A One Mann’s Movies Film Review of “Baghead” (2024).
So, the sausage train of so-so horror films continues. “Baghead” is a feature-length version of a well-regarded short film from 2017 directed by Alberto Corredor (this film’s director) and written by Lorcan Reilly. And it’s… “fine”. But, unfortunately, it is far too much like the plot of last year’s much superior “Talk to Me” (not their fault) and, aside from a great last reel twist, left me neither excited nor horrified.
Bob the Movie Man Rating:
Plot Summary:
Iris (Freya Allan) is a London girl down on her luck. She hears that her estranged father (Peter Mullen) has died a horrific death in Berlin and travels to the city. The creepy solicitor (Ned Dennehy) tells her that she has now inherited a pub in the city. When a desperate man (Jeremy Irvine) wants to throw 4,000 Euros at her to just go down to the cellar, she thinks her luck is in! But the cellar holds a deadly secret that will put herself and her friend Katie (Ruby Barker) in great danger.
Certification:
UK: 15; US: R. (From the BBFC web site: “Strong threat, horror”).
Talent:
Starring: Freya Allan, Peter Mullen, Ruby Barker, Jeremy Irvine, Ned Dennehy.
Directed by: Alberto Corredor.
Written by: Christina Pamies & Bryce McGuire. (Based on the screenplay by Lorcan Reilly.)
Twitter Handle: #Baghead.
Running Time: 1h 34m.
“Baghead” Film Review:
Positives:
- The film was made by Studio Babelsberg and shows quality German engineering. The sets, production design, lighting etc are all really polished.
- The acting ensemble are all very good. Freya Allan was not a name I knew (she stars in “The Witcher” on Netflix apparently) but delivers a fine turn here. Ruby Barker, famous for “Bridgerton”, is good as well and Peter Mullen and Jeremy Irvine are two reliable professionals in any film.
- After a pretty generic “ho-hum, something in the cellar” plot, the film DOES take a sharp left turn into “The Twilight Zone”. Something you expect to happen doesn’t; and something you don’t expect to happen does! It was an innovative twist and led me to think that if the whole film has been this smart then it might have had legs. Perhaps they needed Lorcan Reilly (now, according to this, living in New Zealand) to be back in the script-writing chair?
Negatives:
- The problem for me is that the whole thing just wasn’t scary. Yes, there were some jump-scares, but most of them were very well signposted. I was sat ALONE in a dark auditorium to watch this one… so you would think that alone would creep me out. But, no – not for a moment.
- There is a whole segment, where Katie visits a different house in the country to gain documents about Baghead’s history, that seems to be bolted on purely to extend the running time to 90 minutes. What was the point? The documents, dropped in a box on the pub floor, are never referred to again!
Monkeys
I rather expected that there might be a “monkey” for this film. But I stayed to the end of the credits and there was not.
Summary Thoughts on “Baghead”
Not one to stir the senses or make you want to go out to the cinema to see. The ending suggests that this might be part of a multiple-film franchise like “The Nun” – – do we really need another one of them? No. We need better horror films like “The Night House“, “Talk to Me” or “Mother!” please!
Where to Watch it (Powered by Justwatch)
Trailer for “Baghead”:
The trailer is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOsZq_5s-ak .
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