Baghead (2008)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Aaron N

  
  Matt: Hey. What's that? An ultra low budget human drama that contains elements of comedy and horror. Its simple, nothing too amazing, but the improved performances make it seem natural, along with some actual tension in parts. A group of four struggling filmmakers decide to… More
  Matt: Hey. What's that? An ultra low budget human drama that contains elements of comedy and horror. Its simple, nothing too amazing, but the improved performances make it seem natural, along with some actual tension in parts. A group of four struggling filmmakers decide to spend their weekend up at a cabin to hopefully develop a script and make a movie. The group includes two guys and two girls. One guy is more successful with women. One girl doesn't show the feelings for the other guy who desires her. Basically, there's a handsome guy, a funny guy, a slutty girl, and the cute girl. Some mystery ensues when a mysterious figure keeps appearing outside the cabin with a bag over their head. Whether its one of the four or someone else completely is the source of a mystery that begins to run throughout. The movie is shot with a digital camera and makes no attempt at having clever visual tricks, its about what its about, and I thought it worked. Chad: Goodnight, movie girlfriend. Michelle: Goodnight.

• Drew S

  
  Worth its weight in gold as a curiosity - kind of a mumblecore Bubble, if Bubble wasn't mumblecore as it is. As a movie about movies, it feels incessantly "filmed," and the viewer never forgets what they're watching. This approach may seem intrusive, but… More
  Worth its weight in gold as a curiosity - kind of a mumblecore Bubble, if Bubble wasn't mumblecore as it is. As a movie about movies, it feels incessantly "filmed," and the viewer never forgets what they're watching. This approach may seem intrusive, but considering that this is a movie about intrusion on many different levels, the filming is a positive influence more than a detraction. The amateur actors are charmingly shitty, which sort of endears them to you all the more, and the characters they put forth are distinct and unabridged. The plot itself isn't terribly original but the execution is what to watch here - the Duplass brothers do an admirable job spinning a compelling tale from a simple foundation and without spending too much money. Nothing here will blow your mind, but it functions adeptly as a lo-fi genre meld, and at only 70 minutes it's not a huge waste of time even if you don't find something worth championing. An inspiring tidbit of indie cinema.

• Mark H

  
  Ultra low budget horror comedy about four actors who are terrorized by a mysterious man in the woods while trying to write a screenplay that will make them all stars. Film's reliance on an apparently improvised script and non-professional actors seems unfocused and sloppy at… More
  Ultra low budget horror comedy about four actors who are terrorized by a mysterious man in the woods while trying to write a screenplay that will make them all stars. Film's reliance on an apparently improvised script and non-professional actors seems unfocused and sloppy at times. However this unique film manages to incorporate a tale of personal relationships, independent filmmaking and horror, in a most unusual way.

• Steve K

  
  A comedy about low budget horror filmmaking. And relationships. Some nice moments and competently done by all, but nothing terribly compelling or new. It would be helpful if one of the four lead characters was likable.

• Curtis L

  
  Fun for a while. Good job of making realistic awkward conversations.

