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Body Bags, 1993
In this horror-comedy anthology, a man gets more than he bargained for when attempting a hair transplant, a woman working a late night shift at a gas station falls into a serial killer’s sights, and a baseball player receives a donor eye with a horrifying history.
One very strong entry, one solid entry, and one sub-par entry makes this anthology a mixed-bag.
Internet consensus is that the gas station short is the best, but I didn’t totally love it. There is decent suspense and some great twists and turns, but it’s a rare example of a short that feels like it needed more room to breathe. The pace overall felt a bit rushed to me, and I wanted more time to soak up the different characters and moments of suspense. It’s a solid short film that would have been better stretched to more like 40 minutes.
My favorite (and the short that terrified me when I caught a glimpse of it on TV as a child), is the comedy-horror segment “Hair”. Stacy Keach plays Richard, a man who is completely consumed with worry over his receding hairline, despite the assurances of his girlfriend (Sheena Easton). Having tried every product and service out there, he ends up in the office of Dr. Lock (David Warner), whose solution might not be all it’s cracked up to be. I thought that this short was very funny, and perfectly fits into its 25 minute slot. It really captures the way that someone will fixate on a problem that’s not really a problem and end up going to lengths worse than the original issue. Keach is very good in the lead role, and the visuals of “good hair” are great. And when the horror comes, it’s enjoyably disgusting and disturbing. (I, to this day, think of this film whenever I get a tickle in my throat).
The last segment is the weakest: an unoriginal rehash of the old “get a transplant and, golly, it was from a killer.” Neither Mark Hamill nor Twiggy gets a chance to make much of an impression here, despite being their normal charismatic selves. Nothing here really surprises you, and it’s very much just watching the expected beats play out. Nothing offensive or bad, per se, just incredibly bland and a limp ending to the film.
This is a decent anthology and worth checking out. The wraparound segment, with a ghoulish mortuary worker introducing the stories, is fun.
Body Bags, 1993
In this horror-comedy anthology, a man gets more than he bargained for when attempting a hair transplant, a woman working a late night shift at a gas station falls into a serial killer’s sights, and a baseball player receives a donor eye with a horrifying history.
One very strong entry, one solid entry, and one sub-par entry makes this anthology a mixed-bag.
Internet consensus is that the gas station short is the best, but I didn’t totally love it. There is decent suspense and some great twists and turns, but it’s a rare example of a short that feels like it needed more room to breathe. The pace overall felt a bit rushed to me, and I wanted more time to soak up the different characters and moments of suspense. It’s a solid short film that would have been better stretched to more like 40 minutes.
My favorite (and the short that terrified me when I caught a glimpse of it on TV as a child), is the comedy-horror segment “Hair”. Stacy Keach plays Richard, a man who is completely consumed with worry over his receding hairline, despite the assurances of his girlfriend (Sheena Easton). Having tried every product and service out there, he ends up in the office of Dr. Lock (David Warner), whose solution might not be all it’s cracked up to be. I thought that this short was very funny, and perfectly fits into its 25 minute slot. It really captures the way that someone will fixate on a problem that’s not really a problem and end up going to lengths worse than the original issue. Keach is very good in the lead role, and the visuals of “good hair” are great. And when the horror comes, it’s enjoyably disgusting and disturbing. (I, to this day, think of this film whenever I get a tickle in my throat).
The last segment is the weakest: an unoriginal rehash of the old “get a transplant and, golly, it was from a killer.” Neither Mark Hamill nor Twiggy gets a chance to make much of an impression here, despite being their normal charismatic selves. Nothing here really surprises you, and it’s very much just watching the expected beats play out. Nothing offensive or bad, per se, just incredibly bland and a limp ending to the film.
This is a decent anthology and worth checking out. The wraparound segment, with a ghoulish mortuary worker introducing the stories, is fun.