Movie Review: Shockheaded - Page 2

This, though, is far from a simple porn-is-bad tract. Thornett also plays Normal, the sword-wielding director of the naughty films; his amusing and hyper-verbose turn goes a long way towards equalizing the argument. In particular, there's a sharp monologue where Normal defends his choice of vocation as a striving towards a utopic idyll. By casting his villain as a charismatic monster rather than a plain, banal thug (i.e. 8MM), Thornett keeps Shockheaded from devolving into finger-wagging. As Normal says during the course of the film, "If you have no vision, become a moralist."

Speaking of vision, Shockheaded is about as visually impressive as can be found in the zero-budget world. The film is shot on digital video, and Thornett clearly knows the limitations of that medium, as he does everything he can to avoid them; in turn, adhering to these limitations improves the film on thematic levels. Especially striking is the film's noir-informed lighting scheme; while borne from necessity (excess light leads to a flat, washed-out picture), it furthers the mysterious and ambiguous air that drifts through the film's first two acts.

Thornett's shot choices, too, are generally inspired, like the early shot at the level of a doorjamb; aside from some clumsy two-shots early on, Thornett demonstrates a clear understanding of film grammar and a confident directorial sense. (It never fails to amaze me how many no-budget filmmakers possess neither attribute.) Even when the film's narrative falters, as I feel it does in its third act, his eye remains sharp. I wonder what he could do with a large Hollywood budget.

There is, however, that third act. Shockheaded is a worthwhile film, but it has its share of faults, and most of them exist in the last twenty minutes. Having spent a good deal of time setting up a foreboding atmosphere and a strong sense of unreality (the guy with the umbrella, for instance), Thornett proceeds to solve it all with a protracted series of shootouts. It's like he ran out of ideas.

Article Author: Steve Carlson

Steve Carlson, the proprietor of The Ongoing Cinematic Education of... since 2002, neither conducts electricity nor talks to reptiles. However, he knows someone who does both.

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