The Amazing Screw-On Head

Plot synopsis:
=== Comic ===
Screw-On Head is an agent for President Abraham Lincoln. He is summoned by Lincoln to track down Emperor Zombie, an undead occultist and originally a groundskeeper at Hyde Park. Zombie and his henchmen, the vampire Madam and scientist Dr. Snap, have stolen an ancient manuscript. This will allow him access to the temple of Gung, a warlord who nearly conquered the world over ten thousand years ago with supernatural power gained from "a fabulous melon-sized jewel", which Zombie obviously plans to use for himself.
With the aid of his manservant, Mr. Groin, and dog Mr. Dog, Screw-On Head manages to track down Zombie, but not before the villain and his henchmen find the treasure: instead of a jewel, the tomb contains a turnip with "a small parallel universe" inside. Zombie unleashes the Demigod within, but Screw-On Head manages to defeat it in combat.
=== TV pilot ===
The 22-minute pilot differs from the comic mainly in that the characters are fleshed out with backstories. Rather than a master of languages, Emperor Zombie (David Hyde Pierce) is the first of Screw-On Head's (Paul Giamatti) manservants, who has turned to evil despite Screw-On Head's advice. Out of revenge for his first defeat, Zombie developed what he refers to as a "petty vengeance fetish", killing the seven replacement servants after him, and before Mr. Groin (Patton Oswalt), in gruesome ways. On July 12, 2006, The Amazing Screw-On Head TV pilot was aired online at scifi.com with a survey to decide whether or not the show went to series. According to Mike Mignola on the November 29, 2006 Fanboy Radio podcast, the series was not picked up by the Sci-Fi Channel. The pilot was released on DVD on February 6, 2007.

Tags: paranormal, sci-fi

Review:
I didn't really know what to expect, and then managed to sit in some peace and quiet and watch it.Wow.A perfect 1/2 hour of television, no matter what the medium.
The story moved, the look was unique, the dialogue, the framing, the voices...
TV has come a long, long way....I sure hope this becomes a series.Kudos to Mike Mignola, Dark Horse, the team that did this gem, and sci-fi channel.Now...give us ...MORE :).
Calling Screw-On Head!
If you missed Amazing Screw-On Head from Sci-Fi channel, then rent, buy or download it now!
This short animated film is brilliant, hilarious, and perfectly employs the visual textures and grimy, baroque aesthetic of Mike Mignola's world.
It uses elements of Lovecraft, Universal Monsters, steampunk mecha, and Wild Wild West to plunge the viewer into a completely absorbing adventure.Amazing Screw-On Head is stylistically superior to both the 2004 live-action Hellboy and the 2006 Hellboy Animated: Sword of Storms.
This production has more in common with Mignola's concept work on Bram Stoker's Dracula, Blade II, and Disney's Atlantis.
His monsters are both horrific and lovable, his hero is upright (when attached to his body), and his villains are truly sinister.Attn Cartoon Network and Sci-Fi: Screw-On Head should be a template for future Hellboy and BPRD animated specials..
Amazing Screw-On Head is awesome!.
I love the humor and the detail that was put into each character.
Emperor Zombie is now one of my all time favorite animated villains, not just for his witty remarks, but he is so excellently drawn!
Abraham Lincoln is also an awesome character, along with Mr. Groin, Patience, and Amazing Screw-On Head himself.This show surprised me.
I half expected it to be some odd show that I wouldn't like, but, boy, was I wrong.
The story and the characters are easy to get into and understand.
This is now one of my all time favorite animated shows!
David Lynch proved that weirdness could survive at least one season with "Twin Peaks" and now finally animation AND storyline that truly raises the bar.
I would love to see more episodes of course (Mignolia is the new Kirby).
What would be really nice is to see this on the big screen, Say before "Hellboy II", Sci-Fi could use this as a great advertising vehicle.One can only hope that this will lead the vanguard for more interesting projects in animation.
I can only dream of a world where "Flaming Carrot" and "The Sandman" are animated fare.
Something like "The Invisibles" ,"Preacher" or even the easily contemporary "Transmetropolitan" with Spider Jerusalem tapping away at his powerbook and creating havoc.Sorry, I strayed far....This Mignolia work is amazing and until I can get cable in the alternate universe this will whet my fanboy appetite..
