A mixed bag amongst an impressive body of work, John Carpenter's "Body Bags" is an inessential yet perfectly enjoyable digression. What was originally conceived as the pilot for what would've been a full- fledged series (ala HBO's "Tales From The Crypt,") instead emerged as a TV movie on the Showtime network. A three-part horror anthology spliced with cut scenes featuring the director himself as an undead mortician, "Body Bags" is an oddity that the Carpenter faithful (as well as any fan of anthologies and/or horror-comedy) will want to seek out, but not necessarily required viewing.
To hear John Carpenter tell it on the featurette included with the Scream Factory Blu-Ray, "Body Bags" was anything but a passion project. In fact, the director claims he didn't even like anthology films! That being the case, it certainly doesn't show in the final product. Whether it's the goofy intermissions from Carpenter hamming it up in full-on rotting makeup or the slew of horror-friendly cameos, "Body Bags" looks and feels like a big boat-load of fun. Maybe it was intended as an easy payday, but that vibe certainly doesn't translate to the screen.
The first segment is a very Carpenter-esque tale. "The Gas Station" finds a young woman (Alex Datcher) working her first graveyard shift at a gas station just outside of Haddonfield, IL (the same location from "Halloween," for those keeping score). Thankfully she is protected by a thick glass partition between her and creeps like Buck Flowers (!), but when she steps out for a brief second, the door locks behind her and things quickly get out of hand. Featuring the director's signature slow-burning suspense methods, "The Gas Station" is the smoothest of the three segments to go down and may very well even get under your skin if you let it. Look out for cameos from Wes Craven, Sam Raimi and David Naughton.
Next up comes "Hair." Certainly the silliest of the three segments, this one follows Stacy Keach as an aging womanizer who is obsessed with with his rapidly diminishing hairline. In order to keep his young ladyfriend (Sheena Easton) at his side, he enlists the help of a deceiving miracle drug salesman, played by the indispensable David Warner. Before long, he realizes he got more than he bargained for when tiny alien lifeforms start taking over his face. A showcase for Keach's undeniable commitment to the material and some truly impressive special effects (at least by 1993 TV standards), "Hair" doesn't have much else going for it. Not bad, but definitely could have used some trimming.
Finally, the film wraps with "Eye." For this piece, the director's chair is passed to none other than Tobe Hooper. This one is a little darker and more mean-spirited than the other two. In it, a minor league baseball player at the top of his game succumbs to a brutal car accident that leaves him with only one eye. As in "Hair," our hapless hero gets more than he wished for when his new implant takes him down dark paths. Mark Hamill plays the sympathetic character gone bad to perfection, alongside model Twiggy, who plays his devoted wife. This one is well done to be sure, but not quite as "fun" as the other two. Hamill's creepy performance goes a long way in elevating the material, delivering some moments you aren't soon to forget.
When you zip it all up, "Body Bags" is a nice chunk of late-night entertainment that more or less delivers. It's not a classic in either Carpenter or Hooper's oeuvre, but worth looking into regardless. While it would have been great to have seen what a weekly horror anthology series hosted by Carpenter would have looked like, this brief glimpse will have to suffice.
To hear John Carpenter tell it on the featurette included with the Scream Factory Blu-Ray, "Body Bags" was anything but a passion project. In fact, the director claims he didn't even like anthology films! That being the case, it certainly doesn't show in the final product. Whether it's the goofy intermissions from Carpenter hamming it up in full-on rotting makeup or the slew of horror-friendly cameos, "Body Bags" looks and feels like a big boat-load of fun. Maybe it was intended as an easy payday, but that vibe certainly doesn't translate to the screen.
The first segment is a very Carpenter-esque tale. "The Gas Station" finds a young woman (Alex Datcher) working her first graveyard shift at a gas station just outside of Haddonfield, IL (the same location from "Halloween," for those keeping score). Thankfully she is protected by a thick glass partition between her and creeps like Buck Flowers (!), but when she steps out for a brief second, the door locks behind her and things quickly get out of hand. Featuring the director's signature slow-burning suspense methods, "The Gas Station" is the smoothest of the three segments to go down and may very well even get under your skin if you let it. Look out for cameos from Wes Craven, Sam Raimi and David Naughton.
Next up comes "Hair." Certainly the silliest of the three segments, this one follows Stacy Keach as an aging womanizer who is obsessed with with his rapidly diminishing hairline. In order to keep his young ladyfriend (Sheena Easton) at his side, he enlists the help of a deceiving miracle drug salesman, played by the indispensable David Warner. Before long, he realizes he got more than he bargained for when tiny alien lifeforms start taking over his face. A showcase for Keach's undeniable commitment to the material and some truly impressive special effects (at least by 1993 TV standards), "Hair" doesn't have much else going for it. Not bad, but definitely could have used some trimming.
Finally, the film wraps with "Eye." For this piece, the director's chair is passed to none other than Tobe Hooper. This one is a little darker and more mean-spirited than the other two. In it, a minor league baseball player at the top of his game succumbs to a brutal car accident that leaves him with only one eye. As in "Hair," our hapless hero gets more than he wished for when his new implant takes him down dark paths. Mark Hamill plays the sympathetic character gone bad to perfection, alongside model Twiggy, who plays his devoted wife. This one is well done to be sure, but not quite as "fun" as the other two. Hamill's creepy performance goes a long way in elevating the material, delivering some moments you aren't soon to forget.
When you zip it all up, "Body Bags" is a nice chunk of late-night entertainment that more or less delivers. It's not a classic in either Carpenter or Hooper's oeuvre, but worth looking into regardless. While it would have been great to have seen what a weekly horror anthology series hosted by Carpenter would have looked like, this brief glimpse will have to suffice.