Baghead

Baghead is a pretty impressive little indie horroresque film. From the makers of the award winning film the puffy chair comes this mockumentary of sorts. It tells the story of a group of friends interested in shooting a low budget film over the weekend. But things go bad when their films imaginary villain begins stalking them one by one. It all sounds fairly generic but it's delivered with undeniable wit and clever humor. the performances are strong enough and the film keeps you going past its surprisingly effective conclusion. the great thing about this film is how real it feels and when it does begin to switch gears it doesn't feel forced in least. a plausible effort on everyones part with a hope to see more genre efforts come from this group of talented people.

Baghead is a true gem, a tribute to indie film-making at its best. I may be partial to no and lo budget film-making, on the other hand I have very little patience for regular art-house talkfests where nothing really happens. The filmmakers here find the perfect balance of indie talking heads type non-plot and a suspenseful genre piece, which is a rare feat.

Directing is okay, although the hand-held camera-work can be exhausting sometimes. The actors are great and the relationship drama between the four characters is interesting and at times funny enough to hold the viewers' interest. I loved the fact that there is no true horror soundtrack, so the scares and tension work without the usual "boo" staccato sound effects and unnerving suspense music. This is something extremely difficult to achieve, so kudos for that.

At 80 minutes the story does not wear out its welcome. Baghead is a definite recommend for anyone hungry for something different from the usual Hollywood fare.

The movie features a single shaky cam. This is not because the movie is independent, has a low budget or is part of some dogmatic dogma-movement. Well these three could all be true, but the main reason of a "shaky cam" is that it has relevance for the story, similar to a movie like Blairwitch Project. If you expect fast camera movement, multiple angles, supreme lightning and great special effects you shouldn't watch Baghead at all (and people should not devalue it because it doesn't look like the new Spiderman). So be prepared for primitive (but still quite amazing) photography.

Furthermore no one should watch this movie because of the suspense. The suspense is only a minor aspect of Baghead. From time to time it tries to scare you by being as real as possible. Occasionally Baghead succeeds in doing so. Although the average person would feel conned if I tell him this is a thriller or a horror. It is more close to a real life drama.

Personally I truly appreciate the endeavour to create a real movie without all the modern techniques. Techniques that so bluntly tell you you are watching something produced. There is no real score, no atonal violins at scary moments, no special effects and so on. Without this kind of tools a lot more weight is put on the acting and the story. The question then is: does the movie survive the lack of all these elements? Yes.

The acting is surprisingly refreshing. Although Greta Gerwig (playing Michelle) annoyed me from time to time. The story itself is not original but the characters are convincing, there are many interesting twists and there are reflexive side aspects to the story that lift it far above the average kind of "some people in a mountain shed getting scared" movie. Most importantly the whole movie has a natural flow without any scene feeling constructed for one purpose or the other. If you plan to watch this movie then watch it for the real and convincing manner it is brought to you, not for suspense or Hollywood skills.

In my view the colossal problem of Baghead though is the editing. It appears that all footage was neurotically and compulsory preserved in the final film. Quite often entirely predictable scenes drag on and on. Though they may look more real so to speak (for instance the scene where Chad is trying to hit on Michelle), they get one ready for bed immediately, no teeth brushing required. Especially the final scene is horribly slow and you can really hear yourself thinking: "get a move on all right!" In total the movie runs for about 2 hours. In general I like slow and long movies, but this one could really do with a 1:30 running time. It would not just be easier, faster and more accessible, it would have simply been better.

Verdict: 6

I liked 'Baghead' a lot. It was real, it was independent and when it was all over, it all tied in. If one were just to watch it part of the way through and stop, they would (as would I) certainly compare it to multiple "in the woods/cabin" thrillers. The impression I got (and this was certainly confirmed once watching the "mock-interview" with the directors/brothers with kids) was this was a simple idea someone brainstormed and said "let's shoot a movie about no-name/wannabe actors and a bag-headed killer on the loose in the woods." Honestly, the film felt real. The emotions real. I think, despite the extreme low budget, the actors took it for real and did the best job they could. I grew up on serial killer/woods, etc films. This one was probably the most real, because, basically it was played that way. A movie-within-a-movie, if you will. Four adults want to make a movie. One has a cabin and they head out there. They come up with an idea and suddenly it comes to life. That's the basic synopsis. I see a whole bunch of negative reviews. I think people were expecting something different. I went in open minded, and really liked the experience. Not perfect, no, but I liked the genuine characters and I absolutely loved the fact that two grown men could be very close, enough to kiss/hug each other and not be labeled as gay or feel any less masculine. I wish there were more straight males (fictional or not) that can show love for each other and not be considered homosexual. I admire the directors/brothers that took the leap to show this close male bond. Best character: Chad (Steve Zissis.) Sincere, not shy, real and definitely funny. Hope to see more of him.

I went into this (AFI) film festival with little or no knowledge of not only the film itself, but of any actors or the production and direction team. I was pleasantly surprised.

I must have laughed through 90 percent of the film. On what appears to have been a shoe-string budget at best, this film delivers characters who are rich (in a non-financial form), full and funny; and come across as people you know. Your best friend (or nemesis)a sister, brother. I also loved that, having grown up close to the Adirondanck Mountains in NY, I could completely imagine living the weekend that they did. What a fun ride. And using very little shock and awe of nudity, vulgarity or violence. (not that I am completely anti any of those in particular) A very nice treat. What a little sleeper-hit. Can this brother director/producer team be the next Cohen Brothers?