Cathardincu Surprisingly incoherent and boring
Spidersecu Don't Believe the Hype
InformationRap This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.
Derrick Gibbons An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.
Stevieboy666 The British DVD front cover states that this is a Paul Tarantino film - who??? Never heard of him either, but obviously his surname is enough to catch the eye. As for the rear cover it tries to make comparisons with The Shining, The Ring and Stephen King - utter bull****!! Ambitious Ben gets a well paid office job working the graveyard shift thanks to a sexy corporate headhunter. But straight away he is thrown into a nightmare world of supernatural horror. The plot is pretty crazy though easy to follow, the acting is wooden & the special effects look very cheap. I'm not sure if the intention was to make a scary film, which this certainly isn't, or if it was done tongue in cheek. This is a bad, cheesy film, no two ways about it, but I found entertainingly so. NB - there is a short, final post-credits scene for anybody who refrains from hitting the eject button beforehand.
wrlang A campy horror show about an insurance salesman who is befriended by a business man that has a ten year old secret. The businessman sends the insurance man to a headhunter to find a better job and that job entails other work as assigned. The salesman spends the majority of the movie trying to understand why strange things are happening to him and winds up actually fulfilling his job function much to the dismay of the businessman who suffers for a job well done. The camera work and direction was surprisingly good. The dialog was austere and functional with a few giggles. The acting was pretty good. The special effects were in league with the films budget. The movie cover was nicely done and was one of the major reasons I picked up the DVD.
bpvenice The horror genre is such a guilty pleasure that actually went to a midnight screening of Headhunter at the Dances With Films Film Festival. I rolled my eyes when the ticket price was ten bucks and saw that the crowd of film-goers seemed largely populated by friends of the production, at least it seemed to be. I mean there were at least a couple hundred people there. At Midnight. So I'm thinking red flag central. I sat in back anticipating an early exit. But what I experienced far exceeded my low expectations. This wasn't some Michael Bay produced remake glossed up for wide release and big numbers on the opening weekend. Headhunter is an independent horror movie that doesn't benefit from limitless funds and mega stars trying to cash in on the re-surging popularity of this classic genre. Headhunter relied soley on being well written, directed, acted, and edited. This is not The Exorcist, or The Ring, but it is a smart little film that hits all the beats, all the suspense and all the essential twists and turns well. The make up was great. The effects were great. I mean yeah, it's obvious they had limited funds but it's also obvious that Paul Tarantino is a skilled filmmaker who knows how to make a good film without Stan Winston's genius propping him up. My hat is off to Tarantino and his cast. Oh yeah, another big reason why I loved Headhunter was because it's pretty damn campy too. It never takes itself too seriously yet stays true to its purpose, Horror. That, to me, is what is so special about this film. Headhunter's a good bet. Rent it.
Wldkarrde8 I caught HEADHUNTER as a part of a local film festival called Danceswithfilms here in Santa Monica, California. The festival prides itself on showcasing films with no stars, and no known director. With any luck all involved in this project will never again be welcomed back to the festival, as the talent on display here is of the "up and coming" variety - destine for success of the name making kind.The story is unique and compelling, focusing on Ben Caruso, a man in search of a better job. He hooks up with a corporate headhunter and soon finds himself in a top notch horror yarn that also deals out a fair amount of sly laughs. The direction has wisps of Kubrick mixed in with Raimi...which bodes well for this film's director (Paul Tarantino). With all of Hollywood remaking Japanese horror - this home grown effort seems like an ideal candidate for an upgrading to a larger budget, and a wider release.A stand out moment is where an unsuspecting character has a run in with a garbage disposal gone mad. Though, my favorite was the last few seconds of the film where one of the characters is confronted with that nagging question: "Where is my head?" There were a few moments where things dragged a bit more than I'd like, and where the projects lower budget poked through an otherwise highly professional appearance, but those moments were few and far between. Acting was superb, especially Ben Parrillo who carries the film with ease. Scott Bushell, who plays Ben's friend in the film, is a stand out - bringing a palooka like character to life. British actor Mark Aiken is a star under Hollywood's collective nose. If he's not scooped up for larger studio roles there is just something wrong - casting directors take note.Judging from the DVD assortment at my local rental house (Did anyone really like CABIN FEVER? And GHOSTWATCHER left me looking for a refund!), this effort deserves to leap successfully from festival circuit to rental and cable. Keep an eye out.
