HEAD TRAUMA press kit

Starting in early October and running through the VOD release of HEAD TRAUMA by Warner Bros - Lance Weiler has expanded his Horror 2.0 experience a cross between movies, music, gaming, technology and scares.

THE HEAD TRAUMA CINEMATIC GAMES CONTINUE THIS FALL IN A COLLISION OF GAMING, SOCIAL MEDIA AND TECHNOLOGY

No one is safe from the Net effect of HEAD TRAUMA, the brainchild of Lance Weiler, culture hacker and acclaimed writer-director. Murder and mayhem emerge from the streets, mobile phones, social networks, and online video clips as Horror 2.0 updates thrills from today’s most pervasive mediums. The sense of dread and clues to an elaborate mystery trickle out of live recordings, text messages, street theater, a four part web series, blogs, sites, social networking profiles and, ultimately through user-generated remixes that unlock cryptic clues.

During this past summer and through the fall, the HEAD TRAUMA cinematic ARG (alternate cinema game) will create a new experience in horror by engaging audiences on city streets, in drive-ins, and by following them home, as it screens in Los Angeles, Berkley, Boston, Milwaukee, San Francisco, and London. Soon after the gaming will invade people’s living rooms as the film is released by Warner Bros via VOD and digital download.

The cinematic ARG is an extension of the emerging alternate reality gaming movement, which creates immersive game worlds for its players. The HEAD TRAUMA cinematic ARG puts a new twist on the genre by creating a game world that is broken into three parts; urban game-play, theatrical mashups and a final phase that follows players home.

“Cinema has classically been a passive experience. The HEAD TRAUMA cinematic ARG creates an immersive story that allows audience members to interact with horror in a new way. It is experiential, viral and can easily be passed from one person to another. The story of HEAD TRAUMA and its characters travel across mediums and devices, along the way creating a horror 2.0 experience that combines technology with scares. It’s about creating a world that the audience can move through, one where a scare can come from anywhere.” says Lance Weiler

FLASH MOBS MEET URBAN GAME-PLAY
Even before the audience attends a screening, they will be invited to participate in the cinematic ARG. Audience members us their mobile phones, as characters from the film lead them to secret screening locations with cryptic phone calls and text messages. In a collision between flash mobs and urban gaming audience members will be issued clues and challenges that have them snapping and shooting their surroundings as they work to figure out the secret screening location

MOBILE DRIVE-INS
In a cinema throw back each secret screening location will be a mobile drive-in. Screenings take place in warehouses, cemeteries, and parking garages. Each mobile drive-in consists of a “driver” who has a modified setup that enables them to run digital projection, playback and FM transmitters that allow audience members to tune in via their car stereos. During the screening viewers may use their mobile phones to interact with the movie as it plays.

THE MOVIE FOLLOWS YOU HOME
After the audience leaves the screenings the movie will follow them home. Phone calls and text messages lead audience members to a series of online hidden clues and sites that expand the story of the film. Clues can be found through a variety of outlets and media; a special four part web series, gaming consoles, video sharing sites, blogs, hidden web sites, social profile pages, browsers, a remix / mashup site and a special 3D haunted house.

“We’ve been able to assemble an amazing number of promotional partners to help support game-play; Stage 6, Xbox, Myspace, Eyespot, Twitter, and the Opera browser. This is a ground breaking cinematic event that points towards a new type of storytelling, one that is a collision of gaming, films, technology and scares.” Says Lance Weiler

THE TERROR INVADES PEOPLE’S LIVING ROOMS
The offline, online and mobile gaming continues through the national VOD / digital download release of the film by Warner Brothers starting in late October, just in time for Halloween. Similar interactions to the live events will be happening in living rooms across the country.

More info about promotional partners and game-play can be found here http://htmob.com/gameplay.pdf

This fall the HEAD TRAUMA cinematic gaming continues. Players will interact with the film’s characters; offline, online, and via mobile devices in what is a cross between flash mobs, urban gaming, and ARGs. The game starts in late September with the airing of a special web series. The series will run across a number of outlets such as myspace, xbox, twitter, eyespot, stage 6 and opera. Then on Oct. 20th, live cinema games will play out in 10 cities across the country. Within the series are clues aka rabbit holes that lead to hidden sites, blogs, social networking pages and media. A full list of cities will be released in the coming weeks.

The next stops on the Cinema ARG (alternate reality game) tour will be LA, London, Seoul and Tokyo this coming Oct and Nov.

The Cinema ARG event at the Museum of the Moving Image was a blast. The evening was action packed with creepy fun. The following are a collection of photos.

There were a number of interactive areas during the event. On a nearby corner a street preacher spoke of redemption and the need for the crowd to confess. Small “Nothing But Grief” comics similar to the one used within the film’s storyline were passed to the crowd. The comics contained a series of clues that would later lead audience members to a hidden world online. Visit http://5stages.htmob.com to see what you can find hidden under the surface.

Movie goers were handed missing person fliers which instructed them to call a phone number. They could also step into a nightmare confession tent where they could tell a nightvision camera what scared them most.

In another part of the lobby a number of remix stations enabled audience members to remix nightmares. When remixing the media various hidden clues and subliminal frames would appear in final movie. To give it a try visit http://eyespot.com/promotion/headtrauma

As audience members made their way into the theater and waited for the show to begin on screen a warning sign described how they could use their mobile phone to interact with the movie.

