Starring: Freya Allan, Jeremy Irvine, Ruby Barker, Peter Mullan, Anne Muller, Svenja Jung, Ned Dennehy, Saffron Burrows
Distributor: StudioCanal
Runtime: 93 mins. Reviewed in Mar 2024
Reviewer: Fr Peter Malone msc
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A young woman inherits a run-down pub and discovers a dark secret within its basement – Baghead – a shape-shifting creature that will let you speak to lost loved ones, but not without consequence.
Baghead is not a title that would draw in a large audience except perhaps, for horror fans. One of the difficulties with horror films these days and horror film audiences is that there is a huge demand and expectation for blood and gore. But, this kind of wallowing is not appealing for an adult audience brought up on more traditional horror films. Which means then that the response to Baghead is more favourable from older audiences, younger audiences complaining that it is too slow, too tame . . .
This is British production with an international cast filmed at studios in Berlin. It is based on a 2017 short film with the same title by the writer, Lorcan Reilly and the same director, Alberto Corredor. There has been a screenplay collaboration with Bryce McGuire, who made Night Swim at the same time (also bypassed as to tame).
The audience is introduced to a rundown hotel in Berlin – deserted and crumbling but with a sinister basement and a jagged hole in the wall. The host is Owen Lark (Mullan), 20 years caretaking, and a sinister creature beyond the jagged hole in the wall, a female creature, bag over her head, who emerges stumblingly on command. However, Owen has had too much, confronts Baghead, sets her and the building alight.
Then a transition to Owen’s daughter, Iris (Allan), who is alienated from her father. Iris, with her friend Katie (Barker), suddenly discovers that she owns the building.
When they go into the building, we are not surprised that there are sinister feelings, especially when they are shocked by a visitor, Neil (Irvine) who is willing to pay them money to have an audience with Baghead, knowing that the creature will come out, shape-shift. He wants to say farewell to his dead wife but the person who emerges is his unloving mother. There is eerie atmosphere in the way that the shape shifts, skeletal hands to normal hands, the removing of the bag and the revelation . . .
As with this kind of tale, everything is not what it seems, Neil has ambiguous motivations, Iris wants to stay in the building, even to investigate the mysterious creature who is obedient to her command. Katie is much less enthusiastic.
So, a build-up to Baghead’s various appearances, confrontations, Iris having to come to terms with her father, the truth about the creature and the fire, conflict with Neil – and one of those endings which we might have expected but were not thinking that it would happen. An adult horror film in the more traditional manner.
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