Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Incredible Two-Headed Transplant, The

Collapse
X
Collapse
  •  
    Ian Jane
    Administrator

  • Incredible Two-Headed Transplant, The



    Released by: Kino Lorber
    Released on: November 24th, 2015.
    Director: Anthony M. Lanza
    Cast: Bruce Dern, Pat Priest, Casey Kasem, Albert Cole, John Bloom
    Year: 1971
    Purchase From Amazon

    The Movie:

    “This brain wants to love… this brain wants to KILL!”

    In this notoriously goofy AIP production from 1971, Bruce Dern plays a scientist named Dr. Roger Girard who carries out his experiments away from the hubbub and prying eyes of the big city with some help from his partner in crime Dr. Max (Barry Kroeger) and foxy wife/assistant Linda (Pat Priest). And there's a good reason that Roger carries out his experiments where he's unlikely to be spotted - he's really into head transplants. As odd as that may sound, however, Roger is pretty good at it and has been able to mix and match the heads and bodies of all manner of animals with reasonably good success.

    Of course, the next step in Roger's experimentation is to try his methods on a human subject. This is where Manuel Cass (Albert Cole), a murderer on the run, comes into the equation. He is, of course, on the run in the very area that Roger and his team are doing their thing and after finding their base of operations, he kidnaps Linda. Roger and Max take justice into their own hands to save Linda and in the ensuing chaos, Cass is shot dead. What do to with the body? Attach the head to Danny (John Bloom), the mentally handicapped son of their caretaker, one of Cass' victims, of course!

    And so they do, but as you would expect, this experiment is not without its own set of problems…

    Featuring some pretty awkward looking effects work and a gratuitous cameo from Casey Kasem, this low budget cheapie has rightly earned itself a reputation as a fairly terrible film - and it is - but so too is it a lot of fun if you're in the right mood for it. The cast are a big part of the draw here (though Kasem's cameo is really just that, as he plays one of Roger's pals in the later part of the film), with a young Bruce Dern doing as well as he can with what he has to work with and Barry Kroeger playing the quirky assistant doctor with some amusing oddball charm. Pat Priest isn't given as much to do, but she sure does look good doing it and she fills out her bikini rather nicely. Albert Cole is pretty great in his own over the top way as the murderous Cass and John Bloom as the slow but massive son of Roger's caretaker is… fine. He looks the part at least.

    Really though, it's the last half of the movie that matters here. What viewers want out of a movie like this is a two-headed man-monster rampaging around town, and that's pretty much what we get. Cole's head is the psychotic one, Bloom's the calm, quiet, simple one and of course by attaching the two together there's a power struggle of sorts that ensues. It's actually all in fairly bad taste, but how can you not love seeing the titular beast go up against a gang of bikers?

    Video/Audio/Extras:

    The Incredible Two-Headed Transplant looks excellent in this AVC encoded 1080p high definition framed at 1.85.1 widescreen. Colors are rendered nicely, detail is pretty strong throughout and there are no problems with compression artifacts or with noise reduction and as such, we have some nice, organic looking film grain present throughout. Good black levels and skin tones here too.

    The English language DTS-HD 2.0 Mono track is also quite good. Dialogue is clean, clear and properly balanced to ensure that it's never buried under the score or the effects. Hiss and distortion are never problematic. There are no alternate language or subtitle options provided here.

    The main extra on the disc is an optional RiffTrax commentary by Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett. If you're into MST3K style humor, you'll enjoy this and if you're not, well, you won't. They make some pretty well aimed shots at the movie and, as those familiar with their routine will already know, shred it up pretty effectively. Say what you will about RiffTrax/MST3K style humor but there's definitely

    Additionally, the disc includes an interview with screenwriter James Gordon White that runs just over nine minutes. He speaks about his time working at American International Pictures where he churned out quite a few low budget quickies for the production house. He also discusses his work on this particular feature and goes into a bit of detail here. Aside from that we get a radio spot, a couple of trailers, static menus and chapter selection.

    The Final Word:

    The Incredible Two-Headed Transplant is a definite cinematic turkey but it's still a damn fun way to kill ninety minutes in front of your TV. Kino's Blu-ray presents the movie in a really impressive transfer, with fine audio and a few fun supplements as the icing on the cake. This is quite a nice upgrade over the old DVD release, easily recommended to fans of the film.

