The Thing With Two Heads

This movie is a sequel of sorts...but not really....to the Incredible 2 Headed Transplant. It stars Ray Milland near the end of his long career and Rosey Grier. It's sort of a cross genre movie. It isn't just a science-fiction movie, it is also a blaxploitation movie.I didn't exactly enjoy watching Ray Milland play a bigot but that is what he is in this movie. Later in life he played the bad guy in a bunch of movies.Most people criticize former stars for taking on movies such as these after they are no longer big 'A' list stars and call it 'sad' that they are in these movies. I don't agree. They automatically assume they need the money. Sometimes this might be the case, but certainly not always. It's certainly possible that older actors who are no longer leading men just want to act because they are bored and sometimes even enjoy starring in these types of movies. Charlton Heston is a perfect example. He just didn't want to star in biblical epics and such and later in his career he chose to star in less serious science fiction movies because he wanted to. Other actors may choose to be in lesser movies just to get a chance to direct. There are millions of people in Hollywood who would give anything to have a starring role in a movie such as this one. So there is no need to call it 'sad'.As far as the movie goes....it is better than The 2 Headed Transplant but that's not saying much.Positives....the makeup is much better and they fake heads look much better than they did in the previous movie. The ;acting is pretty good with the exception of Rosey Grier, which is understandable since he was a football player looking to cash in on his star power and act. The plot is good in the first half of the movie.Negatives...the second half of the movie, which I suspect had some rewrites. The police car chase was just ridiculous and way too long and way too over the top for me. A bunch of cops in different cars repainted to look like police cars chase a motorcycle around a field for twenty minutes. This gets quite boring after awhile and the movie turns into a joke after being serious for the first half. They then jump into a motorcycle race and then proceed to go as fast as everyone else despite the massive amount of weight. All the other racers crash upon seeing the two headed man. At this point, the movie might as well just be a comedy.SPOILER ALERTThe movie raises some interesting legal questions. If Ray Milland's head was removed and died, would that be considered murder? What would happen if the only way to keep him alive would be to stay attached to Rosey Grier's body? Could they still execute hime? I didn't like the way the movie ended because Rosey Grier's character just drives off happily even though he is still a convicted killer that is supposed to be put to death. The movie never satisfactorily absolves him of his crimes. All we get is Rosey's claim that he has been blackmailed...the same claim as every other killer on death row. The black doctor is essentially an accomplice at this point. In effect, they are all on the run even though the movie doesn't portray it that way. Also, Ray Milland's head is left alive even though earlier in the movie they clearly said that if the transplant wasn't done immediately he would die. The script was probably rewritten as Rosey Grier wants to donate his body to science and look for the real killer at the same time.Recommended only for fans of 70's drive in movies, living head movies and blaxploitation films.

