Trophy Heads (2014)
** 1/2 (out of 4)
Max (Adam Noble Roberts) is a loser of a man who has no job, lives in his mom's basement and all he wants to do is watch horror movies from the 80's. Frustrated that nothing stays the same and that his beloved Scream Queens are getting old, he decides to kidnap them with the help of his mother (Maria Olsen) and cut their heads off, which is what gives the film its title.
TROPHY HEADS actually has a very good idea in its head. The idea of a mentally messed up man, who lives for movies and finally cracks and begins to go after the people he sees in movies, is something that would have made for a terrific drama and I can only imagine what some top-tier directors could do with it. This film isn't that though as it's a Full Moon production and on that level the thing actually remains somewhat charming and at least is a great throwback to those, such as myself, who grew up watching these type of direct-to-video horror movies back in the 80s.
The real reason to watch this movie is because it features some of the biggest Scream Queens from this era. Brinke Stevens working as a massage therapist. Michelle Bauer is selling juice and signed posters to whoever knows her.Then there's Jessica Morris and Darcy DeMoss who are still out there trying to score auditions. Best of all is Linnea Quigley who finds herself selling the word of Jesus before she's kidnapped. It was great getting to see all of the actresses and another selling point of the movie is that it shows clips from their previous movies. Stuff like CREEPOZOIDS, SORORITY BABE IN THE SLIMEBALL BOWL-A-RAMA and HEAD OF THE FAMILY are seen and spoofed. We also have Stuart Gordon making a hilarious cameo.
The film was obviously shot on a very low-budget so most of the deaths are off screen, which is actually a good thing because the one that is on the screen looks horrible with its cheap CGI. The film's tone is quite charming in its own right as Charles Band is obviously winking at his fans and also showing off various Full Moon films. The pace of the movie is also quite good as it certainly manages to hold your attention throughout but you're enjoyable factor will depend on how old you are or what type of films you like. If you have no idea who these Scream Queens are or what Full Moon is then you're just going to find this boring as the same thing happens over and over.
However, if you're a fan of these Scream Queens then you're going to enjoy seeing them all together on the screen again. TROPHY HEADS isn't a masterpiece but I think it really does succeed at what it tried to do and that's be an 80's horror movie with these Scream Queens.
