(1996)**
Summerisle used to work at Blockbuster and he would periodically bring home random horror movies in order to take full advantage of the fact that he was able to obtain free rentals. For some reason we still laugh about this stupid movie. I hadn’t seen it in years so I decided to revisit it to see if I still found it funny. I did. Don’t get me wrong; this is a stupid, stupid movie at the Troma level of quality. It’s just that the “head” of the family is a giant head and that’s really funny. I suppose I must delve into the plot a little bit. Sigh.
Lorretta is married to Howard, a big lug of a jerk. Lorretta is secretly in love with Lance, a total nerd who owns a local restaurant. They frequently meet in the restaurant’s storeroom for afternoon trysts. Oh, did I mention that this is pretty much a soft-core porn movie? I hadn’t recalled this being the case, all I could remember was that hilarious big head. Anyway, Lorretta convinces Lance to kill her husband.
Enter the Stackpools. The Stackpools are a weird quartet of a family that live on the edge of town. Periodically this family of freaks put up fake detour signs and lure travelers to their doom. It is explained the Stackpools all come from the same genetic egg despite being all different ages and sexes. Each member of the family has its own unique specialty (e.g., strength, sexuality, etc). Myron, the “head”, is a giant freaking head with great intellect. Did I mention that he’s hilarious to look at? He’s a giant head, the “head” of the family! Anyway, Myron is confined to a wheelchair because the rest of him is puny, think of a ventriloquist’s dummy’s appendages and you get the idea. The head’s one desire is to snatch an able-bodied person and transplant his intellect into that person’s body. As we’re learning about the Stackpools, Lance stumbles upon their fake detour scheme and decides to blackmail them into killing Lorretta’s husband. The Head agrees quickly to Lance’s demands. After Lance makes more and more demands, the head decides that it’s time to take care of him once and for all.
Like I said, the plot is stupid, but damn, that giant head! I’m laughing just thinking about it. It’s the ultimate pun.
3 comments:
Right on, Octopunk, I knew you'd find a good photo!
I think that the funniest thing about this movie (and there are many) is the fact that you expect the Head to be ruthless and intimidating but he's more just bitter and disenchanted. It must be tough going through life looking like that! I'd be a scheming shut-in too!
Yeah, that's so true, the Head isn't really intimidating at all, he just has this goddamn big head! He buckles pretty quickly when he's blackmailed.
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