Head Case: Home Movies of a Serial Killer (2007) by Anthony Spadaccini


Director: Anthony Spadaccini
Year: 2007
Country: USA
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Slasher

Plot:
Attempting to live a quiet life together, a pair of serial killers decide to document themselves and their everyday lives while trying to hide their crimes from everyone as well as their children, but as time goes on it soon grows to increasingly more difficult proportions trying to ensure their lives together.

Review:

For the most part, this was quite an impressive serial killer effort. One of its better aspects is the outright chilling mundane-ness associated with their action that should be heinous and brutal yet comes off another ordinary day. Initially shown to be bickering in a friendly manner over who gets to hold the camera while videotaping themselves killing a victim, this is then almost immediately followed up with their spirited discussions on the decorations of the murder-room in their house and all the decorations and accoutrements that need to be there comes off with quite a disturbing air realizing the conversations are about the space in which they’re going to murder their victims.

That carries over into the matter-of-fact kills that they partake in. from the opening scene of them dunking a victim under running water to suffocating under a pillow, being drugged and carved into pieces while the victims’ unconscious and can’t feel anything. These are done with a mostly calm, calculated manner that denotes more of a business-as-usual approach that doesn’t spark any kind of emotional outburst from them about anything, yet there’s nothing much on display here. Later on, when they’re out hunting for victims whether they’re successful or not keeps that dark and disturbing air to it with their focus on keeping the grisly features off-screen and only getting an idea through the sounds and glimpses we get about everything. These are what make this a fun time over its negative aspects.

Overall, there isn't much wrong here but it does have some slight, nagging flaws. The fact that it's so home-made and down-to-Earth can make this one feel like a total drag and become quite dull. The very nature of this one tending to be very much of their own-filmed scenes can make this come across so flatly and underwhelming that it’s boring. The lack of blood and gore in the kills could be a slight disappointment in the sense that it keeps cutting away without showing anything resulting in some rather unremarkable deaths. As well, the finale is quite underwhelming with a low-key and generally just a downer, ending without much resolution or impact as it seems to be as if they ran out of money with what happens. These few factors are what draw this down the most.


Overview: ***/5
Far more chilling and disturbing than it should be due to the general nonchalance this takes with the subject matter on display, the film manages quite a lot to like which is quite nice as it holds up over its negatives. Give this one a look if you're a fan of the mockumentary approach, a fan of serial killer films in general or intrigued by the overall take on the subject while most others should heed caution.

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