Last night, I saw it. A wriggling thing that shouldn’t be wriggling. It was on IFC, and I DVR’d it, and best of all this is my week of being a Nielson family. So maybe my tastes will finally be influencing the nation. But probably not.
So what did I see? Trail of the Screaming Forehead. Another Larry Blamire movie. It’s not even out on DVD yet! It has all the usual cast. I don’t know how they keep their faces straight, or their lines. And somehow it was produced by Ray Harryhausen!
It’s about an invasion from space of a bunch of evil mind-controlling foreheads that occurs at the same time that an Earth scientist is studying the effects of foreheadazine. There’s a sailor named Dutch the Swede. There’s a librarian.
We hear the theme song three times. For the opening credits, it’s performed by Manhatten Transfer! In the middle of the movie it’s a plot point sung by that Animala gal, but her character’s name is Droxy Chappelle. Then it comes ’round again for the closing credits. The words are so overwrought and painful. Hearing three different interpretations shows how truly bad the song is. What great performances!
I really want to know how they got the color of the film. It’s sort of WWII era Technicolor. The clouds were purplish. I liked it.
The film is well named. We actually get to see the trail of the screaming forehead. And the screaming forehead itself. It’s pretty surreal. But I’m not sure that it means anything. I feel like it should mean something. If it does, it’s just that knowledge causes headaches. And that might be enough for it to mean, if that’s all that it means. But I want it to mean more. Kind of like Inception.
I wonder how often Larry Blamire films are compared to ones by Christopher Nolan?
Once again the Lost Skeleton commands you, see this movie. And when it’s available for buying, then buy this movie. Again and again and again. It’s movielicious.
