Body Bags [1993]: If These Bags Could Talk
Body Bags is an interesting anthology horror film, though it seems like it could have been more. Let’s look at its strengths (and few weaknesses)!
Body Bags is an interesting anthology horror film, though it seems like it could have been more. Released in 1993 and directed by John Carpenter and Tobe Hooper, it’s often compared to the beloved HBO series Tales From the Crypt.” From what I understand, it was originally intended to be a Showtime series, yet they dropped the ball. Then the remaining parts were stuffed together into a movie format, giving us this fine feature. In any case, it works pretty well. John Carpenter himself is the host, introducing each story as a creepy mortician. He is both funny and strangely likable, even if morbid. It’s fun to see Carpenter in the “Cryptkeeper” role, and it’s one of the most memorable parts of the movie.
On that note, each story is reasonably well done, even if not the greatest ever told. A good example is story #1, known as “The Gas Station.” Taking places in Haddonfield, Illinois, this story has another thing in common with the Halloween films — it has a consistent aura of suspense. There’s nothing profound about this segment, but it’s solid. In a way, one could say that about Halloween, too. Sometimes simpler is better, and skilled filmmakers (like visual artists and musicians) can make a lot out of a little. This segment features Alex Datcher, Robert Carradine, George Buck Flower, Sam Raimi and even Wes Craven as “Pasty-Faced Man.”
Hair and Eye
The second Body Bags story, simply called “Hair,” is definitely more humorous. It stars Stacy Keach as a man whose obsessed with his hair loss. He goes through great lengths to remedy his increasing baldness. At first he thinks he’s found a miracle cure, which gives him luscious, long locks. However, it’s a solution that doesn’t quite make the cut, and may have some sinister side effects. Honestly, the special effects here are a little outdated, but they probably weren’t going for a serious look anyway. I think Stacy Keach’s performance is pretty believable here, and one can understand how his frustration gets in his way.”Hair” also features David Warner, Sheena Easton, Gregory Nicotero and Deborah Harry (AKA Blondie).
The final big story, simply called “Eye,” features Luke Skywa…oops, I mean Mark Hamill! Anyway, he plays a pro baseball player who gets in a car accident, has an eye transplant and gets twisted visions as a result. It’s sort of a meat-and-potatoes horror story, and frankly didn’t hold my interest like the other two stories. Honestly, it doesn’t seem like the most original plot, but it does ponder if eyes really are “the window to the soul.” The simple question: If you get eyes transplanted from a maniac, could you become one yourself? It’s a silly premise done reasonably well.
Honestly, though, this story missed a number of opportunities. Why didn’t Hamill’s character lose his eye during a baseball game? It makes it purely coincidental that he’s a baseball player. I mean, why not have him get struck by a baseball or have someone bump into him while sliding into a base? You know, something like that. It just seems like baseball should have been more directly laced into the story. That aside, “Eye” is watchable. It also features Twiggy, Roger Corman and Charles Napier.
Final Thoughts
Body Bags not the best anthology horror film out there, but I do think it’s decent. Honestly, I don’t see why Showtime didn’t pick it up as a series, as it definitely had potential to be more. Maybe they didn’t enjoy the finished segments enough, but it’s not like every Tales From the Crypt episode was a bold-faced masterpiece, either. The flaws in Body Bags are pretty easy to shrug off, if they are to be perceived at all. In fact, if you’re watching a horror movie just to judge its shortcomings, you’re probably not the biggest horror fan to begin with.
What are your thoughts on Body Bags? Ever been in one? Let us know in the comments!
Movies n TV
“B is for Brain” (Evil: S2E8)
“B is for Brain” is an episode of the supernatural drama Evil. The assessors investigate new brain mapping research.
“B is for Brain” is an episode of the supernatural drama Evil, created by Michelle King and Robert King. The central cast includes Katja Herbers, Mike Colter, Aasif Mandvi, Michael Emerson, Christine Lahti, and Andrea Martin. It originally aired under CBS before moving to Paramount+. As of this review, it’s available through Netflix and Paramount+ and its add-ons.
The assessors investigate new brain mapping research that might expose others to God and Hell. Kristen (Katja Herbers) struggles with aggression as Andy (Patrick Brammall) returns from his expedition. Ben (Aasif Mandvi) struggles with what he sees while in the brain mapping process. David (Mike Colter) returns to the basics to find God.