After a brief introduction the show started. Characters emerged and women screamed.

A highlight of the evening was the live music score preformed by the Quavers and DJ Chief Wreck’em - the score haunted the room as a live alternate soundtrack was created.

The evening ended with a Q&A between HT director Lance Weiler and MoMI curator Carl Goodman.

The HEAD TRAUMA cinema ARG is hitting the road this summer and fall with stops in the US, Europe and Asia. More details coming soon.

First up is a stop at the Museum of the Moving Image in NYC.

When: Sat. July 14th @ 6:30pm
Where: MoMI in Astoria
What: a special presentation of HT with music, gaming, theatrics and technology

Tickets: $12 Museum members/$18 non-membersc. Call 718.784.4520 to order.

Current TV featured HEAD TRAUMA on its “Current Flicks” pod this past week. The story ran on TV for a number of days and is now online. To see the segment click below.

More Cinema ARG news coming - stay tuned!

The HT cinema ARG was a smashing success. The audience reaction was amazing and over 84% of the audience used their mobile phones during the screening.

Due to the response of the Philadelphia screening - plans are in the works to take the cinema ARG to NYC, London and San Francisco. As we have more details we’ll post them here.

HT cinema ARG results in some good coverage:

click here to read what Wired had to say about the event

click here to see additional coverage about the event

Special HEAD TRAUMA REMIX
Come catch a very special REMIX presentation of HEAD TRAUMA as it plays on the big screen one final time in Philadelphia. This is the kick off to a number of national and international remix HEAD TRAUMA presentations - more details soon.

WHAT:
SPECIAL REMIX screening of HEAD TRAUMA - a collision of music, movies, theatrics and gaming.
music - Live soundtrack performances by Bardo Pond, members of Espers, Fern Knight and DJ Chief Wreck’em
movies - HEAD TRAUMA and a special screening of a short claymation adaptation of Edgar Allen Poe’s classic THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM
theatrics - sets, props and characters from the movie will emerge from the audience - lights, fog and creepy fun
gaming - use your mobile phone to interact with the movie and watch in amazement as all the phones in the theater ring at once!

WHEN:
This Sat. March 31st @ 7:30pm

WHERE:
Philadelphia’s International House (37th and Chestnut) on the U of Penn’s campus - on street parking and two parking garages in walking distance

HOW MUCH:
$14 for all seats - seating is on a first come first serve basis

FOR MORE INFO:
http://www.ihousephilly.org/programs-live-at-IHouse.htm show info and advance tickets
http://www.headtraumamovie.com for more info on HEAD TRAUMA

click the flyer for more details

The HEAD TRAUMA music project is based on an alternate soundtrack that we made to lineup with the DVD. Here’s a behind the scenes short that explains how it works.

The following are a collection of full reviews, pull quotes and various top 10 listings surrounding the release of HEAD TRAUMA.

WHAT THE CRITICS SAY

FULL REVIEWS - PDF

PULL QUOTES - PDF

TOP 10 MENTIONS - PDF

I’m happy to report that HEAD TRAUMA made a number of top 10 lists for 2006

Rue Morgue’s staff and readership voted HEAD TRAUMA the best indie feature of 2006

Horrorreview.com named HEAD TRAUMA the #1 film of the year in its annual top 10 list
1.) HEAD TRAUMA (review) As a filmmaker turned critic, I can’t help but watch films from the artistic point of view sometimes. Head Trauma may be more of a suspenseful thriller than a horror film. I’m a big fan of Alfred Hitchcock’s work, and Head Trauma’s director Lance Weiler directed this film like Hitchcock would direct his own movies. Very well written and directed. Head Trauma is my top film of 2006.

Creature Corner named HEAD TRAUMA the #1 film of the year in its annual horror wrapup
1.) HEAD TRAUMA (review) This movie lived up my expectations and passed them. Probably the creepiest film to come out all year. What is it about this film that makes it love it so much? Is it the mood, is it the interesting characters, the clever script? Possibly the fact that they achieved all of this on a shoestring budget and still managed to release theatrically all over the country? All of those.

Twitch named HEAD TRAUMA one of the top 10 experiences of 2006
9.) Head Trauma (Review)
Creepy, man, creepy. Kudos to Lance Weiler.

Fatally Yours named HEAD TRAUMA one of the top 10 films of the year - #2 behind the Descent
2.) Head Trauma (Review) - A mind-bending film that keeps you guessing to the end, Head Trauma is filled with dream-like and creepy imagery. It is one of the few horror movies of 2006 that made me jump in my own living room while viewing it. Extra impressive is the fact that it was made on a very limited budget and features many inventive camera angles.

I’ve created a year end wrap up for HEAD TRAUMA. Click here to view.

I’d like to thank everyone who supported the movie this past year and helped to make it such a success.

There a number of exciting things happening in new year - additional theatrical screenings, more national press, and some very special announcements. But more on those after the turn of the year.

We’d like to wish everyone a safe and happy holiday season.

Thank you!
From the HT team

P.S. HEAD TRAUMA and the re-release of THE LAST BROADCAST would make an excellent gift this holiday season. Sorry couldn’t resist.