Philadelphia, PA: Head Trauma is the follow-up to Lance Weiler’s internationally successful award wining feature film, The Last Broadcast. In 1994, Lance was in a head on collision with a garbage truck. Lance spent five days in intensive care and lost some of his memory. Over the next few months, Lance was plagued by vivid nightmares and waking visions. This living horror became the foundation for the story of Head Trauma.
Head Trauma is the story of George Walker, a down and out transient, who travels back home after a 20-year absence
only to find the house where he spent his summers condemned and slated for demolition. George initially wants to fix
up the house and sell it quickly, but after he takes a header, he begins to experience a series of disturbing nightmares. The nightmares depict the murder of a girl by a strange hooded figure.
Slowly, elements from the nightmares begin to cross over into George¹s reality until he comes face to face with the hooded figure and discovers the true identity of the dead girl. “Slowly, moments from the crash started to turn up in my dreams, but they were fragmented,” says Weiler. “I was re-living the traumatic experience and it was manifesting itself in some very strange and disturbing ways some of the nightmares make there way into the movie.”Head Trauma explores the subject of post-traumatic stress syndrome while at the same time, delivers solid chills and scares.
The house that George is trying to save becomes a character within the movie. In order to find the right location, over 60 abandoned houses were scouted. “You would not believe what we saw in some of the abandoned houses. Rotting food, blood stained walls, even rooms full of fecal matter. The most haunting aspects of any of the houses were all the items that were left behind — piles of clothes, shoes, kid’s toys, papers, pills, bizarre photos, drawings, journals, records, bills, needles, and bullet casings. In most cases it looked like whoever was in the house had left in a hurry, running away from something,” comments Weiler. The Prescott house was chosen for its natural light and overall creepiness; not to mention it did not smell as bad as most of the other houses.
Head Trauma is a psychological horror film that pushes the envelope on what is possible within an independent feature
film. “Head Trauma is a very ambitious independent feature film. There are aerials, underwater sequences, stunts, cable-cam shots through treetops, and we even flooded an abandon house’s basement. We are challenged ourselves every step of the way, and as a result the look and feel of the movie is very dark and atmospheric,” says writer/director Lance Weiler.
This summer Head Trauma will take the concept of “independent” to a new level. In true independent fashion, Lance will self distribute Head Trauma theatrically to 15 cities across the country, leading up to the DVD’s national release on September 26th. “To me the real issue is getting the work seen. The revolution in making films has already occurred, anyone with a camera and a dream can make a movie. But the real issue is will anyone be able to see it? Distribution has always been an obstacle but now certain advancements in technology are allowing filmmakers to reach a wider audience. For Head Trauma I’ve created a hybrid distribution approach that involves traditional outlets mixed with new tech and best of all allows me to retain the rights to work," says Weiler.
Lance Weiler is a critically acclaimed award
winning writer/director. His digital feature, The Last Broadcast is currently distributed in over 20 countries. It has the honour of being the first all digital release of a motion
picture. It recently finished a run on HBO and Ifc. Lance is recognized as a digital pioneer for the way he makes and distributes his work. He’s been featured in Time and Forbes and on television programs such as Entertainment Tonight and CNN. Wired Magazine called Lance “One of twenty-five people helping to re-invent entertainment and change the face of Hollywood.”
Lance has just finished his newest feature entitled Head Trauma, which is fresh off its world premiere at the prestigious Los Angeles Film Festival. Starting August 18th, Head Trauma will kick off its national theatrical run and then on September 26th it will hit stores nationwide on DVD. Currently, Lance is developing a number of television and film projects.