• William D

  
  [size=3]"Baghead" is a highly clever and unusual film. It's safe to say that there's never been anything like it. I[/size][size=3]t's filled with postmodern self-referentiality and plenty of snarky winks to the smarter and better-educated members of the… More
  [size=3]"Baghead" is a highly clever and unusual film. It's safe to say that there's never been anything like it. I[/size][size=3]t's filled with postmodern self-referentiality and plenty of snarky winks to the smarter and better-educated members of the audience. But it doesn't add up to that much. Brilliant set-up, not much pay-off.[/size] [size=3][img]http://images.apple.com/moviesxml/s/sony/posters/baghead_l200805121624.jpg[/img][/size] [size=3]I had a good time and enjoyed the cleverness. I laughed more during this film than any other film all year, and the humor was the smartest by far of 2008. I also very much appreciated the hand-made quality because it shows that people can make films without $10 million. But "Baghead" ultimately doesn't have anything very significant to say.[/size] [size=3]Immediately setting a humorously postmodern tone, "Baghead" opens inside an art-house movie theater. The four protagonists (two men and two women) are sitting together watching an underground film. Right away you are put into an odd situation as if you are watching yourself on screen -- a movie audience watching a movie audience. The film they're watching, which we see bits of, turns out to be hilariously ponderous. Thus "Baghead" opens with a clever send-up of art-house cinema -- in a sense "Baghead" is poking fun at itself.[/size] [size=3]But quickly "Baghead" shifts its focus to the film-making as opposed to the film-watching process. The main characters turn out to be actors and filmmakers, possibly stand-ins for [b]Jay[/b] and [b]Mark Duplass[/b], the brothers who created "Baghead." [/size][size=3]Struggling to kick-start their creativity, the four thirtysomethings go out to the woods together to dream up a movie. Their first creative discussion is hilarious. The leader of the gang asks, "OK, so what's the film going to be about?" Everyone stares at him blankly. [/size] [img]http://www.aolcdn.com/pmms/productpagemovies/05/07/2664427[/img] [size=3]As drunkenness sets in, strong romantic and sexual entanglements tying this foursome together start to surface. These are explored to great comic effect. You will laugh many times in the first half of "Baghead." The Duplass brothers have a very good eye for comedy, and the actors bring the romantic yearnings to life in such an authentic way that you wonder if you're watching a documentary. This is another odd aspect of "Baghead," and it's one of the numerous ways that the film resembles "Blair Witch Project." (Other similarities are the constant use of hand-held cameras, the absence of costuming and make-up, the apparent use of improvised dialogue, and an ultra-remote setting.)[/size] [img]http://www.firstshowing.net/img/indiegems-baghead.jpg[/img] [size=3]Abruptly there's a shift to horror, which is also very effective. A person with a paper bag over his or her head starts appearing and standing silently in a menacing way. The big question: is it a psycho stalking them, or is one of the foursome playing a practical joke on the others? This uncertainty is manipulated very well. My eagerness to find out the answer operated on two levels. The obvious one is at the level of plot resolution. The whole point of the mystery genre is to get answers. [/size] [size=3]But more interestingly, I was intrigued to find out where this unusual film was going to go. What would a postmodern horror-comedy become? A horror or a comedy? Or something else? I had no idea, and I wondered if somehow the resolution would yield fascinating insights. But alas, when all the questions are answered, one isn't left with much. "Baghead" is a fun brain-teaser with a lot of humor and some good horror moments, but ultimately it's no more meaningful [/size][size=3]than "Blair Witch Project." [/size] [size=3]One could think of "Baghead" as a love letter to cinema itself, a celebration of and also poking fun at the creative impulse that drives people to make films, act in them, and watch them. But the cinematic impulse to me is not in and of itself very interesting. The fact that people pick up cameras and record things isn't inherently intriguing. It's only interesting when something worthwhile is recorded. And in that case, it's not the recording process that's interesting, but the thing being recorded.[/size] [size=3]In this case, the Duplass brothers didn't dream up something very interesting to record, but they had great fun along the way.[/size]

• Glenn G

  
  While pleasantly surprised by the performances, there really isn't much to say about this film. It is kinda funny, kinda scary, kinda good. It's very "meta"...and if I could put "meta" in more quotes, it would look like this… More
  While pleasantly surprised by the performances, there really isn't much to say about this film. It is kinda funny, kinda scary, kinda good. It's very "meta"...and if I could put "meta" in more quotes, it would look like this """M-E-T-A""". Nuff said.

• William G

  
  A most curious psychological dramedy; call it "mumblecor-ror".

• Doctor S

  
  Welcome to Amateur Hour: filmed for about $137.89 (cabin rental for a day), this relationship drama masquerading as a horror movie starkly shows the difference between a poorly executed cheapie and 'The Blair Witch Project.' Manages to generate two scares, the rest of the… More
  Welcome to Amateur Hour: filmed for about $137.89 (cabin rental for a day), this relationship drama masquerading as a horror movie starkly shows the difference between a poorly executed cheapie and 'The Blair Witch Project.' Manages to generate two scares, the rest of the time wasted lingering over the characters' shallow connections to each other. Writer/actor Matt and aspiring starlet Michelle (whose delivery resembles the next Darryl Hannah) have some screen charisma, but the other pair of this foursome are plain lousy. Hangdog Chad we're told by Matt is "the funniest guy I know" but never once tells a joke and is supposed to generate sympathy for his unrequited love for Michelle, but is such a meek douchebag that he doesn't really deserve any. Material for a 40-minute short stretched (barely) to a feature-length 75, including a tortuous 10-minute denouement before you can finally do something you'd rather be doing. Like weed the garden, take out the garbage, or care for your cousin's incontinent cats.

• Leo L

  
  Here's an interesting movie about a group of friends wanting to make a successful movie. They decide to go out to a friend's Big Bear getaway when interests start to conflict when an idea becomes more than real. Worth seeing.

• Sean L

  
  it was pretty good. I didn't laugh all that much but the suspense scenes were really effective. The movie was really short and the last scene felt like it dragged on forever but other than that it was an enjoyable flick.

Read all 11 featured audience ratings