Header

Released by: Synapse Films
Released on: June 30, 2009.
Director: Archibald Flancranstin
Cast: Jake Suffian, Elliot V. Kotek, Melody Garren, Jim Coope, Dick Mullany
Year: 2009
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The Movie:

Header follows a young ATF agent named Stewart Cummings (Jake Suffian) who wonders how he's going to pay for his sick wife's increasing medical bills. Unfortunately for Stewart, there's no money in playing 'good cop' so he turns to the other side and starts working with some local crooks, offering his services for a fee. It's a win-win, as far as he's concerned - these guys get protection, and he gets some much needed cash.

While Stewart is doing his thing, a redneck named Travis Clyde Tuckton (Elliot V. Votek) is released from prison. With nowhere to go and no one else to turn to, Travis winds up on the doorstep of his wheelchair bound grandfather's shack. 'Grandpa Jake' (Dick Mullaney) is just as happy as a pig in shit when his grandson shows up, and of course he lets him in knowing that having a strapping young man like Travis around will make his life much easier. After the pair are done reminiscing and getting reacquainted, Grandpa Jack decides that Travis is ready to learn about an old family tradition that he refers to as a 'Header' and that's when they decide to abduct a pretty young woman…

When Jake winds up helping out some F.B.I. agents who are involving a very bizarre murder case, his word collides with that of Travis and Grandpa Jake and before you know it, everything spirals so far out of control that for Jake, there's no turning back.

If you haven't read Edward Lee's source material and have no idea what you're in for, so much the better. An unsettling head fuck of a film, Header is pretty strong stuff, a gore film with a twisted sense of humor and some completely over the top performances. The film is far from perfect, however, the most obvious problem coming from most of the cast. Jake Suffian doesn't convince as a tormented cop, and while he looks the part well enough, his performance doesn't quite fit. The same can be said for Dick Mullaney, who goes so completely over the top in his portrayal of the wacky old man that it borders on bad comedy, though maybe that's the point. Elliot Votek, however, is quite good in his role, showing understandable reprehension early on in the film and becoming increasingly frightening as his character falls further into the genetic abyss that his grandfather opens up for him. Literary types will get a kick out of seeing author Edward Lee and fellow horror scribe Jack Ketchum show up in quick cameo roles.

This low budget picture does feature some pretty intense gore effects without a trace of CGI to be found, thankfully. While you can't really call this a splatter film in the traditional, sense, you'll have to be inhuman not to be at least partially unnerved by the film's stand out moments (about which I will speak no more because spoiling these parts spoils the entire film). They're handled quite well, showing enough to gross us out but not showing so much as to hurt the set piece or make it redundant.

For its budget, the picture is reasonably well shot. The camera angles work, and there are a few scenes that really benefit from some fine claustrophobic cinematography. The editing, which uses way too much unnecessary cutting for no apparent reason, takes away from some of this, however so like the acting, the visuals can also be quite uneven at times.

Don't go into Header expecting a serious piece, rather, keep your sense of humor about you and your expectations in check and you'll probably have a good time with it. It's ridiculously over the top at times but given the subject matter and source material (that being Edward Lee's 1995 novel of the same name - Glenn Danzig also published Lee's comic book version in Verotika #14 - collect'em all and trade them with your friends, kids!), it probably had to be and the fact that someone had the balls to make a movie out of this source material is something in and of itself.

Video/Audio/Extras:

Header was shot on digital video with pretty low budget (the IMDB reports it at an estimated $349,999.00) and it shows. There's video noise throughout the picture and you'll sometimes notice some pixilation in darker scenes. Some shots look pretty bleached out in terms of color reproduction, with hot whites overpowering the other hues around them and there are times where it looks like consumer level gear was used to shoot this. That said, while it might irk videophiles, it does give the film a sort of nasty faux-documentary feel. The anamorphic 1.78.1 transfer is likely as good as the source material would allow for.

The English language Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo track is pretty decent in terms of quality though there are times where some of the accents are so thick you might find yourself wishing some subtitles had been included. Aside from that, there are no issues here, most of the dialogue is plenty easy to follow and the score and effects are properly balanced in the mix.

Worth watching are the interviews that have been included here with a few cast and crew members starting with a chat with Archibald Flancranstin (5:55) who talks about how excited he was to make this film, and how great it was when things were going well during the shoot. He talks about his expectations for the film, the deeper meaning behind the film, and about how he ran into some difficulties adapting the book and in shooting a key scene. Edward Lee (9:42) pops up next to talk about his career as a horror writer and about his thoughts on seeing his book turned into a film and how he feels about the results of that film. From there we see some footage of Lee acting in his cameo before he talks about what inspired him to write the book in the first place. Jack Ketchum (11:38) shows up next to discuss his writing career and some of the difficulties horror writers have to deal with in terms of distribution, and his thoughts on Edward Lee and his work and about this film in particular. Jake Suffian (7:49) pops up to talk about this film, his first feature, what the shoot was like, his thoughts on his co-stars and the people he worked with on the film and what it was like auditioning for this film. Producer Michael Anthony (9:03) appears in front of the camera to bicker with Flancranstin before talking about how he got involved with the project with Michael Kennedy and about some of the struggles they had in getting the film made. He gives some interesting insight into just how long it can take to get even a low budget film like this finished and he expresses his admiration for his cast and crew. Last but not least, effects technician Alex Marthaller (10:59) is interviewed about his special effects work, how he got into doing movie effects, and how he wound up working on this project, which was originally offered to Tom Savini who wouldn't take the part due to his involvement in the Dawn Of The Dead remake. David Plunkett and Brian Ray also show up to talk shop about their effects work and their experiences on the film. Some interesting behind the scenes footage shows the effects team in action and provides some welcome context to the interview bits.

Aside from that, Synapse supplies a pair of trailers for the film, some animated menus, and chapter selection. Inside the keepcase is an insert that reproduces the cover art sans text and titles on one side and advertises a couple of other recent Synapse DVDs on the flipside.

The Final Word:

Header is, unfortunately, a mixed bag. While it stays true to the spirit of the source material and has a nice unpolished feel to it, the performances leave more than a little to be desired. That said, the cast and crew get enough right that it manages to work. Synapse's DVD looks and sounds about as good as the source material likely allowed for and the interviews add some value to the package. Lee fans will appreciate it, though the acting is bound to put some folks off. That said, it's worth seeing, particularly for established fans of Lee's work.