Have you ever wondered how cool it would be to have a second head grafted on your body, right next to yours? I have, and so has Hollywood, the land of candy cane dreams and pennywhistle fantasies. Now I know some will say, 'Why do we need another two headed freak type movie? We've already got two entries in the `two-headed man' genre with The Manster (1962) and The Incredible 2-Headed Transplant (1971).' And I might agree, if not for the fact that neither of those two films really deals with the social ramifications that the AIP release of The Thing with Two Heads (1972) touches on, specifically what happens when you graft the head of a white bigot's head on a soul brother's body, the consequences being pure cinematic gold (well, okay, maybe not, but it's sure fun to watch).The Thing with Two Heads was directed by Lee Frost, who also gave us such lurid exploitation pictures as The House on Bare Mountain (1962), The Defilers (1965), and Policewomen (1974) and stars Oscar winning actor Ray Milland (no, he didn't win the award for this film, but for the 1945 film The Lost Weekend) and former L.A. Rams football player Roosevelt `Rosey' Grier. With respect to Milland, it certainly is interesting, even a bit sad, to see a once great star wallow uncomfortably in number of trashy 70's B pics like this or Frogs (1972), just to name a few.As the film starts, we are introduced to Dr. Maxwell Kirshner (Milland), a highly successful surgeon who runs a number of clinics specializing in human transplants. We also learn that Maxwell is terminally ill, and is conducting a secret experiment in his basement, one designed specifically in mind with the possibility of saving his life. If you guess it has something to do with transplanting his head onto another body, you'd be right. The experiment involves grafting a second head onto a gorilla (played by Oscar winning special effects makeup artist Rick Baker), and then removing the original head, seeing if the newly grafted head survives. The process takes about a month, allowing for the second head to grow strong enough assuming control of the host body. There's a pretty funny scene when the gorilla escapes, and terrorizes a convenience store before being recaptured.Anyway, the gorilla experiment is a success, opening the door for a human head transplant, but Maxwell's condition is deteriorating rapidly, and he soon goes into a coma, but not before instructing his subordinates to follow through with his plans. Only problem is a compatible host/donor body is extremely difficult to come by...until inquires are made with the prison board, and a likely candidate is found in a supposedly wrongfully convicted black man on death row, Jack Moss (Grier), scheduled to be executed. Jack, seeing a chance to prolong his existence for another month, allowing for him to try and find the only man, who went missing at the time of his trial, and could clear him by supplying a credible alibi, accepts the deal. Thing is, Jack has no idea what's in store for him. So what happens when both men realize what has happened? And who gets to keep the body in the end?The concept here is surely interesting, albeit deeply entrenched in the realm of fantasyland. I know not if this film was meant to be a serious science fiction picture or not, but given the smattering of comedy throughout, I am assuming the latter. Most of the truly funny scenes come from the situations arising after the surgical procedure, and Milland's character's expounding of bigoted statements. Racism in and of itself certainly isn't funny, but the level stupidity within Milland's character and his lack of control over the situation sure is...okay, the scenes where Grier is running around with a plastic head attached to his should did look fake, but I didn't focus on that too much. The scene that really sort of derailed the film from being better than it was, for me, was the extended chase scene on the motorbike. It was funny for like a few minutes, but then, probably due to the skimpiness of the plot, runs for much longer than it should have, lasted well over 15 minutes. My favorite scene was when Jack and Maxwell, on the lamb as Jack is still a convicted criminal, go to Jack's girlfriend's apartment (I love her absolute lack of shock at seeing this strange creature, and her utterance, `You get into more sh$t...'), and Jack tries to initiate intimacy with her, to which she expresses uneasiness with Maxwell's head right there. Jack then turns to Maxwell and states, `Now you know you got to go...'The print used on this release looks really good, and is in wide screen format. The only special feature available is a theatrical trailer for the film, which is almost as funny as the film. Sure, this cheese may stink, but at least it goes easy, not taking itself too seriously. One thing I did learn from this film is that when one head of a two-headed man smokes a cigarette, the smoke will actually expel from the mouth of the head not smoking...seems logical to me...and pretty funny...Cookieman108

One of the classics!Great cast, incredible script, full of crazy absurdity.Pick your lifetime mate based on whether they like this film as much as you do..A can't miss buy. A true period piece.Long live Roosevelt Grier..

Great camp movie! Ray plays it solid, and Rosie does an absolutelyawesome job with his eyes shut most of the time.

Great Sci FI comedy. I remember seeing this when it came out in 72. Great motorcycle chase scenes. A must see1

One of those rare movies that are so bad it is wonderful! The only sad thing is that a great actor like Ray Milland at the end of his career had to lower himself to this. Otherwise it is one laugh after the other.

Love this movie, love this genre, and love Rosey Grier! For anyone who thinks Transformers is the best movie ever this is NOT for you. Sure there are flaws in The Thing With Two Heads (so many of them down to budget) but it's the most creative, charming, entertaining movie you're likely to see. PLUS Rosey Grier, aside from being a retired American Football player, is also the man who tackled Robert Kennedy's assassin. Remarkable man, great movie

I remember seeing this film in the seventies and thought it was great then , been looking to get it on dvd for years , after finally finding it , I am very happy to say it has stood the test of time . The actors must have had a great time making this , its hilarious , the story is bonkers , the effects are terrible , but this film is a classic .

A horrific cult comedy classic! Freaky, unique and a racist battle. Superb 70s stuff!

Buena película. ..me sorprendió pensé que no estaría tan bien y si ......buena imagen y sonido