A Hypnotic Heavy Metal Horror Comedy Feature Film!
When a headbanger attempts to turn the tables on his overbearing mother by hypnotizing her, she inadvertently becomes susceptible to the horrifying suggestions of the heavy metal music he loves…
This is a campaign to fund a life-long passion project called Headbanger!, a live-action, rockin’ and ridiculous, horror-comedy feature film!
Written by Audie Harrison & Aaron Pfeifer
Produced and Directed by Audie Harrison
Set against the backdrop of the Satanic Panic hysteria and anti-heavy metal rage of the 1980s, Headbanger! is about a young metalhead named Mark Looger who hypnotizes his overbearing mother to get her off his back about his music, clothes and length of his hair. But ironically, the spell he casts also makes her susceptible to the terrifying suggestions of the heavy metal music he loves! Mark’s mother begins murdering all of his friends in the gruesomely over-the-top ways that all those “explicit” lyrics describe. He has created a monster! And if she is not stopped, it might just mean the end of heavy metal forever!
This heavy metal-infused retelling of the Frankenstein myth is an atomic explosion of everything I love to do as a filmmaker and experience as a filmgoer: Over-the-top, absurd humor, mind-bending visuals and a ton of kick-ass music!
For a more detailed look at the plot, characters and visual style of Headbanger! check out this LOOK BOOK.
My name is Audie Harrison. I am a multi-award winning director, producer and writer of a wide variety of comedic content in both live-action and the animation industry!
I am a graduate of California Institute of the Arts where I was the recipient a Student Emmy for my short film, Ringed Planet!, which also screened at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival. In 2003, The Last American, a live-action feature film I co-wrote and directed was selected into the Nodance Film Festival and screened at Sundance. As a Supervising Animator my work contributed to an Academy Award win for Best Visual Effects on the film The Golden Compass. An episode of Secret Mountain Fort Awesome that I storyboarded won best Animated Series at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival in 2012. I have also created two pilots for Cartoon Network, “My Science Fiction Project” and “Sunshine Brownstone”. And most recently I wrote, executive produced and directed the highly acclaimed and groundbreaking “Trick or Treat Scooby-Doo!”
Headbanger! is an idea that has been rattling around in my head since I was a headbanger myself way back in high school in the early 90s. I was lead guitarist in a heavy metal band called “Section 8”.
Performing at parties, school dances, battle of the bands and questionable venues around town, we were living a miniature version of being rock stars – complete with the backlash from concerned parents and community leaders about the subject matter of our songs and what it might make kids do.
But that controversy always made me wonder… why would a person do something just because lyrics in a song told them to? The only way I could figure it is if they had no free will of their own.
…which ultimately became the seed of Headbanger!.
This special blend of humor, imagery, and epic music ingrained into this tale is something truly unique. As someone who loves heavy metal – who thrived during its heyday and still loves every bit of it today – and as a cartoonist, absurdist and filmmaker, I feel like I am the right person to bring this cinematic experience to life!
A budget of $50,000 would allow us to make Headbanger! in a way that reflects the dirty, tattered and torn spirit of heavy metal, while still allowing for the polish that this gem of a movie deserves.
Here is a “break”down of where your money goes:
While this film is ambitious in its scope of wild ideas and hilarious characters, the limited locations, the ability to create the music, artwork and visual effects ourselves are all designed to keep costs at a minimum.
Since the dawn of time (around 1970, when Black Sabbath released their self-titled debut) heavy metal has been about creating a sense of community and culture around epic tunes. And it is still one of the strongest, coolest and most passionate communities thriving today! So, we want to continue that tradition with this crowdfunding! From stylish pins for your denim vest, to temporary tattoos, to being rendered into album artwork seen on screen or even becoming one of the many hapless headbanging victims in the film – we want you to be able to wear, hear and live (and/or pretend to die) a part of this experience!
Although set in the 1980s we feel that this film has current and immediate relevance. The evils of censorship and irrational panic have only continued to grow and become more destructive since. Fueled by social media, news outlets, and deranged politicians, this type of hysteria is now a hot commodity. We are experiencing an unrelenting frenzy of book banning, hate crimes, anti-science and anti-intellectualism in the name of unfounded “beliefs”. The “Satanic Panic” and fear of what heavy metal might make someone do featured in Headbanger! might seem quaint by today’s standards of crazy but serves as a poignant metaphor for today’s terror.
This film is also about free will and the terrifying consequences of its absence.
This film is also about the true meaning and power of music.
But most importantly, Headbanger! is about being the craziest, funniest movie you’ve ever seen!
This is a Heavy Metal fantasy. This is a gruesomely gory and horrific nightmare. But above all, it is a hilariously absurd FARCE! Almost as absurd as the idea that music can make you do bad things. A frenzied blend of Rock N’ Roll High School, Evil Dead and Airplane!, this film is an over-the-top, horrifically hilarious, heavy metal celebration that you’ll want to bang your head to!
The use of deep space, extreme camera angles, and wide-angle lenses will emphasize the mind-warping, hypnotic subject matter of the film. Especially as Mark’s mother’s hypnosis delivers more and more extreme consequences.
High contrast “comic book” lighting: The use of rich hues through gelled lighting along with dark blacks will deliver a stark eeriness to the over-the-top moments of the film. At the same time, this bold use of color supports the more comical, exaggerated tone.
