Shrunken Heads (film)
Shrunken Heads | |
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Directed by | Richard Elfman |
Written by | Matthew Bright |
Produced by | Charles Band |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Stephen McNutt |
Edited by | Charles Simmons |
Music by | |
Production company | Full Moon Entertainment |
Distributed by |
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Release date |
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Running time | 86 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $800,000 |
Shrunken Heads is a 1994 American independent comedy horror film directed by Richard Elfman and written by Matthew Bright. The film follows three preteen boys who, after being murdered by a vicious gang, are resurrected via voodoo as shrunken heads.
Produced by Full Moon Entertainment and released by Paramount Home Video, this was the last film in which Julius Harris appeared. Director Elfman's brother, Danny Elfman, provided the main theme music, while the rest of the score was composed by Richard Band. Richard's son, Bodhi Elfman, appears in a supporting role.
Premise[]
When a New York City street gang murders three teenagers, a Haitian voodoo priest re-animates them based on their shrunken heads. The youths subsequently exact revenge on their killers.
Cast[]
- Julius Harris as Aristide Sumatra, a voodoo priest.
- Meg Foster as Maureen "Big Moe", a tough lesbian mob boss.
- Aeryk Egan as Tommy Larson
- Rebecca Herbst as Sally
- Bo Sharon as Bill Turner
- Bodhi Elfman as Booger Martin
- A.J. Damato as Vinnie Benedetti
- Darris Love as Freddie Thompson
- Troy Fromin as Podowski
- Leigh-Allyn Baker as Mitzi
- Paul Linke as Mr. Larson
- Billye Ree Wallace as Mrs. Wilson
- R.J. Frost as The Vipers
- Randy Vahan as The Plumber
Reception[]
Emanuel Levy of Variety called it "only mildly entertaining".[1] J. R. Taylor of Entertainment Weekly rated it B and wrote, "Elfman's fun-loving touches manage to get this new series up and running with twisted enthusiasm".[2] Writing in The Zombie Movie Encyclopedia, academic Peter Dendle said that the characters "lovingly exaggerate every preposterous line with relish, yielding some outrageous dialogue in an otherwise treadmill production."[3]
Legacy[]
In 2021, the film received a comedic commentary by Michael J. Nelson, Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett of RiffTrax, an offshoot of movie-mocking cult TV series Mystery Science Theater 3000.
References[]
- ^ Levy, Emanuel (November 27, 1994). "Review: 'Shrunken Heads'". Variety. Retrieved February 13, 2015.
- ^ Taylor, J. R. (October 21, 1994). "Shrunken Heads". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved February 13, 2015.
- ^ Dendle, Peter (2001). The Zombie Movie Encyclopedia. McFarland & Company. pp. 160–161. ISBN 978-0-7864-9288-6.
External links[]
- 1994 films
- English-language films
- American films
- 1994 horror films
- 1990s comedy horror films
- 1990s thriller films
- American comedy horror films
- American comedy thriller films
- Films about undead
- Films about Voodoo
- Films set in New York City
- Films shot in Los Angeles
- Films scored by Richard Band
- Films scored by Danny Elfman
- American supernatural horror films
- Full Moon Features films
- Films with screenplays by Matthew Bright
- 1994 comedy films
- Comedy horror film stubs