And that is usually something I tend to enjoy when I watch a movie, as seeing new and unfamiliar talents and faces on the screen is enjoyable. Well, that requires that the new actors and actresses actually have talent and can put on enjoyable acting performances, which weas somewhat of a much needed commodity in "Head on a Plate".

Wow, the special effects in "Head On a Plate" were exactly that; special.

Do yourself a favor and don't waste 82 minutes on watching "Head on a Plate". Some of us suffered through this ordeal, in greater or lesser extend, so you don't have to. You're very welcome.

"Head on a Plate" is not a movie that I would recommend to fans of the horror sci-fi genre. The only thing scary in the movie was how laughable of a story it was.

My rating of "Head on a Plate" lands on a one out of ten stars.

The only thing of any note that was interesting, and nice to view, was the pre film introduction starting images. After that there is nothing of any credibility to like; it becomes a nightmare to force yourself to watch through to the end! I recognized none of the players and I think they were amateurs. None of them had copious amounts of lines to speak and it was bland to listen to when anyone did do their script lines.

I am sick to death of this 2023 year of films containing loads of females with messed up bodies of pointless tattoo's. Three of the four women in this movie are covered in them and they all look like stick thin malnutrition models and, nothing therefore visually good looking or sexy is even in view.

There is no story whatsoever and no flowing rhythm in the scenes, due to it looking like its all disjointed and not knowing where its going and what its supposed to be. If it was a film school project it would be failed and used in future courses as the "How not to do a film" example.

I regret even giving this a 1 star as it doesn't deserve a good mark at all; only bad marks!

This movie is grotesque... I don't know how i made it through and have to admit some shuttling was involved as this movie is sloooooooww.

The basic idea is following an alien shapeshifter that took the body of a porn actress nearing retirement in way too high heels who for some reasong went digging for money somewhere in the desert.

That opening scene of the alien appearing in the desert and taking the body of a woman digging for money in high heels and cocktail dress is unbelievable. Either you turn it off (and there is plenty of reaons from bad acting to absolute nonsense details and weird to bad CGI) or you want to know what the hell the director was going for with this movie.

Basically it feels like a softcore prn producer watched "Under the skin" and though... I can do that! So prepare for a weird MILF alien walking around, observing weird situations and then killig weird people in weird ways.

The feeling is similar arthouse but heavily collides with the actresses who have a strong OnlyFans vibe and the sudden explosions of gore (literally).

Some of the weird exagerrated facial expressions are incredibly funny. I think they were meant to be creepy but most of the time border on the comedic if not crossing that border for good. The last time I saw this style was in Pierre Tsigaridis movies which played it in a real unsettling way in "I who have no one" and "Two witches". This director obviously failed and took on a project that did not really work with his way too obvious softcore background.

I have to admit this project is ballsy in its own way, but its not a good movie. I won't even try to explain the drawn out "story"... like "Under the skin" the vibe obviously was more important to the director and i guess he failed in what he wanted to do but still made a weirdly interesting movie that reminds of a car crash you can't look away from. Definitly a good choice for funny bad movie night! Look out for the incredible pizza scene... classic!

I was horrified to see the low score assigned to this film.

There was real creativity and intention involved. The film took its time. How often do actors dress the part! How often does the camera allow the time to appreciate and enjoy.

We have distinct characters here, revealed more by observation than dialogue. I was impressed by the hungry nurse and her disordered patients.

Gory in some places. Does the film try to corrupt us into perversions of decapitation ands cannibalism.

Good use of sound and colour. Bold film making.

Distinct and original.

I found the leading actress very appealing and challenging. She reminded me of Donatella Versace. I also enjoyed the Gothic human character.