That Movie Site :: Puzzlehead (2005)

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PUZZLEHEAD

Reviewed by Heather Yakovitz

In an unspecified place, in an unspecified post-apocalyptic time described as "after the Decline," fussy, unstable scientist Walter (played by Stephen Galaida) creates robot Puzzlehead (also played by Galaida) in his likeness, and, well, nothing good ever comes of that.

Walter, obsessed with his new toy, drugs himself so he can stay awake for weeks at a time, perfecting his creation; Puzzlehead, in voiceover, tells us these chemical adventures caused Walter to be "confused, lethargic, and apathetic at times," but Walter is so flat from the second we meet him that it's hard to imagine he had much personality to begin with.

Puzzlehead, when he isn't playing Bach on the piano or chess with Walter, is big on voiceover. That's how we learn when and how he "became an interactive humanoid life form, with sensory faculties that enabled me to be a conscious being with emotions, enormous cognitive capacity, and no sense of mortality." And when Walter tweaks Puzzlehead's design by installing cameras in his eyes, a reflective Puzzlehead sounds suspiciously like a character from a 1940s melodrama: "He recorded everything I saw. If I had known the consequences of this, I would have never opened my eyes."

That's because of Julia (Robbie Shapiro), who works at a nearby grocery store. Walter secretly lusts after Julia, but is too timid to approach her until Puzzlehead, regularly dispatched to do the household shopping, breaks the ice by taking a bullet for her during an attempted robbery, a heroic gesture that gets him invited back to her place. That's all it takes for the insufferably pretentious Walter, who comes with standard-issue academic specs and sweaters, to start plotting against his creation. But there's a hitch: when Walter made Puzzlehead in his image, he didn't just pass down his looks and intelligence, but also his violent, scheming nature. So it's only natural that Puzzlehead doesn't take kindly to Walters priggish admonishments, or the discovery that his creator sometimes uses a secret remote control to manage him. A quietly nightmarish meditation on genetic inheritance, in some ways Puzzlehead is closer to The Fly and its sequel than an updated spin on Frankenstein.

Writer-director James Bai does an expert job of building suspense and sustaining an atmosphere of dread as scientist and creation engage in a battle of wills, but Puzzlehead is not without its flaws. Our only insights into the important character of Walter are gleaned through Puzzlehead, and whether it's a function of the stilted dialogue or Stephen Galaida's performance, it's sometimes easy to forget that only one of them is a robot. (Galaida is at his most effective as Puzzlehead, who speaks wistfully about his inability to dream one moment and is hulking and sinister the next, but then most actors would have a hard time making Walter's lines sound convincing.) In another movie this might have been played for black comedy, but Puzzlehead is much too somber for that.

There's also the matter of Puzzlehead's narration, which at times sounds like something straight out of a precocious student's sci-fi entry in a high school literary magazine, and the underwritten, zombie-like character of Julia, who figures prominently into Walter and Puzzlehead's power struggle but barely registers onscreen. James Bai's direction, however, is unfailingly intelligent, and the film, photographed by Jeffery Scott Lando, is always interesting to look at. (The production design is by Jessica Shaw.) The special effects are used sparingly and never seem hokey, and the memorable rooftop climax will have you eagerly awaiting Bai's next project.

If you're willing to ignore some obvious dubbing, Puzzlehead is a lovely, melancholy directorial debut that deserves to be seen on DVD. The creepy score is by Max Avery Lichtenstein. You can visit the film's official website by clicking here.

About the DVD: Released this week by LifeSize Entertainment, the Puzzlehead DVD includes an anamorphically enhanced widescreen transfer of the film and Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0 Surround Sound mixes. Special features include a theatrical trailer and six deleted scenes, most of them with Walter. There is also an engaging feature-length audio commentary by director James Bai and Matt Zoller Seitz, the film critic and blogger, in which Bai discusses the genesis of the film, which began as a grad school project, and the logistical nightmare of creating a shooting schedule around facial hair. Zoller Seitz also gets Bai to answer the question of just how much Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein influenced his screenplay. Regrettably, the disc does not include subtitles.

"Puzzlehead" Written and Directed by James Bai. Starring Stephen Galaida and Robbie Shapiro. 2005, 81 min., Not Rated.

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