Review: Uncle Peckerhead

Director: Matthew John Lawrence

Screenplay: Matthew John Lawrence

Year: 2020

Horror-comedy has been for a while a well-received sub-genre by horror movie fans. Favorites like “Shaun of the Dead” or “Tucker and Dale vs Evil” show how extreme violence and dark humor cam perfectly blend together in excellent movies. This year a few good movies have been added to the subgenre, like the Australian “Two Heads Creek” and now, “Uncle Peckerhead” seeks to find a spot among them.

A punk rock band wants to expand their fanbase and start a tour through different stages. In their search for transportation to get to the various gigs, they meet Peckerhead, a friendly man that offers driving them in his van for some money. What the bandmates do not know is that Peckerhead turns into a dangerous cannibal monster every night.

The second full-length movie from screenwriter and director Matthew John Lawrence (“Two Pints Lighter”) uses horror-comedy tropes such as extreme violence and dark humor, and he doesn’t make the viewer wait to see both. We see one of the grizzly attacks from Peckerhead during the first minutes, followed by the introduction of the protagonist bandmates. This first attack from Peckerhead establishes the level of violence that this character can achieve and the detail in which it can be presented. The introduction of the bandmates leaves glimpses of their personalities and the humor that surrounds them.

Shortly after that, the band and Peckerhead meet, and the plot starts taking shape. Unfortunately, this is where it is shown that “Uncle Peckerhead” doesn’t offer anything innovative in the horror-comedy field. This doesn’t mean that it is a bad movie because it is entertaining and fun, but it never goes beyond that frame. Part of the problem comes from the disorganized ideas that introduce situations and characters with little relevance to the plot and leaves the feeling through its full duration that it could have achieved more.

The characters, together with the gore, are the most enjoyable part of “Uncle Peckerhead”. The cast, in general inexperienced, does a great job of representing the characters of Judy (Chet Siegel), Max (Jeff Riddle), Mel (Ruby McCollister), and especially Perckerhead (David Littleton). The chemistry between the characters and the absurd and funny details about their personalities frame the best humor parts of the movie.

“Uncle Peckerhead” is a horror-comedy to have a good time, but that hardly will be remembered as one of the best in this subgenre. Its problem is not the lack of potential, rather taking a conservative path in which it fails to offer something new, and that always feels like it could have done much more. Its dark humor parts and the gore are undermined by its unorganized ideas and situation that are unimportant for the plot, showcased in the disappointing ending.