Never did I envision that an indie horror flick would unlock a memory about my deceased father. When I was young, I mean under the age of eight, he’d get all my hair buzzed off in the summer so that I’d be more comfortable in the heat. Unfortunately, I still hadn’t grown into my big head yet, so my dad would jokingly call me a melon head. Well, dad, this review is for you… Filmmaker Eddie Lengyel takes a far less loving approach to his latest narrative by appropriating the urban legend that stretches from Ohio all the way to Virginia. While different variations of the myth exist, Lengyel’s sees backwoods children who were experimented on by the dastardly Dr. Crow, resulting in mutated humanoids with heads 4x the natural size. Of course, these creatures exit the facility and kill any outsider that dares to enter their forest, which obviously causes a small group of young people to head out on an adventure to prove their existence.
The Melon Heads: House of Crow is currently available to watch on Tubi and Fandango at Home. It was written, directed and produced by Eddie Lengyel under Fright Teck Pictures. It features cinematography & editing by Mick Kunz and special effects by Dan Click. Lead cast members include Alicia Spurlock, Rob Jaeger, George Tutie, Tara Horvath, B.R. Tatalovic, Amanda Collins and James McGilbray. Eddie Lengyl has released a number of movies through ITN Distribution, but I think that The Melon Heads is going to rank in my top 3. And I’m not just saying that because it features a pizza delivery gone very, very wrong. Lengyel and Mick Kunz, specifically, pull off real movie magic when they’re paired together on set and I can see why their titles are getting better and better over time. Also, massive props to Dan Click because this nightmare contains a lot of special effects make-up and prosthetics, mostly in the form of melon head herds. A lot of work undoubtedly went into the make-up, and it was pulled off flawlessly. I always say – there’s a difference between low budget filmmaking and independent filmmaking, and The Melon Heads is distinctly in the latter.
I don’t have many negative things to say about The Melon Heads: House of Crow. My biggest piece of constructive criticism for Mr. Lengyel is – search for better actors. This doesn’t pertain to any of the lead and supporting cast, mind you, just the day players. When everything is top notch and then you have an aspect that is severely below the mark, it takes away from the overall experience and people on the internet are quick to judge something and call it a piece of crap. Imagine the setting: darkness, suspense, score, gore, silhouettes of monsters coming to get you emerging from the landscape and then… really bad acting. Fun script and great behind the scenes work, but all of the actors should be held to the same caliber whether they’re leading the show or not. Also, spoiler alert, I think not being able to continue the story with Rob Jaeger and George Tuti was a missed opportunity because I loved watching them on camera together. They gave The Hardy Boys book series in the best way possible. Another aspect I didn’t like, well, I felt that Dr. Crow was a little too Nazi enthusiast for my senses, but that’s neither here nor there because he’s meant to play the villain and mission accomplished.
Back to points of this film that I did enjoy. I’m just going to throw it at you rapid fire because it’s obvious that I’m going to give this title a positive review. The Melon Heads features eight death scenes, although a few of them aren’t as straight forward as you’d expect. There are lots of chase scenes and I am a total slut for a good chase in a horror film. The scoring was pure 90s bliss and accurately fit the film and I applaud the productive for moving their story to numerous locations. The easy route would have been filming entirely in the woods. And the extras! Believe it or not, the extras playing the mutated humanoids really helped bring the film to life. If there were only a few running around, it would have felt like an unfulfilled promise. The Melon Heads: House of Crow have dozens, easily, popping out of the shadows to eat or infect the helpless victims. This is another area that is often overlooked, but when executed well, gives the film a sense of realism. Well done, cast & crew.
The Melon Heads: House of Crow proves there are still more nightmarish tales waiting to be told even after centuries of cinema. Final Score: 8 out of 10.
