Asher (Steve Kasan) is having a pretty bleak time. He’s out of work, struggling to pay even his phone bill and sleeping out of his car. In many respects, the art of super innovative indie flick Head Like a Hole is in how it takes and tweaks an economic situation which will be recognisable to many people, edging it steadily into being an innovative horror-ish, sci-fi-ish ordeal. With a budget of just $13,000 in play, director and co-writer Stefan MacDonald-Labelle makes impressive use of what could otherwise have been restrictive, in fact using the restrictions to create something which starts small but ends big. Cosmic, even.
Having established that here’s a young man who is, for reasons we never fully glean, at his lowest ebb, we’re with Asher when he notices a job ad attached to a post. It’s one of those ones where you tear off a strip with a number from the bottom. He has nothing to lose, so he calls the number: it’s a vacancy for a ‘researcher’, which could mean pretty much anything, but he is surprised and pleased to get an interview almost immediately. It’s so sudden, that he has about a half hour to get there (and a car which dies on him, albeit with just enough time left for him to run there). But he’s motivated; being flat broke is a great motivator, so he gets there on time. Almost on time.
The set up, when he arrives, is very odd. Rather than being an office address, Asher finds himself at a residential address, being greeted by what would be his new boss, Emerson (Jeff McDonald). Emerson is one of those employers whose dedication to a seemingly incomprehensible professional goal always makes them seem like they are somehow not of the same mindset as everyone else; I’m sure we’ve all had at least one. Emerson is affable enough though, and he begins to describe the job role. There’s a strict dress code which must be observed at all times; there are limited opportunities for downtime, although if successful, Asher is to be given board and lodge and the use of a small, possibly thirty year old television set. Of course, timekeeping is key and being punctual is mandatory, with no exceptions. But what research is taking place here? In a domestic home?
So we come to it: Emerson explains to Asher that his job is to monitor an ‘anomaly’, or what looks awfully like… a small hole in an exterior wall in the basement of the house. That’s it. On the hour, every hour, Asher has to measure the anomaly, recording his findings. He has questions – of course he has questions – but answers come there none, and in fact he’s rebuffed when he asks. However, he’ll get paid pretty well for such an unskilled job, which puts paid to his questions for the time being. He doesn’t know why he’s doing this thing, but it’s a decent opportunity for him in financial terms, so he sets aside his misgivings and settles into his seat in the basement, staring at the wall, using a ruler as required, writing down his findings…
Well-aimed mockery of late stage capitalism has been done many times and the ritual of gainful employment – for many people, participating in the enrichment of strangers for oblique reasons in order to receive back a tiny share of money you generate for them – is sent up mercilessly and very wittily here, which feels like a strange comment to make, given how much this film is pared back. Whilst perhaps there are some connections with something like the TV series Severance, Head Like a Hole very much has its own approach. Sticking to black and white, it isn’t particularly verbose, and spends a lot of time with Asher himself as he grows into the role: he acts a great deal of this role non-verbally actually, or else overhearing snatches of conversations, doing his best to make sense of his new, bizarre situation. There’s a lot of silence here. There would be, given Asher mostly works alone, save for the odd interaction with other members of the research team, such as the friendly and helpful Sam (Eric B. Hansen). In the background, on hazy news reports, we glean evidence that something significant is going on outside these four walls, but its intrusion here – if it is an intrusion at all – is only really on the level of the deeply personal, with some profound moments from our protagonist which speak ably to modern feelings of alienation and deeper existential angst as he tries to fathom his situation. It’s clever and compelling.
At the heart of it all, Asher only begins to really grow and develop when he finally accepts the suggestions of his small staff team and really starts to engage with this ‘anomaly’. We soon find out that there have been other researchers, researchers who have perhaps not been particularly successful (and the audience have seen some pretty decisive evidence of this fact already) but things begin to change when, at his boss’s behest, Asher finally begins to treat the anomaly like a person of sorts, pouring his heart out in ways you can guess he hasn’t ever really done before. This does have an impact on events, with things in the basement finally starting to change.
Of course the world of work is being sent up here, but Head Like a Hole does more during its runtime. Relationships come in for a drubbing; then, old certainties, things like, faith, love and friendship get their share. Religion? Throw that in the mix, too. Things get steadily darker and more absurd as the film progresses, but there’s a wealth of sensitivity in amongst the madness here, offering a lowkey horror/sci-fi with a snappy existential twist and, by design or necessity, the film keeps its gore and FX at a minimum, which encourages us to ponder some of the film’s deeper meanings rather than anticipating a bigger shift into more horror fare. The result is a pleasing, oddly charming and character driven deep dive into the bizarre. And is there a happy ending to balance out all of this studied, often darkly comedic madness? See it and find out, but perhaps start taking some bets with yourself when you do…
Head Like a Hole (2024) received its UK premiere at Celluloid Screams.