60-Second Critic: Head Trauma

Head Trauma
Directed by Lance Weiler; opens this month at select area theaters

Writer/director Lance Weiler’s first film, 1998’s The Last Broadcast, stirred controversy when the strikingly similar Blair Witch Project pulled

Head Trauma
Directed by Lance Weiler; opens this month at select area theaters

Writer/director Lance Weiler’s first film, 1998’s The Last Broadcast, stirred controversy when the strikingly similar Blair Witch Project pulled down $240 million a year later. This sophomore effort was shot in Weiler’s native Bucks County and stars Vince Mola (the perpetually annoying SuperPhan) as drifter George Walker, a creepy, alcoholic version of George Costanza who sustains a head injury. Nightmares and day terrors featuring a young girl’s murder and a dark, hooded assailant ensue as the line between George’s reality and fantasy fades. Mola is outshone by his supporting cast, especially New Jersey’s Jamil Mangan as a neighbor, but Head Trauma succeeds where The Last Broadcast fell to pieces—in crafting a climax that pulls together the loose ends. Bottom line: better than Last Broadcast and Blair Witch, but Lance shouldn’t bank on any $240 million. Grade: B