"Groin's Looking Out For Your Behind, Head.".
I was not so excited to watch The Amazing Screw-On Head because I was visiting a friend from out of town and he insisted that I sit at the computer and watch this online rather than other things we were planning to do.
The animation, firstly, seemed like it would not draw me in, however it is perfect for the noncomformist comic tone of the cartoon.
The creatures are watered- down Gothic with a coating of the physical presence of sci-fi and anime-loving, computer- savvy quasi-Goth-dressing teenagers.
Mike Mignola's visual style is carried through motion by director Chris Prynoski, who creates a grungy little onslaught.It begins as if it were a serious cartoon, violence preparing to break out, but then there is a hilarious German accent, played very incidentally.
The show progresses into a very offbeat farce with a witty, creative sense of humor that grows elementally out of the material.The material is founded by terrific comic book concept, a robotic head that screws onto compatible bodies who works as a secret agent serving under Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War, and fighting battles that lead to points in history in completely different ways than how the nation believes.
America having two histories is not something so far-fetched, and it latently satirizes the self-secrecy of this country's history.It's very troubling to think that network heads (no pun intended) didn't find this pilot worthy of a series, because there are many less intelligent and imaginative cartoon shows that have been turned into successful series, and that actually may be the reason why this show was turned down.
However, in a sense, it may not be so bad that The Amazing Screw-On Head never grew beyond this twenty-two-minute passage.
The animation, like with many cartoon shows, might have scaled up the ladder to smooth, state-of-the-art, computer-assisted animation, and with a style like Mike Mignola's, it must be preserved in the grungy sketchiness that is present forever in this maintained little cartoon..
"The Amazing Screw-On Head" is NOT a cartoon for everyone.
However, if you fit into that third category, weirdos that like weird stuff (like me), then this is right up your alley!
This is a cartoon that was based on a one-shot comic book from Dark Horse Comics--and the hope was that the Sci-Fi Channel would like this pilot and okay the production of an entire series.
Well, not surprisingly, it was NOT picked up--mostly because it made shows like "The Oblongs" and "Archer" seem downright normal!!The film is a mission performed by Screw-On Head for President Lincoln.
As for Screw-On Head, he is exactly that--a robotic head (voiced by Paul Giamatti) who can be screwed onto a variety of robotic bodies and goes on spy missions to save America.
In this case, the President wants him to stop Emperor Zombie (David Hyde Pierce) from unleashing his latest evil plan--to release a demi-god from his hibernation inside a turnip.
Because the creature will conquer the world and Zombie is thrilled to follow up as his new sycophant.
Can Screw-On Head possibly stop an undead man-servant and his new demi-god monster friend?!As you can tell in my description, this is NOT for everyone's taste!
This is a very dark, gothy and funny film--particularly the wonderful dialog from Emperor Zombie!!
By the way, if you get the DVD (available through Netflix), be sure to watch the excellent and informative making of featurette included on the disc..
Amazing is right!.
I would see anything that was animated seeing as I am a big fan of the genre.
I absolutely loved The Amazing Screw-On Head.
The animation style is very detailed and because I haven't seen anything like it I'd also go as far to say it's unique.
The story affectionately reminds one of the comic book style, and it goes at a cracking pace.
The sound effects are always in place and never take away from The Amazing Screw-On Head's atmosphere.
The humour is very off-beat and done in a hilariously witty way, helped by the snappy pacing.
The characters are wonderful right down to the inspired names, the monsters are instantly lovable, Screw-On Head is a hero one can identify with wholly and the villains are appropriately sinister without falling into stereotype land.
The vocal characterisations are also spot on, Paul Giamatti and David Hyde Pierce have seldom disappointed and they certainly don't here with Pierce especially relishing his role.Overall, a very aptly named animated short film...The Amazing Screw-On Head really is amazing.
10/10 Bethany Cox. The Amazing Screw on Head is maybe the greatest thing of all time..
The Amazing Screw on Head is maybe the greatest thing of all time.No, really.
It's got zombies and robots and vampires and werewolves and mummies and demigods and Abraham Lincoln and a freaking monkey firing a machine gun.
