Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.0

Trophy Heads Blu-ray Movie Review

1st place or participation award?

Reviewed by Martin Liebman February 9, 2015

Chances are most anyone reading this review -- a review of a Horror title from something of a niche label -- has participated, and probably rather extensively, in online forums of some sort, probably movie forums and hopefully the one right here at Blu-ray.com. Chances, then, are also rather high that some have been accused of "living in their parents' basement," or at the very least read comments in a thread that say as much of another user. It's become more a trope than a full-on insult but certainly a bit of drivel that finds its way onto many chat pages the world over on a daily basis. The main character in Trophy Heads is a spot-on embodiment of the "parental basement dweller," a dude that lives on his recliner, wears nothing but a T-shirt and red undies, and watches old Horror movies that are his de facto best friends, are all that matter in his world, and are the objects around which his life revolves. All that's missing are his "keyboard commando" custom typing gloves and a screen name of "#1FullMoonFan." Unfortunately, this movie will likely prove a bit too obscure to make an effective meme of his image, but suffice it to say that, if anything, Director and Full Moon head honcho Charles Band has absolutely nailed the look and embodied in his movie the very image of the lonely man who lives out his days in the basement rather than venture above ground to find that there's more to life than Subspecies and Creepozoids.

This is the life...

Loner Max (Adam Noble Roberts) one day realizes that his favorite movies are getting old, and so, too, are their stars. His only wish is to preserve them forever, and what better way to do just that than to recreate the starlets' death scenes, sever their heads, and make them trophies for his basement? With the help of his enabling mother (Maria Olsen), he sets out to kidnap some of the biggest names in his favorite old Horror movies. He takes them, locks them in a basement cage, and runs footage of both their real movies and his amateur clips on a loop for them to see while they wait to die. Will his plan be successful, or will one or more of the former leading ladies find a way out of his parents' basement?

Trophy Heads is essentially a depiction of creepy, hardcore fandom taken to the extreme, beyond canvassing conventions and stalking starlets and going straight for the jugular, quite literally. Movies about obsessed fans aren't uncommon (one was, in fact, called The Fan) and there have even been other (and better) films about movie fanatics taking their obsession too far (Scream). Where Trophy Heads attempts to distinguish itself is in its portrayal of hardcore fandom in a single niche, namely Full Moon Horror movies, in a movie made by Full Moon and starring former Full Moon actresses. It's a solid idea but, sadly, the execution leaves quite a bit wanting. The acting ranges from fair to flat with not much middle ground. The movie feels rather spartan in production design and cramped in terms of scope, getting most of its play in the basement (where bits of gratuitous nudity shots abound) and only occasionally venturing beyond the two main sets to secure some support footage, primarily of the kidnappings. Still, the movie works as well as can be expected considering its restraints (and there's even some hints in that direction when characters comment on the relative quality of other, older Full Moon features) and all-in gamble that the returning collection of familiar faces will be enough to sell the movie, all the other technical bits that are lacking be damned.

One area that really hurts the movie is its visually flat and simple digital production. Here's a case where, yes, the digital medium allowed the movie to be made cheaply and more quickly, but the sense of visual character that's gone with the disappearance of film hinders the movie's potential and fuller immersion into the world of old movies. Just as Max laments the disappearance of not only the leading ladies in his movies but the very delivery systems themselves -- VHS and even Beta -- one cannot help but feel the same about the transition to digital and how it, here, gives the movie an almost surreal quality that feels so distant from these classics of a bygone era that the attachment to them is not as intimate as it might have been had Trophy Heads been a grainer, grittier experience. It may be a small nitpick, but in this reviewer's opinion, it has a major impact on the overall feel and flow of the movie, perhaps the greatest obstacle to finding a greater sense of connection to that era the film so lovingly recalls.

Trophy Heads Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Trophy Heads features a clean, smooth, digital-sourced 1080p transfer as referenced above. The image appears very sterile and flat. Raw details are fine -- facial and clothing textures are of a relatively high quality, as are various surfaces and details both in the basement and out in the rest of the world -- but the lack of any sort of accompanying texture other than "slick" is a bit off-putting. Colors, likewise, are bold but lack in spirit. Blacks and flesh tones aren't overplay problematic. The image does show a hint of banding and some moderately heavy examples of jagged edges and aliasing, evident throughout the movie but notable in a very early shot featuring wooden pallets at the 4:45 mark, around the frames of Max's work glasses at 16:45, and along straight edges on a van seen at about the 20:30 mark. Still, the image is otherwise technically sound; it's just a matter of whether it's too clean for its own good.

Trophy Heads Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Trophy Heads doesn't feature a prized soundtrack, but the included Dolby Digital 5.1 presentation gets the job done. Music is adequately airy around the top and features a satisfactory low end weight. Spacing and clarity are fine, with an evident, albeit light, surround support element. There are a few occurrences of quality ambience, such as during the film's first death scene and later at a few outdoor venues. The voices Max hears in his head nicely float around the stage for a fair surround experience. General dialogue plays with a clean, accurate, front-middle presence.

Trophy Heads Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Trophy Heads contains several bonuses, including a commentary, a "Videozone" featurette, and behind-the-scenes footage.

• Audio Commentary: Charles Band, Darcy DeMoss, Brinke Stevens, and Jacqueline Lovell sit down to discuss project origins and the original five-part feature on which the film is based, reuniting the "Scream Queens" into the Full Moon fold, the old films referenced in this film, home video formats, the picture's score, and more, including a few "Oops! We're watching the movie rather than talking about it!" admissions. This is a fairly good, interesting track that longtime Full Moon fans should love.
• Videozone (1080p, 10:16): Charles Band opens this piece with a look at project origins, returning actresses, and Full Moon's spine numbering system. The piece then transitions to behind-the-scenes interviews with the cast.
• Uncut Footage (1080p, 22:35): Raw footage from the set.
• Submit Your Head (1080p, 2:52): Fan photos are repurposed to show them as "trophy heads."
• Trailers (1080p): Trancers 2, Trophy Heads, Unlucky Charms, Ooga Booga, Reel Evil, Subspecies, Sorority Babes, and Cannibal Women.

Trophy Heads Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Full Moon's Trophy Heads kinda-sorta breaks the first rule of filmmaking by poking fun at its audience, or at least a characterization of its most rabid fan base. But it does so in a rather sly, playful way that, at the same time, delivers plenty of fan service by reuniting several of the label's most cherished female icons in a wink-and-a-nod sort of movie that favors the novelty rather than the horror of it all. In a broad sense, the movie doesn't work all that well considering it lacks in a number of technical areas. But as a nifty little homage to days gone by and a little bit of fun with hardcore fandom -- just the sort on which Full Moon thrives -- it satisfies requirements and makes for a little slice of entertainment that craftily mixes together the old and the new, and obviously with the blessing of a number of Full Moon's most cherished "Scream Queens." This Blu-ray release of Trophy Heads features satisfactory video and audio. Several extras make up a fair supplemental section. Recommended to hardcore franchise and Full Moon fans only; newcomers are encouraged to start much further back in the label's catalogue first.