An eclectic group of short films / video clips are assembled from some young and talented upcoming filmmakers in Wicked Pixel's Severed Head Network Volume 2. While there are most definitely some hits to be found within, also keep an eye out for the inevitable misses. However, the overall vibe produced is a very positive one making this collection highly recommendable in the process, but I'm getting ahead of myself here. There are 7 short films presented and at just under 2 hours, this collection is not only geared towards the indie film enthusiast, but also those who may not be as aware of the current indie scene and what it has to offer. With 7 shorts on display here and the name Eric Stanze attached, you certainly won't find a better sampling anywhere else.

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It's difficult to discuss specifics, as many of the pieces are extremely short in length, highly experimental or just plain weird. The first few pieces are prime examples of this including a clip directed by Eric Stanze (Ice from the Sun, Scrapbook) entitled Faith in Nothing, which is billed as "a music clip" and is set to the stylings of an indie band named Analogue Satellite. It does indeed play of as sort of an erotic music video and is a definite showcase for Stanze's editing talents and unique visual style.

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The next short piece directed by Todd Tevlin is once again fairly unclassifiable, but as with Faith in Nothing is a brief showcase of an untapped young talent. Unwanted chronicles a young mans dip into insanity and that all too well known spiral of the worst kind - the downward.

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The third film is a hilarious spoof of a Sci Fi B movie trailer entitled Galactic Squad. Presented in B&W complete with splice marks, scratches and projector bumps Galactic Squad lovingly pays homage to the classic b-movies of yesteryear. Directed by James Gregson and Patrick Voss, Galactic Squad creatively re creates the feel of the so bad it's good sci-fi B movie with exceptonal detail and clarity. It hasn't looked this accurate since the "on set" shooting clips found in Tim Burton's Ed Wood - yeah folks, this one IS that good.

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Next up is A Bad Day in the Life, directed by Chris Grega, chronicling a string of bad luck events for a guy named Ed when an old friend Tommy unexpectedly moves in. Ed is forced to feel like a visitor in his own home and when some crazy bookies come looking for Tommy and the money that he owes them - It's Ed who they try to collect from. Things are broken up with just enough time for a door to door vacuum cleaner salesman to get his pitch in - hilarity ensues.

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The 5th film is the directorial debut of Wicked Pixel regular Emily Haack (Scrapbook). Once again, shot in B&W, Chokehold tells the harrowing tale of a young female drug addict through some extremely creative uses of sound and editing (props to Jason Christ of Wicked Pixel for the slick editing job) as she slips farther and farther away from reality. It's a pretty exceptional piece with some great set pieces and a few cameos from Wicked Pixel regulars including Haack herself.

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Next up is the hilarious musical short Lion Town in which a group of animals (people wearing animal heads - you just have to see it) are lured to Lion Town with the promise of a better life. Of course by the time they get there and realize that things jusy ain't kosher, it's too late. With some great music and a gloriously gory and quite often-comical finale - Lion Town is one that is also NOT to be missed.

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Lam is the final film in the set and once again defies any description that I can give it here in a few sentences. Extremely artistic, well shot and edited, effective performances and a great sound mix are all virtues of this short film that chronicles the events around a young woman held up in some sort of hospital and the orderlies that surround her. It runs a little long, but Lam is another exceptional short that is simply not to be missed.

They may not all be winners (I think you get the vibe of the ones I really liked), but the constant throughout each clip is the obvious raw talent behind the camera each go round. Even the shorts that didn't strike a particular chord with me are still far better than a lot of the other indies I've been subjected to recently. It's amazing to think of what can be accomplished with a video camera in this day and age. Even if you're turned off by the whole SOV look, you'll most likely be surprised at what a lot of these home grown flicks really do have to offer and Severed Head Network 2 provides ample ground for beginners to get their feet wet.

Of course the whole thing is tied together with an opening segment that features...yup - you guessed it...a severed head! The opening segment is equally as experimental (and equally as cool). Wicked Pixel has assembled some really fine short indie films in this collection. Standouts for me remain Galactic Squad, Chokehold, Lion Town and Lam but the set as a whole still remains quite pleasing. I know you've read me singing the praises of Wicked Pixel many times on this site before. I can't stress enough the fact that they are making some of the greatest indie produced genre flicks out there. While the shorts in this collection aren't all product of Wicked Pixel (and aren't really horror for that matter), they were all hand picked by the WPC gang so you know there's got to be something special about each one. I dug The Severed Head Network Volume 2 and for fans of indie produced genre flicks, or those looking to get their feet wet with a minimal investment of money or time - there's no better place to start than here and to this end The Severed Head Network Vol 2 comes highly recommended.

For more info or to order visit Wicked Pixel or b-movie.com.