What I Like about “B is for Brain”
“B is for Brain” provides a unique opportunity for viewers to gain more insight into Ben’s past. While not his episode, as “B is for Brain” balances the leads nearly perfectly, he has his most emotional moment in the series so far. Despite the lower stakes, it provides a more vulnerable moment than “E is for Elevator.”
Leland (Michael Emerson) and Sister Andrea (Andrea Martin) meet again on more equal terms and establish their hostile relationship. Sister Andrea proves herself to be a woman who doesn’t back down when a Satanist tries to intimidate her. It also raises the necessity of David’s training, creating a more tangible threat.
Kristen’s deteriorating relationship with Andy reaches a boiling point as her impulsiveness and hostility reach new heights. It seems her sabbatical to the monastery might have increased the evil influences. “B is for Brain” builds upon what “S is for Silence” introduces and creates an interesting interpretation of the last episode’s events.
“B is for Brain” brings a new dynamic to its horror by focusing on how technology, science, and religion intersect. There’s an incredibly diabolical conversation on how this technology could induce fear to empower religion. This idea evokes a more subtle horror than most episodes.
Tired Tropes and Triggers
There is a potential nay-theist trope. By that, I mean there’s a single line where one can interpret an atheist character turned from God because God turned from them. It’s a single line that remains interpretable, but it’s worth mentioning.
There’s a moment of self-harm with clear implications that this is a pattern with the specific character. This harm has some implication of demonic influence, but this remains unconfirmed at the moment. I will mention this becomes more obvious as the season continues.
What I Dislike about “B is for Brain”
Unfortunately, such a big reveal for Ben’s character doesn’t have time to get fully explored in “B is for Brain.” While the focus between the three is great, a few big reveals only earn a light address. It’s less that Ben doesn’t get a fair amount of attention and more that these subjects don’t receive that attention.
A similar point remains relevant about the claim of using brain mapping as a way of evoking religious conversion. That point merits interrogation from the characters and the plot, but it’s only lightly touched on. Further expanding these points is that there’s only light reference in the future specifically about brain mapping.
Final Thoughts
“B is for Brain” gets placed into two memorable episodes, diminishing its lasting power. While not a fault of the episode, it does overlook some potentially big reveals. Some of the more relevant character moments will receive the attention they deserve in later episodes, but it doesn’t aid “B is for Brain” in execution. While a strong and enjoyable episode, diving into those moments might have created an episode that haunts the viewer.
(3 / 5)
Movies n TV
“S is for Silence” (Evil: S2E7)
Evil: “S is for Silence” is an episode of the supernatural drama. The assessors investigate two miracles of a potential saint.
“S is for Silence” is an episode of the supernatural drama Evil, created by Michelle King and Robert King. The central cast includes Katja Herbers, Mike Colter, Aasif Mandvi, Michael Emerson, Christine Lahti, and Andrea Martin. It originally aired under CBS before moving to Paramount+. As of this review, it’s available through Netflix and Paramount+ and its add-ons.
The assessors investigate two miracles of a potential saint in a secluded monastery. David (Mike Colter) struggles to commune with God. Kristen (Katja Herbers) endures the sexism of the monastery. Ben (Aasif Mandvi) finds himself out of his element.
What I Like about “S is for Silence”
As the name implies, this is a largely silent episode with only a few breaks of audible discussion. This decision forces the actors to convey emotions with their expressions and allows the cinematography to experiment. Evil brings its A-game to create one of the most unique episodes in “S is for Silence.”
Diving further into the creative decisions, “S is for Silence” plays around with internal monologue, maintaining the silence through visuals or subtitles. It’s one of those moments of commitment worth appreciating because it adds to the finality of that silence.
Alexandra Socha’s Sister Fenna plays a key role in the plot, delivering an amazing performance to a character with no lines. As the character only speaks Dutch, it provides an additional barrier that the team, specifically Kristen, must navigate to communicate with her. It’s a demanding role for a character who only appears in this episode.
A particular scare seems to utilize stop motion or imitate stop motion with its special effects. Regardless, something is jarring about the sudden movements that unnerve a viewer when done right. “S is for Silence” does this right.
“S is for Silence” dives harder than previous episodes in the supernatural elements, taking us into a monastery with a demonic item in its possession. It also returns to the dark comedic tone “C is for Cop” didn’t linger in. The combination of creative decisions, overwhelming silence, and acting makes this a haunting and unique episode of Evil.