Also, there is one scene where a villain smokes another character through a giant hookah.'Screw on Head' tells the tale of an alternate history for America.
Abraham Lincoln uses the titular character to deal with secret government matters, like attacks by the evil Emperor Zombie, who coincidentally used to work as Screw on Head's first butler.
After a brief set up, the series goes for total, gee whiz, super colossal, brilliant dada absurdism.I have never read anything mike Mignola before.
I didn't terribly like the Hellboy film and I never saw Atlantis.
However, if The Amazing Screw on Head is so good that I think I'm going to go buy the guy's back catalogue sight unseen.
The animation is perfect, the line readings all inspired.
'Screw on Head' was produced as a pilot for Sci-Fi channel, and to my knowledge, it was not picked up for series.
But, that's a minor problem that is only noticeable on the many repeat viewings that this warrants.DVD: I don't know what the MSRP is for this product, but the extras are very slim.
The cartoon is presented in both normal television and widescreen format, but occasionally the animation feels pixely in its transfer in both versions.
The commentary track is amusing and an easy listen with a good balance of technical jargon and good old fashioned anecdotes.
The featurette is also fairly standard with talking heads praising the cartoon.The other major extra is the alleged comic book which is not a comic book at all.
Instead, it is just a collection of a few pages of character designs, a 2 page essay by Mignola on where 'Screw on Head' came from and 2 original character designs for unproduced episodes of the series.It is frustrating that some really interesting features are mentioned in the commentary track, but never materialize on the disc.
The show is brilliant and has great rewatch value, but if you're going to be shelling out hard earned cash, you should be getting more.The Movie: 9.9/10 The DVD: 5/10for more reviews please visit www.collider.com.
I guess I wish this'd gotten picked up for series development, tho it perhaps only attests to my own pauperized imagination that I find it hard to imagine subsequent development living up to the high bar set by the pilot.
Maybe that's why it didn't get picked up: The suits figured they'd really have to shell out the shekels to make it "work", and...
just got cold feet at the thought of spending so much on what, after all, would be a lush, fantasmagorical fanboy snack.I have no trouble with the sketchy nature of the animation; it's really all about story...
A story like this...
you could really get away with an animatronic storyboard treatment!Anyway, the pilot is "out there" for our delectation.
The Amazing Screw-On Head, is based on a one-issue comic book from Mike Mignola (Creator of, Hellboy).
After watching this, I was really surprised how great it was.The story is about a robot head with the ability to control any robot body.What make's this really great is the animation and the voice acting.
The animation has a nice comic-book feel and the cast with Paul Giamatti as the title character and David Hyde Pierce as the evil Emperor Zombie was great.But sadly, this was a T.V. Pilot and the reason why the show didn't continue is because the Sci-Fi channel didn't want to continue the series.But even though it's twenty-two minutes long, it's still worth your time.If only the show continued..
Potential Thrown Away By the SyFy Channel.
This is the story of the Amazing Screw-On Head, a robot that works for Abraham Lincoln and the United States of America circa 1862.
He is capable of attaching himself (a head) into various robotic bodies, some humanoid and others far more powerful.
He is called to service when his arch-nemesis, Emperor Zombie, has decided to unleash the power of a demi-god.This short, roughly 24 minutes, cartoon was a pitch for a series for the SyFy network.
For reasons unknown to me, it was not picked up and all that exists today is this one episode.
Like another series that never took off, "Heat Vision and Jack", I think this was a great mistake on SyFy's part.Besides a nice limb-beating scene, the cartoon had original and quirky characters with a unique artwork style.
Then you add Abraham Lincoln.
I think one could compare the style of this roughly to "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog" or "The Venture Brothers", both of which were or are quite successful.
Compared to the other original crud SyFy pumps out, this would have likely gathered them a respectable audience.There isn't much point in watching this cartoon with no others to go with it (the story is really minimal), but if you can get your hands on a copy, maybe give it a try.
Excellent Animated Pilot.
I'm not going to beat around the bush: The pilot of "The Amazing Screw-On Head" blew me away.Here are the reasons why I am so impressed by this show: 1.
The StyleThe look of the animation closely mimics the style of comic book illustrator Mike Mignola, giving it a unique appearance.2.