    Click on the images below for full sized Blu-ray screen caps!






















      Posting comments is disabled.

    Latest Articles

    Collapse

    • Hot Spur (Severin Films) Blu-ray Review
      Ian Jane
      Administrator
      by Ian Jane


      Released by: Severin Films
      Released on: April 30th, 2024.
      Director: Lee Frost
      Cast: Joseph Mascolo, Virginia Goodman, John Alderman
      Year: 1969
      Purchase From Amazon

      Hot Spur – Movie Review:

      Director Lee Frost and Producer Bob Cresse's film, Hot Spur, opens in Texas in 1869 with a scene where a pair of cowboys wanders into a bar where they call over a pretty Mexican waitress and coerce her into dancing for them. She obliges, but
      ...
      03-22-2024, 11:53 AM
    • Death Squad (Mondo Macabro) Blu-ray Review
      Ian Jane
      Administrator
      by Ian Jane


      Released by: Mondo Macabro
      Released on: April 9th, 2024.
      Director: Max Pecas
      Cast: Thierry de Carbonnières, Jean-Marc Maurel, Denis Karvil, Lillemour Jonsson
      Year: 1985
      Purchase From Amazon

      Death Squad – Movie Review:

      Also known as Brigade Of Death, French sleaze auteur Max Pecas’ 1985 film, Death Squad, opens with a night time scene outside of Paris in the Bois de Boulogne Forest where cars pass by a small gang of transsexual
      ...
      03-22-2024, 11:46 AM
    • Roommates (Quality X) Blu-ray Review
      Ian Jane
      Administrator
      by Ian Jane


      Released by: Quality X
      Released on: February 28th, 2024.
      Director: Chuck Vincent
      Cast: Samantha Fox, Vernoica Hart, Kelly Nichols, Jerry Butler, Jamie Gillis
      Year: 1982
      Purchase From Amazon

      Roommates – Movie Review:

      Directed by Chuck Vincent and released in 1982, Roommates opens with a scene where a young woman named Joan Harmon (Veronica Hart) gets a hotel room with an older man named Ken (Don Peterson, credited as Phil Smith),
      ...
      03-15-2024, 01:10 PM
    • Night Of The Blood Monster (Blue Underground) UHD/Blu-ray Review
      Ian Jane
      Administrator
      by Ian Jane


      Released by: Blue Underground
      Released on: March 26th, 2024.
      Director: Jess Franco
      Cast: Christopher Lee, Maria Rohm, Dennis Price
      Year: 1970
      Purchase From Amazon

      Night Of The Blood Monster – Movie Review:

      Directed by Jess Franco, The Bloody Judge (or, Night Of The Blood Monster, as it is going by on this new release from Blue Underground) isn't quite the salacious exercise in Eurotrash you might expect it to be, and while it
      ...
      03-15-2024, 01:07 PM
    • Phase IV (Vinegar Syndrome) UHD/Blu-ray Review
      Ian Jane
      Administrator
      by Ian Jane


      Released by: Vinegar Syndrome
      Released on: March 26th, 2024.
      Director: Saul Bass
      Cast: Nigel Davenport, Michael Murphy, Lynne Frederick, Alan Gifford, Robert Henderson, Helen Horton
      Year: 1974
      Purchase From Amazon

      Phase IV – Movie Review:

      Saul Bass’ 1974 sci-fi/thriller Phase IV is an interesting blend of nature run amuck stereotypes and Natural Geographic style nature footage mixed into one delicious cocktail of suspense and
      ...
      03-15-2024, 01:02 PM
    • The Bounty Hunter Trilogy (Radiance Films) Blu-ray Review
      Ian Jane
      Administrator
      by Ian Jane


      Released by: Radiance Films
      Released on: March 26th, 2024.
      Director: Shigehiro Ozawa, Eiichi Kudo
      Cast: Tomisaburo Wakayama, Minoru Ôki, Arashi Kanjuro, Bin Amatsu, Chiezo Kataoka
      Year: 1969-1972
      Purchase From Amazon

      The Bounty Hunter Trilogy – Movie Review:

      Radiance Films gathers together the three films in Toie Studios’ Bounty Hunter Trilogy, starring the inimitable Tomisaburo Wakayama. Here’s how the three movies in this
      ...
      03-13-2024, 11:30 AM
    Working...
    X