[Panic Fest 2020 World Premiere Review] Uncle Peckerhead is Better than the Title

World Premiere review out of Panic Fest. I do talk about a couple moments that could be considered spoilers, so spoiler warnings are attached to this one.

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“Don’t judge a book by its cover,” they say and it couldn’t be more true with this Panic Fest World Premiere. In my defense, reader, when a movie is called Uncle Peckerhead...I mean it doesn’t exactly scream my type of movie. And while it does take a brief detour in juvenile humor, this horror comedy, written, directed and edited by Matthew John Lawrence, is mostly a good time.

After a brief cold open where a man rips the jaw from a corpse on the side of the road before feasting on the meat attached to it, we’re quickly introduced to the eternally optimistic Judy (Chet Siegel). She has just quit her job at a bakery where the most one of her coworkers can muster in a goodbye is to say she “doesn’t wish [Judy] any specific harm.” Judy is the bassist of an indie band called Duh and they are about to embark on a six show/seven day tour that will, fingers crossed, end with a seventh show in front of the Queef Queens where they might be able to get a music deal. 

While Judy is carefree and looks at the world as one excitement after another, her drummer Mel (Ruby McCollister) is the exact opposite and responds to Judy’s optimistic plan by saying, “the world is chaos and though we’re together, we are alone to suffer.” In the middle is easy-going guitarist Max (Jeff Riddle) who just seems to be happy performing. 

Problems crop up immediately in their tour as their van is repoed. Desperate, they start handing out fliers to anyone who has a van and they end up meeting the man from the cold open who’s named Peckerhead (David Littleton)...because that’s what his daddy called him till the day he died. He comes across as a sweet-natured redneck with that stereotypical yeehaw vibe and pleasantness. 

Long story short, he becomes their roadie and driver. But after their first promoter stiffs them with a $3 cut after their show, Peckerhead (Peck to his friends) excuses himself and Judy ends up walking in on him munching on the promoter. Turns out a taste of human flesh isn’t the only secret Peck is harbouring…

What follows is a mix of a road trip with brief musical numbers as the band performs on stage at the variety of stops. Along the way, they meet a variety of characters, from the way-too-handsome Nick (Greg Maness) to a group of ruthless metalheads and more as they try to make it through their tour alive. 

Lawrence has made a number of short films and Uncle Peckerhead is his feature debut. It’s an obvious low-budget affair that relies more on situational humor with the occasional explosion of practical effects and blood. Sure, sometimes the effects look a little fake, but it adds to the jokey and breezy tone of the film. We also get to see Peck rip a spine out of a douche band member so that’s pretty awesome. Uncle Peckerhead’s use of gross-out gags and practical gore effects celebrate the scrappiness of independent filmmaking. 

After the hook of “band on tour with a cannibal” establishes the plot, the film loses a bit of its momentum. Matthew’s time spent on making short horror films comes in handy as the structure of Uncle Peckerhead feels a bit like a few smaller vignettes/short films smashed together. Each stop on their tour introduces brief side characters and conflicts before hurtling to the next situation. When the sections are good, like when the bandmates meets the charming and chiseled Nick with his, in Peck’s words, dreamy BJ eyes. But the pacing lives and dies on these road trip stops and not all of them work. 

What surprised me was the acting. Carrying the film is Chet Siegel as Judy and David Littleton’s performance as Peck. Chet comes from a comedy background and it shows from her timing to her facial expressions and reactions. She gives the overly peppy Judy heart and takes a character that could be insufferable and elevates her to that lovable dork level. I have a feeling that, in a different world, Judy would be best friends with Sam from Satanic Panic. Meanwhile, it’s obvious that David is having a blast as Peck and he tackles some of the more goofy and violent parts with gleeful abandon.

I enjoyed Uncle Peckerhead much more than I ever thought I would. It’s not a perfect movie and the very DIY, low budget nature of it won’t work for some people. It’s rocky in spots and feels like a group of friends setting out to make a movie. But it’s also a scrappy little horror comedy that disarmed me and had me laughing at the silliness.