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Written and Directed by Starring Rated R Presented by 84 Minutes |
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BAGHEAD Review
A group of actor friends, tired with the unfairness of an industry that looks down upon them, decide to head up to a cabin for a weekend to write the perfect vehicle for them to star in. On the first night, one of them sees a man in the woods with a bag over his head and the group decides that that’s what the movie should be about. As the weekend progresses and practical jokes ensue, it soon becomes apparent that perhaps there really is someone lurking within the woods. BAGHEAD is being promoted as a part comedy/part horror movie, and while there are some jumps in the film, it’s simply just an exercise in low budget filmmaking. Filmed for peanuts and featuring a small crew, the Duplass Brothers, who had a surprise hit with THE PUFFY CHAIR, let it be known their intentions with the film. Like so many other filmmakers looking to start out in the industry, the actors decide that horror is the best way to go because it is cheap to make and is guaranteed to make its money back. In this regard, horror fans will absolutely hate this film. For aspiring filmmakers and actors, it may be more to their liking. It is in its core a “mumblecore” movie, which is a new term given to independent films focusing on relationships. In truth, you can say that this genre’s been around for quite some time, so to call this revolutionary would be misleading. The acting in the film is very good, with the four leads complimenting each other very well. It is the performances that give the film a pure “documentary” feel, as the shaky cam throughout fits with the overall tone of the film. Matt (Ross Partridge) is the unofficial leader of the group, the cute man with the Elvis hair who has no problem getting the chicks. His ex-girlfriend Katherine (Elise Muller) is still friends with him, an actress feeling she’s at the peak of her looks. Matt’s best friend Chad (Steve Zissis) is an awkward, aloof, pudgy man with no confidence who has a crush on friend Michelle (Greta Gerwig) who has the hots for Matt instead. Gerwig is the highlight of the film, playing the naïve young actress to a tee, but the chemistry between the four is done very well. The film focuses more on the relationships between the four than the overall scare factor, but there some good moments. There is a very creepy scene where Michelle, after drinks, is greeted by whom she thinks is Matt with a bag over his head in her dark room. She starts to seduce him, and then suddenly the man leaves, adding to the ugliness when her friends insist they didn’t go into the room. There is a moment when Katherine and Chad supposedly disappear which intensifies the relationship between Michelle and Matt, which did seem a little out of place, but the pair thought the friends were playing a practical joke and didn’t follow suit with it (which turns out to be accurate). The film will keep you guessing in what exactly is going on and is there really someone with a bag over their head terrorizing them. This is revealed in the film’s final act, which is paced well and leads to a denouement that surprisingly manages to be both satisfying and disappointing, depending on your genre preference. In my case, I liked it. There’s no doubt the Duplass Brothers are talented writers, and their ability to let the actors improvise adds to the authenticity of the film, as the characters did remind me WAY too often of people I know, and in some cases, would rather forget, in my college years and early 20s as an aspiring filmmaker myself. Some would argue that they are lazy as filmmakers, and you’d have a strong point, but BAGHEAD, despite not being a horror film at all, does deliver more scares than most big budgeted films. At times though, the camera does get too shaky and the editing, while sharp, feels a little disjointed from scene to scene. In all, BAGHEAD is a movie strictly for the arthouse indie crowd, which works well in some areas, but ultimately is not a perfect film. It should be a lesson for those trying too hard to make scary that really all you have to do is simplify things to make an effective film. However, in this case, you can’t go too simple or you’ll miss the point. BAGHEAD: 6 Out Of 10 Maggots
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