WHEN LOOKING FOR THIS MOVIE, MAKE SURE THAT IT IS THE VERSION THAT STARS EMILY THOMAS (there is a much earlier version that should not be confused with this release)
When people outside of metal think of what a metalhead is, the stereotype is usually the same idiot that is despised by REAL metalheads. The only time that a song should have the word "baby" in the lyrics is when the song is about killing babies. That harsh sentiment should show you that gay bands like Poison and Motley Crew (this writer refuses to spell the band the gay way) were adored by what real metalheads call "posers" and who should be violently beaten.
But this distinction does not mean that real metalheads don't have losers in their population. So if you hate metal before you watch this movie, you won't change your opinion, and if you love metal, then you might feel exalted after watching the movie.
In the small sample of metal people in this movie, you will see that these creatures are quite diverse. But this is not a documentary about the metal lifestyle. No. This is a tragi-comedy that employs metal as a stage, and metalheads as the characters. And it's not a movie about burnouts who keep saying "dude" for no reason.
The story begins with Elaine (Emily Thomas) yelling at her boyfriend (Bill) for being a slacker. At first it may appear that she just wants to set him on a course to improve himself, but her nagging reveals selfish motives. If Bill gets a job, he won't be an embarrassment, and he can buy her presents.
Bill (Bill Zebub) appears to be a slacker. He considers himself to be an artist, but he doesn't actually practice any art. Perhaps he is in a sort of larval stage in which his constant observations of life contribute to what will one day become a visionary outlook. Does he have difficulty with employment because he is lazy, or because such things are for mindless conformists?
The couple have a mutual friend who seems to be incapable of evil. Unlike Bill, this character must have short hair because of an oppressive father. He wishes that he could live life like Bill. He has both earlobes pierced, which was to be a constant joke. Bill was to ridicule the right ear being pierced, which means "gay" but the story had other zingers to widen the eyes of viewers.
These three main characters have their particular "wishes" prevent them from feeling contentment. Well, one of them has a moderate wish that could provide satisfaction and happiness, but that is not something to reveal here.
These souls undergo their own quests, and their paths fall away from each other. One of the interesting newcomers is the Evil Metalhead (Carl Willliamson) who is diametrically opposite of the innocent best friend. Antisocial personality disorder was never depicted as entertainingly as this. In the original script, this character was funny, but the new story required him to be mean. He's so brutal that his antics are sometimes funny, but he is a volatile mix of selfishness, hatred, bitterness, and anger.
At its heart, the story of "Metalheads" is about a circle of friends that reach a point at which everyone's growth is at a different level. They are no longer in harmony. Will they break forever, or will they find a way back to each other and endure the next phase of life together? will they abandon their desires, or find them granted?
The deeper your comprehension ability is, the more you will see in the story.
Historically, the "Metalheads" script was the first that Bill Zebub wrote, which was written as an excercize. That version had scream queens Darian Caine and Suzi Lorraine. Bill Zebub was rather surprised when a distribution company offered him a contract.
When that contract expired five years later, the distributor wanted to re-new. Bill Zebub had gained more skill and considered providing a re-edit with never-before-seen extras, but he decided that it would be much better to re-write the script and to shoot it entirely new, with new actors and actresses. That is why the tagline for the movie was changed to "the Good, the Bad, & the Evil."