Shrunken Heads — Shrunken Heads ( Blu Ray)
Shrunken Headss is a mid-90s horror/ dark comedy film with a very EC horror comic vibe. The film is set in a reality that sits somewhere between the 50s and 90s- focusing on a group of comic-loving pre-teen friends, who get tangled up with the local gang, get murdered, then become reanimated in the form of floating heads by the local newsagent/voodoo doctor. Here from 101 films is a Blu-ray release of the film.
Shrunken Heads (working title: The Call of Mr. Sumatra) is from the year 1994. It was produced/ released by Charles Band's Full Moon Entertainment, with Band co-penning the script. The film was directed by LA-born Richard Elfman- a semi-pro wrestler turned wacky auteur. He is most known for the nonsensical/ surreal musical fantasy Forbidden Zone (1980), though he also helmed the female martial arts action film Streets Of Rage (1993), sleazy bloodsucking horror Modern Vampires (2003), and wackily deranged pulp sci-fi fantasy comic made into a live-action comedy film Aliens, Clowns & Geeks(2019).
The film is set in a NYC neighbourhood, which blends elements of both the 1950s and 1990s. It starts off with a rather family-oriented/child-oriented feel, as we meet are three lead characters. Pre-teen buddies -Tommy Lawson (Aeryk Egan), the blond 'n' brill-creamed son of the local grocery shop owner. Tubby red haired Bill Turner(Bo Sharon), and just moved to the area African American Freddie Thompson( Darris Love)
The trio either hang out at the newsstand of Haitian ex-cop/ voodoo doctor Mr. Sumatra(Julius Harris), read comics on the sidewalk, or pester local small-time crim/ dark quiff-haired Vinnie( A.J. Damato). One night, the trio get a little too deep in Vinnie's business, and end up being taken to the hangout of the local gangster Big Mo- played by a male in drag Meg Foster( They Live, Masters Of The Universe, The Lords Of Salem). The three don’t learn their lesson/ make things worse, ending up being gunned down by Vinnie- from here the film switches into much more of a dark comedy/ EC horror comic/stylised pulp venture.
As things unfold, Mr. Sumatra sneaks into the funerary parlour where the three boys rest, taking a saw in hand, he cuts off each boy's head, takes them back to his apartment, shrinks them, then reanimates them into float entities- ready for revenge.
The film very much blends pulp noir, horror camp, and dark-at-points risqué humour- there are touches of slashing gore & electricity-like effects, with lumbering/ trying to do good back-from-the-dead goons appearing later.
Shrunken Heads is a decidedly wacky/ at times tonally unbalancing film, which tries to juggle camp pulp, horror, and comedy elements. I found it entertaining enough, though at points it felt maybe a little too knowing/ contrived for its own good, but it’s certainly a different/distinctive film from Full Moon Entertainment.
This recent Blu Ray is region B- it features a remastered scan from the original 35 mm print- this looks well balanced/ rich in colour depth throughout.
There are no new extras on here; the only thing we get is an edition of Full Moon Entertainment’s video zine Videozone from around the original release of Shrunken Heads in the 90’s. This runs at twenty-seven and a half minutes- we get around ten minutes of making of Shrunken Heads- taking in interviews with the director & a few of the actors, as well as make-up/ special effects footage. We get around five-minute interview with Peter David- who wrote the stories for the last few Trancers films, as well as the two 90s Oblivion films which blend sci-fi and western tropes. There’s a selection of trailers from around the time too- most interesting of these being The Lurking Horror- which was an action/ horror based on a Lovecraft story, and featured Jeffery Combs( Reanimator films, From Beyond, Frighteners). And an advert for merch from the Oblivion films. So well worth a watch for those who enjoyed the film/ interested in Full Moon Entertainment’s output in the 90s. We lastly get an original trailer.
There is no doubt Shrunken Heads is one of the more wacky/ bizarre films to be released by Band’s Full Moon. And it’s nice to see it getting this 101 Films release- one for those who enjoy where pulp, horror, and dark humour meet.