Netflix And Chill: Baghead (2023)

I'm not accusing anybody here of plagiarism, we all know that creative film people can have similar ideas that end up suffering when released too close to some other, superior, outing, but if I told you that Baghead is a horror movie based around the idea of people being able to talk to the dead for a very limited amount of time, as long as they follow certain rules, then you may well think of another film that was released in the past couple of years. And if you haven't seen Talk To Me yet, I recommend that ahead of this one. I recommend many films ahead of this one, but Talk To Me is the one it most closely resembles, superficially.

Based on the short film of the same name, written by Lorcan Reilly, this is the tale of Iris (Freya Allan), a young woman who ends up taking over a pub from her estranged, and no-longer-on-the-mortal-coil, father (Owen, played by Peter Mullan). She isn't supposed to be the new owner though. It contains something dark and dangerous underground, an entity that can apparently channel the spirits of the dead, becoming them for a limited time. Iris and her friend, Katie (Ruby Barker), are wary, of course, but also think there's a way to make some money when someone (Neil, played by Jeremy Irvine) offers to pay them for a chance to speak to a deceased loved one. I am sure everything will work out well, as long as people abide by the specific rules that they're told about and don't have any dark secrets to be revealed.

Directed by Alberto Corredor, his feature debut after helming the short back in 2017, this is a competent and serviceable film. It's also tiresomely dull, especially when things play out in the finale in a way that feels completely unoriginal and unsurprising. Lorcan Reilly has continued to work on short movies, which leaves the full screenplay for this in the hands of another first-timer, Christina Pamies, and Bryce McGuire (who gave us the inexorably dull Night Swim in the same year, oh dear). Pamies and McGuire are not good enough to turn the central idea into something worthwhile, which leaves the cast adrift in a cold sea of mediocrity.

Allan is a good lead, although she already has a knack for picking projects that don't make good use of her talent. She gamely struggles through this, despite the writers giving viewers very little actual character development aside from how she has been defined by the fates of her parents. Barker is also better than the material allows, and both actresses deserve much more than the slop they're served here. Mullan, only in a few scenes, is always a welcome presence, and Ned Dennehy is a good fit for the solicitor who helps the pub transition from one owner to the next. Jeremy Irvine, on the other hand, isn't very good. He struggles to play his character as required, and his discomfort as he wrestles to do good work, contributes to the weakness of a finale that everyone involved probably thought was a fantastic, clever, and satisfying ending. 

I feel a bit unkind here, but maybe that is the way it has to be. While not terrible in any way, this is dull. And, as many people have said many times over, being dull is one of the worst things for a movie to be. Give me something to love, give me something to hate, but don't give me something to shrug off and forget about within a minute of the end credits rolling. That inability to make any strong impression makes the good work done by some of those involved simply redundant. Am I going to praise the score by Suvi-Eeva Äikäs, the cinematography by Cale Finot, or the production design and makeup? No . . . because they've faded away from my mind quicker than the serious and unbreakable rules faded from the minds of the main characters in this tale.

3/10

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Mubi Monday: Baghead (2008)

Although I had no idea about what to really expect from Baghead, I knew that I liked the people involved. The Duplass brothers were in charge of both writing and directing (with John E. Bryant also credited for creating a film within the film), and the cast included Greta Gerwig, currently being celebrated by almost everyone for helming Barbie and helping to turn the world happily pink, for at least a short time anyway.

The slight plot sees four people, two men and two women, head out to a cabin in the woods to relax and come up with some creative movie ideas. That’s a perfect horror movie premise, of course, and it isn’t long until someone gets nervous when they realise they are being watched by someone with who could best be described as a “baghead”, hence the title. It probably isn’t anyone outside the core group though, because who would want to get mixed up with this mass of insecurities, tensions, frustrations, and attempted betrayal. These adults often act like teens, especially when both of the men take a shine to the same woman (Gerwig).

Described in some places as a low-budget, lo-fi, horror comedy, Baghead isn’t something to rush to if you want scares or laughs. It has too few of either, although it certainly has a better blend of the two than some horror comedies I could point out. I am not trying to gate-keep here, not wanting to remove any genre credentials. I just don’t want people going in with the wrong expectations. What you get here is decent, it’s interesting, but it actually works best when looking at the ways in which people will manipulate the creative process for personal gain. It also looks at abuse of power in a small, but thought-provoking, way. 

Steve Zissis and Ross Partridge are the two main male characters, and both feel very well-suited to the Duplass brothers style. In fact, I was surprised that the brothers themselves didn’t take on these roles, but maybe they weren’t confident enough at this point in their career. Or maybe they just felt that Zissis and Partridge were better in the roles. Gerwig is as good as she always is, and she works especially well opposite Elise Muller (the older of the two, a bit more savvy, and able to deliver criticisms with a smile and a demeanour that makes them seem as if they could be compliments).  Jett Garner also has a small, but vital, role, and he does well enough, but it’s a relief that he isn’t part of the main group that we spend most of our time with.

I tend to like movies from the Duplass brothers, although I always feel as if I haven’t seen nearly enough of them. Don’t go into this if you want a horror or a comedy, or a mix of the two. Go into it if you want a Duplass brothers movie. It succeeds in that regard, with the talented duo using some genre elements to present moments that work on a couple of different layers. You could even begin to wonder if we should be as critical of what the brothers present as we are of what the men onscreen are planning, and I think that is absolutely part of the talking points being raised here. This is fun, odd, and very clever.

8/10

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