Head Like a Hole (25th Boston Underground Film Festival)
Asher (Steve Kasan) is out of options when he spies an ad posted on a pole for a researcher with no experience necessary for an unheard of $40/hr. Scoring an interview with the few remaining minutes left on his phone, he's told the job has a strict dress code of white shirt, black tie and shoes, things he luckily has stored in the trunk of his car. Running out of gas along the way, he runs the rest of the way. 'You're perspired,' says Emerson (Jeff McDonald), the odd, similarly attired man who tells him the job consists of measuring an 'anomaly' in the basement of an ordinary looking family home, logging the results and noting any abnormalities every hour in "Head like a Hole."
Laura's Review: B+
Working with a budget of just $13,000, cowriter (with Mitchell Brhelle)/director/producer Stefan MacDonald-Labelle makes a feature debut that in a just world should rival "Skinamarink's" buzz. Filming largely in his own basement in Hamilton, Canada (the split level home's exterior, shot with "Evil Dead" like foreboding, belongs to producer/costar Eric B. Hansen's parents), MacDonald-Labelle and Brhelle turn the monitoring of an unchanging hole in a wall into a suspenseful psychological thriller larded with hilariously bizarre dialogue delivered by MVP Jeff McDonald.
Obviously taking in the strangeness of the situation, Asher boldy asks if he might ask for $45/hr., a request granted after the slightest of pauses. He's shown his free board, a bedroom appropriate for a teenaged girl complete with teddy bear sitting on the bed, and introduced to widely smiling facilities manager Sam (producer Eric B. Hansen), who tells him he'll be making him his morning coffee. Emerson then warns Asher that rules include no breaching of the anomaly and that there can be no discussion of the clandestine operation.
The filmmakers have given us a most horrific tease of a prologue, and as the days progress, we begin to wonder if this is some kind of experiment in breaking down the human mind. Asher is only allowed an old, upright kitchen chair to sit on and loudly berated for such transgressions as rolling up his shirt sleeves. He asks if he might have a radio, a request Emerson relays to Sam, and an old model appears the next day. Trying to keep himself occupied, Asher begins to dance, then fantasizes about drawing Sam into it, a notion that will have import later.
As the days turn into the better part of a year, Asher's psyche is severely affected. There is a falling out and reparation with Sam. He begins yelling at the hole, then finds a note, presumably left by the researcher from that horrifying prologue, declaring 'it never changes,' something he brings to Emerson's attention. The man who occasionally reminds him that he is his superior declares it a 'failure to endure,' then suggests that Asher should personify the anomaly by giving it a name, a suggestion which, finally, brings about the change Emerson has been waiting for. Yet Asher overhears an unnamed Auditor (screenwriter Brhelle) protest Emerson's convictions, telling him that he has it all wrong.
This small group of DIY filmmakers have excelled across the board, the film imaginatively shot and superbly acted. And while the execution of the reveal may at first seem a let down, reflection uncovers multiple themes of particular relevance in the age of Trumpism. "Head Like a Hole" is marvel of ingenuity and low budget craft.
Robin's Review: B+
"Head Like a Hole" is one of the feature selections of the 25th Boston Underground Film Festival.
