Headspace : seen at BIFFF 2006
We have already introduced you to Andrew van den Houten’s debut movie "Headspace ", a while ago. Still, let’s start with a little reminder of what the story is all about.Alex Borden (Christopher Denham) is a bright young man, keeping a roof over his head by housesitting for wealthy homeowners on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. One day he matches minds with chess wizard Harry Jellinek (Erick Kastel) at an outdoor table. Never a fan of chess, he loses his first match, but suddenly Alex begins to grasp the game as never before. In fact, he grasps every subject as never before : he solves complex math formulas and reads Cervantes as fast as he can flip the pages.Too bad, as his intellect mysteriously begins to grow, so do the terrible headaches and horrors that invade his nightmares.
After a scary fainting spell, Alex wakes up in the hospital and winds up under the care of Dr. Karen Murphy (Olivia Hussey), who finds nothing wrong with him save for a remarkable amount of brain activity. When friends and neighbours start to get brutally slaughtered, Alex vainly tries to warn her that he might be stalked by demons from hell that seek to destroy him and anyone he comes across.
This sharp horror-suspense film first emerged out of the 2005 New York City Horror Film Festival, where it scooped two awards right away. It’s remarkable how Andrew van den Houten managed to make his debut look like a major feature, considering the fact that he had a relatively low budget to work with. Part of the credit for that definitely goes to cinematographer William M. Miller. Not to overlook the impressive supporting cast Headspace managed to snare, with names such as Olivia Hussy, Udo Kier, Dee Wallace Stone and Sean Young.
I can imagine it can be a struggle to be taken seriously as a director when you’re only 26 years old. When I asked Andrew van den Houten about that, he responded he had never experienced any problem with that. According to him, if you know what you want to achieve and you can pass your enthusiasm on to others, it’s quite easy to gain respect.
I wouldn’t say Headspace is an exceptional movie, but the story is well told and moves along at a smooth pace. Too often, horror movies completely rely on gore and sudden shocks but lack the edge of your seat tension. Headspace finds a good balance between the two, the story keeps you glued and I’m sure gore lovers will lick their lips when they watch that see-through shotgun hole in mammy’s head.I left the theatre with some unanswered questions, mainly about what happened in the past. For instance, the story behind the mother character is not explicitly revealed. On purpose, as I found out later on. Andrew van den Houten told us it was his deliberate choice to keep the past burried, and he’s not really interested in making a prequel. However, he did drop a hint about considering a sequel... something to look forward to for all you Headspace fans !
--- Attic girl ---