To reflect the wildly graphic and imaginative lyrics of heavy metal, the kills in Headbanger! will be equally inventive, over-the-top and cartoonishly hilarious! Adhering to the tone of the film, the importance of comedy and creativity in the special effects will always outweigh the importance of realism.
In keeping with the bold hues of the lighting and the comedic heart of Headbanger!, even the color of blood will be exaggerated to a wildly saturated bright red, giving the violence a more whimsical flare
When the songs that incite violence play in the movie, the specificity of the lyrics are very important to the events of this story. To reinforce sonic clarity and to offer some unique visuals, the lyrics will appear on screen for the viewer in a playful “sing-along” fashion. Much like how the songs in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory graphically emphasize certain words or phrases of importance.
Huge manes of hair! Ripped jeans! Tight, studded leather! Bullet belts! Concert tees! Band-logo-patch-adorned denim vests! The larger-than-life costumes of Headanger! will instantly give this film a big bang for its buck. The color, texture and attitude of this over-the-top fashion will make these characters leap off the screen! While at same time, these visually striking details help to cement this film in a very specific era of pop culture.
Mark Looger (20) has the appearance of a classic 1980s metalhead. With a huge mane of hair, ripped jeans, concert tee and a filthy denim vest covered in band logo patches, he speaks and has the swagger of a mighty medieval warrior. But much like the heavy metal music he listens to, deep down he’s pretty harmless. And sometimes even a little pathetic.
“Mother” (64) is an overbearing, bible-thumping woman who harshly judges everything on face value. From the trustworthiness of the news anchor to whether the milk has expired, Mother knows if something is good or evil just by looking at it. And now, steeped in the moral and Satanic-Panic of the day, Mother is positive that the evil sounding lyrics of Mark’s favorite music will make him do “horrendous things” – like murder, suicide or worse!
Tori Payne (19) is Mark’s wisecracking, no-nonsense girlfriend. She is metal through and through. Looks tough, talks tough and is tough. Tori has little patience for anything or anyone that pisses her off and more than anything she loves to speak truth to power. Surrounded by eccentric heavy metal weirdos, Tori is also the only voice of sanity in the entire picture.
Piper (19) is a paranoid conspiracy theorist and the political conscience of the Headbanger Brigade. But she is not necessarily the brightest bulb in the bunker. Sporting full camouflage, multiple bullet belts and (actual) grenades strapped to her band-logo adorned army jacket, Piper is always trying to connect completely random ideas and events to back up her wild theories but can never quite put all the pieces together.
Edward (17) is a circuit-soldering heavy metal science nerd and the logical brains of the Headbanger Brigade. But his number one passion is mentoring his robot creation Metal TED and guiding its journey to becoming a fully sentient lifeform with free will.
Metal T.E.D. is a small consumer electronics robot modified by his mentor Edward to be a headbanger and perhaps one day even a fully sentient lifeform. Metal TED’s childlike curiosity is taking him on a journey through a world of new experiences, emotions and kick ass tunes. But that old saying about curiosity and cats might just apply to robots as well..
Fogey (67) is an older rocker who constantly lies about his many heavy metal exploits and brushes with fame to make himself seem cool enough to hang out with the younger crowd of the Headbanger Brigade. He puts a lot of work into keeping all of his “exaggerations” straight and consistent. But sometimes poor Fogey gets confused and that just might cost him his ancient life.
Pastor Pattycakes Pastor Pattycakes is literally a wooden marionette puppet who is a twisted mix of Howdy Doody and Pat Robertson (so basically just Pat Robertson). As host of a nightly television program, Pattycakes preaches the anti-heavy metal gospel to thousands of viewers across the country and Mark’s mother is one of his most devout sheep. Folksy and charming on the air, he can be frighteningly cutthroat behind the scenes – especially when it concerns the almighty dollar!
From The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari to Get out, hypnotism is a classic trope almost as old as cinema itself. Maybe because the methods of hypnotism and how a character’s performance is altered by it can offer a feast of cinematic invention. Or maybe because cinema itself can be a form of hypnosis. In the case of Headbanger!, combining the somnambulistic energy of hypnotism with the frenetic world of heavy metal creates the perfect recipe for this unique blend of horror/comedy.
If you love the hard rock, heavy metal and thrash metal of the 80s and early 90s… if you love horror… if you love movies like Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, Wayne’s World, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Evil Dead, Dead Alive, Return of the Living Dead or the The Naked Gun… then you are going to spontaneously combust (like two of the many ill-fated drummers of Spinal Tap) with excitement when you feast your eyes on Headbanger! And the only way this movie can be made (without the ruinous meddling of uptight, bean-counting studio executives) is with your help!
Much like Mark and his group of eccentric metalhead friends in this movie, the filmmakers and backers of Headbanger! are a scrappy gang of rock n’ roll rebels operating outside of the establishment. We are all a member of the “Headbanger Brigade”!
Any and all donations will help tremendously in making Headbanger! into a reality!
However, if you can’t contribute at this time but would still like to see this movie made, you can help out by spreading the word about this campaign.
Share this link on social media, retweet and repost details and news about Headbanger! as it rolls out.
Tell your friends! Shout it out! Make some NOISE!
Because in these crazy times… I think we all need to something to bang our heads to… instead of against…
And finally, here are a few more places you can find us:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/headbangermovie/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/headbangermovie/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/audieharrison
See you in the mosh pit!