Tired Tropes and Triggers
The monastery segregates between sexes, clearly displaying a disparity between the nuns and priests in great favor to the priests. It’s depicted as sexism and misogyny, lacking only a confrontation to solidify any particular perspective.
Body horror and insects play a large role in the plot. I wouldn’t say the body horror is overt, but the insects certainly have a more dominant influence.
What I Dislike about “S is for Silence”
There’s this strange moment between Kristen and Sister Fenna, which lacks clarity. It’s almost depicting a romantic moment or some attraction when the relationship seems more mother/daughter. A later episode will confirm this mother/daughter dynamic in a small reference. Perhaps something is cut from the released episode, but it strikes me as odd. Another addition to the above point is when the nun undresses, creating a voyeuristic aesthetic that seems misfitting.
Despite ruling out one miracle, an entirely different miracle remains uncontested. I won’t go into detail to avoid spoilers, but the main goal is to assess the miracles. Regardless of the initial reason for investigating, I assume the assessors’ need to refute that miracle or investigate another potential miracle regardless.
Final Thoughts
“S is for Silence” is a haunting episode of Evil, channeling what makes Evil so effective as a supernatural drama. It utilizes its dark comedic tone but never undermines its horrific or unsettling moments. This episode truly stands out and still lingers in my mind as the series nears its end.
(5 / 5)
We’ve reached episode six of Marvel’s Agatha All Along. And finally, we’re getting some answers. Yes, if you’ve been waiting to find out who Teen really is, this is the episode.
The story
We begin this episode three years in the past with a young man named William. It is his thirteenth birthday, the day of his bar mitzvah. But his party is cut short when something happens with the anomaly over Westview.
On the way home, he and his family are in a car accident. It appears that William died in that accident. And the person now inhabiting William’s body is not him.
We then see Billy, the person who’s taken over William’s body, learn more and more about Wanda, Agatha, and what happened in Westview. This includes a delightful cameo by Evan Peters.
Eventually, Billy goes to find Agatha, and we quickly catch up to where we are in the story.
And where we are is on The Road, with just Agatha now. But at least we’ve all finally been properly introduced.
What worked
One of the funnier parts of this episode, and the series so far, was seeing Billy’s side of things when Agatha was still trapped in Wanda’s spell. He is amused, she is acting like a crazy person. I would almost like to see the whole first episode from the point of view of the other people she was interacting with. It was probably confusing and startling as hell for them. I bet it was a blast.
Now, onto the more substantial parts of this episode. We discover right away that William is Jewish. And this was super important to me, as a Marvel fan. Because as much as the Marvel cinematic universe is trying to ignore it, this is Billy Maximoff. Which means he is not just the son of Wanda Maximoff, but the grandson of Erik Lehnsherr.
You know, this guy.
I have been waiting for someone, anyone, in the Marvel franchise to finally admit that Scarlett Witch is Magnito’s daughter. And this feels at least like a nod towards that.
Finally, this episode fixed the issue I’ve been complaining about since the beginning of this series.
My biggest problem with Agatha All Along has been that the title character is not a decent person. She is not a bad person on her way to becoming a good person. She is not growing or becoming a better person. She continues to use everyone around her and shows no remorse when her actions cause them harm. Even the speech she gives Billy in this episode is self-serving. She doesn’t care if he feels bad about himself. She only wants him to have a good opinion of her so that he’ll help her along the road.
And that would continue to be irritating if I thought this was Agatha’s story. But as I think we all realized in this episode, this hasn’t been Agatha’s story all along.
It’s been Billy’s. And he is a very likable character. We want him to reach the end of The Road.
What didn’t work
I can honestly say this episode had only one flaw. And a quick check on IMDB suggests that it might be rectified later. As of right now, we only have two characters left. Everyone else seems to have been lost to The Road. And I kind of hate that. We spent a lot of time making Jen, Alice and Lilia interesting characters. We care about them at this point. We are not, unlike Agatha, prepared to toss them aside. And if they are dead, that’s going to be a problem for me. But, every time I’ve complained about something this season, I’ve been proven wrong. So hopefully I will this time as well.
Personally, this episode ticked all my buttons. I loved it as a Marvel fan. I loved it as a witch. I loved it as an American Horror Story fan.
There are just three episodes left. And I’m sure I’m not alone in looking forward to whatever The Road has for a finale.
(4 / 5)
