George Walker returns to his deceased grandmother's house to claim his inheritance and to try and fix the old place up before the city condemns it. With the help from his neighbour, George keeps working on the house every day, but soon starts to suffer from terrible nightmares that are hard to tell if they're just dreams or reality. It doesn't take long before George realizes that these dreams are in fact real, but when he tries to tell people about it, they just think he's crazy. Did something bad happened in his grandmother's house while he was away? It's up to Mr. Walker to find out.
Weiler's Head Trauma is without a doubt one of the best indie films to come out in 2006, and dealing with psychological horror, I found it to be right up my alley. This is one of those somewhat rare films where one tends to forget that you're just watching another movie, instead, it sweps you off your feet and it feel like you land right in the middle of it, if you know what I'm saying. The future looks bright for the director who had success with his directional debut that was The Last Broadcast and now, delivering Head Trauma, Weiler proves that he's an excellent filmmaker. The film is very interesting in the way that it deals with something that we all can relate to, what's inside of our own heads, buried deep down. And when you keep thinking about it, things just keeps getting scarier and that is pretty much how this movie goes.
Head Trauma begins with that we're introduced to George Walker who returns to his hometown to try and fix up his grandmother’s house before it will be demolished by the city. The house is a complete mess and as George keep discovering everything that's wrong inside of it, he gets to know a neighbor and meets a girl from his past that he starts to get to know all over again. But soon terrible things hit and George starts having bizarre and horrible nightmares, and if that wasn't enough, the same visions soon start to invade his waking life during day as well.
 
Not only does this film look absolutely superb with its creepy locations and outstanding cinematography, but it's also a film that goes from creepy to incredibly creepy and never lets down the guard. It stands quite clear that Weiler was inspired by Asian horror films when he crafted Head Trauma, but the good thing here is that he succeeds in what he's trying to do and so the film does not fall flat like so many other similar type of films, be it Asian or American. The problem with most horror flicks seems to be that the filmmakers never know when to place the scares for them to work in a effective way, but luckily Weiler does that right too, delivering nightmarish imagery that'll stick in your mind long after that the film's over.
The very pacing of the film is excellent with a somewhat slow start to get things rolling and to build the foundation of tension to come. Then it shifts to another gear and starts delivering creepy terror to a 110 percent. So when it comes to horror, Weiler sure shows that he knows how to handle it, only problem is that some of the actors does not respond to it as well as one could've hoped for. Don't get me wrong as I'm not saying it's one of those indie flicks where the acting just sucks, but rather that some of the actors are newcomers and it's just too obvious and it shines through a little too much at times, especially with the lead George. Still though, the script for Head Trauma is pretty darn close to perfect and so is everything else in it, so even if the acting at times could've been better, it's no reason not to check this one out. In fact, if you don't you are certain to miss out on some splendid horror.
Head Trauma is a very inventive flick that may have been made on a minimal budget but that still comes out looking nothing but grand. With its Hitchcock feel that is constantly there mixed with Asian influences such as Ringu and Dark Water, Head Trauma is a film that will probably make you jump high when watching it, not to mention that it may creep you out as well. Grow some nails before you watch this one so you don't start grinding your fingers down by mistake.
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ALTERNATIVE TITLE:
MOVIE YEAR: 2006
DIRECTOR: Lance Weiler
WRITING CREDITS: Brian Majeska, Lance Weiler
GENRE: Horror, Thriller
CAST: Vince Mola, Jamil A.C. Mangan, Mary Monahan
COUNTRY: USA
RUNTIME: 84 min
RATING: 9/10
Head Trauma Website/IMDB Click here
Head Trauma Trailer Click here
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