I’m sure during the
course of your wanderings you’ve heard the
expression, “Where the head goes, the body shall
follow.” Sage words of wisdom, no doubt, but in
horror movies once the head goes, the body
usually drops.
The backbone of the zombie sub-genre is “shoot
it in the head” or “kill the brain” but there is
a basic, primordial fear of trauma to the head.
Back in the Middle Ages to relieve headaches or
demonic possession (such ailments were believed
to go hand in hand back then) holes were drilled
into skulls to release the offending spirits and
cure the pain. I’m sure many patients expired
under such expert medical care… People are
notoriously vain about their faces, after all
who wants to spend their lives scarred for all
to see for the rest of their days?
The eyes, the very windows into our souls and
our mouths with all of our precious, fragile
teeth also reside on or in our head, focal
points for abuse on the target that sits upon
our exposed necks. As a veteran of the great
dental wars, I know all too well the
ramifications of an unguarded shot to the mouth
and the mayhem that follows. Once the whole head
is compromised, unless you’re Dr. Hill from
“Re-Animator” there’s not much you can do except
float toward the great beyond.
With that in mind, I present to you some of the
most impressive head obliterations to grace the
screen:
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Intruder (1989)–
Sam Raimi hanger on Scott Spiegel’s low budget
yet enthusiastic neo-slasher movie is set in a
supermarket after hours, and ironically offers a
2 for 1 special. A killer stalks the night crew
stabbing, crushing and generally making a
nuisance out of himself. Is it the cashier’s
jilted ex-boyfriend? I’ll never tell, but while
the acting is a bit uneven and embarrassingly
simplified at times, INTRUDER is a fun if over
long little movie with Raimiesque camera
gimmicks and a winking sense of humor. In its
uncut form INTRUDER boasts some of the most
outrageous gory set pieces, all of which were
severely butchered in for its initial home video
release.
The uncut version boasts squishy, splattery
kills and two of the most inventive kills ever
visited upon the human body. In one scene a
stoner is grabbed and has his head forced into a
box crusher. The pneumatic press slowly works
its way down as our victim struggles and screams
in helplessness. Finally the press mashes and
pulps his head, which ruptures like huge water
balloon. The second noteworthy kill has the
cashier’s would be new boyfriend taking on a
butcher’s band saw with the saw emerging as
undisputed champion. This meat room kill is an
outrageous show stopper which finds the guy’s
head bisected with a lot of close ups of meat
and gruel flying everywhere. All of this is
accompanied by the saw’s incessant high pitched
whine which sounds like some sort of hellish
dentist’s drill.
Maniac (1980) –
Tom Savini’s special effects work for its time
was bold, in your face and innovative, despite
the fact that it was painfully simplistic and
was always accompanied by Savini’s endless self
championing. Despite the short comings that make
most of Savini’s FX appear better suited to be
included in a stage production, you can’t deny
that some of his work stands out as some of the
most impressive to ever grace horror movies.
MANIAC, largely denounced by all the principal
filmmakers, actors and crew associated with it
as pure sleaze, features everyone’s favorite
sweaty scumbag Joe Spinell in his most famous
role as a degenerate killer of women.
Amid the scalping and stabbings there is an
impressive exploding head gag as Spinell’s
character surprises a parked couple making out
in a car in an isolated area. The man, played by
Savini himself, has his day ruined when the
maniac fires a shotgun into his face at point
blank range, spraying his head all over the
interior of the car. Sure the waxy replicated
head doesn’t look entirely convincing, but the
result is a shout out loud moment that brings
some life to the actually plodding and grimy
movie.
Dawn of the Dead (1978)–
Pretty much the first movie to help make Tom
Savini a household name in horror fan’s homes,
DAWN OF THE DEAD the second in George A.
Romero’s living dead saga shows the world
battling the non stop onslaught of the living
dead. Set predominately in a huge shopping mall
many people, myself included, consider this to
be one of the best zombie films ever made.
Packed with believable, bickering characters and
show stopping set pieces, the whole movie is an
example of excess ironic since this is Romero’s
thinly veiled swipe at consumerism and American
societal lethargy. Heads literally roll in a non
stop barrage of gore which is handled well by
Savini, which is surprising because this movie
serves as some of his most impressive work along
side some of his most sketchy uneven work.
Early on in the
film, as a SWAT team is reclaiming a tenement in
the ghetto of Philadelphia a team member goes on
a psychotic rampage shooting the very people
they are supposed to be both protecting and
arresting. As most of the team looks
lethargically on, Wooley the high strung racist
teammate kicks open door after door, firing away
at whoever is inside the apartments. Here we’re
treated to the movie’s first sight gag, as an
obvious mannequin has its head blasted away in
one of the most famous stills ever to be
released promoting the movie. It is a come out
of nowhere moment, which sets up the ominous,
anything goes tone of the rest of the movie.
Even though the movie is a fun romp, you can’t
forget those moments of absolute carnage. This
awesome moment was only the tip of the iceberg
of the more intense moments DAWN OF THE DEAD had
to offer.
Chopping Mall
(1986) --
What’s not to love about a movie with killer
robots shooting lasers, small performances by
Paul Bartel and Mary Woronov and a cameo by the
legendary Dick Miller under his pseudonym Walter
Paisley, a character he played in Roger Corman’s
“Bucket of Blood”? One of those notorious titles
movies from my youth, CHOPPING MALL is a goofy
romp about teens partying at the furniture store
in the mall after hours and the new homicidal
security robots on a rampage. Filled with in
jokes and nods to other films and characters,
the movie is as implausible as can be but such a
dumb movie that you can’t help but laugh, both
with it and at it.
Once the robots unleash their mechanized fury,
we have a nifty scene where they chase a
scantily clad girl, blasting at her with poorly
animated laser bolts that sound just like the
Martian war machines from George Pal’s “War of
the Worlds.” In full view of all her friends,
the girl loses her head in possibly the silliest
exploding head gag ever filmed amid some of the
squishiest sound effects in film history. The
scene is such a riot that I dare you not to
rewind it and watch it again. A definite crowd
pleaser in what is an otherwise foolish yet
entertaining movie.
Scanners (1981) –
David Cronenberg’s story of telekinetically
gifted individuals and the obstacles they face
including prejudice and villainous factions of
people with similar powers is a well crafted if
usually talky and flawed film. Dubbed “scanners”
these individuals represent a possible new stage
in mental evolution, so of course governments
either wants to exploit or destroy them. Michael
Ironside is outstanding as the evil scanner out
for world domination. The film has some stand
out scenes but is padded with long stretches a
talky non-action. The awkward pacing of the film
gives it an odd Canadian TV movie of the week
feel but was popular to be hailed as a cerebral
horror movie as well as bring Cronenberg
stateside attention.
The most
notorious scene in SCANNERS occurs when
Ironside’s Revok takes on another scanner during
a televised press conference and literally blows
the other man’s mind, as well as his whole head.
The moment is sheer brilliance and I have seen
people cheer during it as if they were at a rock
concert. The moment has tremendous build up, and
is executed perfectly making it easily the best
part of the movie and one of the most amazing
exploding head sequences ever put to film.
Highly recommended, and a complete blast to
watch! |