The Villains and Creatures Okay, the pilot episode has 3 undead zombie-type creatures, a werewolf, a vampire chick, a demi-god, and a monkey with a machine gun.
How could I not like this show?3.
Just watch the hookah scene and you'll know you're not in the realm of typical animation.
Intelligence There is some witty dialogue here that older viewers can appreciate.Also, for me (especially considering the time constraints of a half hour program), the plot worked fairly well.5.
Voice Acting Very good performances all around.In short, the pilot for "The Amazing Screw-On Head" is one of the best examples of televised animation that I have ever seen.
Damn good pilot episode demands more exploration!.
I'm pretty sure the creators sat down and made a list of everything cool they could think of.
Zombies, werewolves, and vampires?
Abraham Lincoln?
Check.The best part was how much of it they were able to fit into 26 minutes, with barely enough time to laugh between such excellent dialog as "He was kidnapped by two old women...
and a monkey." This would have been a GREAT television series.
Maybe it still has the opportunity to go the way of Family Guy and have a rebirth through DVD sales and rentals.
This is as good as some of the best features of Adult Swim.--PolarisDiB.
OK well, it's all really made up, but a metal head that hops around and interfaces to different robot bodies, that helps Abraham Lincoln battle ancient alien technologies during the Civil War era?
His arch-enemy is a zombie king whose fetish is to murder ASOH's man-servants?
Just the simple fact that a metal head has a man-servant?
Mike Mignola was an unknown to me up until this time, but not anymore, I am a follower and put him in league with Joss Whedon and Peter Jackson in talent and imagination.I accidentally stumbled across the first viewing of this on Sci-Fi when I was skimming another channel in the guide to record for the upcoming week, and the title alone made me go "hmm...
I eventually got around to watching it a few weeks later and I thought WOW!
I have to DVR the series!
Sadly, it was shown one more time and then nothing.
I'm glad they made a DVD of it, this way I can have a copy forever.If they don't make this a full blown series then i'll have to say poppycock!.
see this - get your head screwed on right !.
It may be I was searching for other examples of "steampunk" (as I am a China Mieville fan) - of which this is to me a perfect example.If you ever complained about overly predictable movies - this animation is not one.
It is a wild ride from start to end with bizarre characters and story that you won't enjoy if you try too hard to analyze.
So don't try too hard - just open your mind and enjoy the ride.I loved the poncy voicing style which fit the characters and the dry humor perfectly ("permit me to say poppycock" "you may" "poppycock..").
I also loved the silly but very original little touches like the "remote control flapping lips" on the Lincoln picture when he "telephoned" SOH - the first avatar..
The animation was awful, the storyline (such as it was) was incomprehensible.
The voice acting was passable, but hardly makes up for how horrible the rest of this cartoon was.
After a short time, maybe five or ten minutes, of having this trash inflicted on me, I managed to politely excuse myself and get some chips.
But, from what I can see, fans of this genre are rabid enough that poor animation and incomprehensibility make no difference to them, so one negative review equally will make no difference.On the other hand, if you like GOOD animation, steer clear of this and watch some classic Bugs Bunny instead.0/5 stars..
"The Amazing Screw-On Head" is a 22-minute short film from almost 10 years ago and it has some famous names attached to it.
Director Chris Prynoski may not be one of them, but other than him you will find Bryan Fuller, Paul Giamatti, Patton Osawlt, Mindy Sterling and Molly Shannon in the cast & crew list.
I like almost all of them, but unfortunately still I was not really impressed by this one here.
The animation style is also not exactly a favorite of mine, but that is a subjective perspective.
Looking at the film's favorable rating, it appears that many think differently here.
Still, I myself do not recommend the watch..
As a big fan of Chris Prynoski, I just hate to say, "I don't get it," or at least I don't get the hype.
The science fiction of the Civil War era wears out quickly and soon falls prey to a collection of off-the-shelf movie monsters that our grandparents used to watch who were portrayed by Bela Lugosi and Lon Chaney, Jr. among others, (have I given away too much?).
The animation varies from very detailed to what seems like four frames per second.
Maybe I'll try it again, but if you've ever seen Downtown created by Chris Prynoski, I think you'll find that this doesn't compare when it comes to humor.