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Movies / On DVD / Baghead
Baghead

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Baghead (2008)

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Reviews Counted:87

Fresh:67

Rotten:20

Average Rating:6.6/10

Consensus: Pitting actors against murderers in a self-aware struggle for stardom, Baghead successfully skates the borders of horror and comedy.

Rated: R [See Full Rating] for language, some sexual content and nudity.

Runtime: 84 mins

Genre: Comedies

Theatrical Release:Jun 13, 2008 Limited

Synopsis: Following up on the surprise success of their micro-budget production THE PUFFY CHAIR (2005), brothers Jay and Mark Duplass turn their handheld DV camera toward skewering the pretentiousness of the... Following up on the surprise success of their micro-budget production THE PUFFY CHAIR (2005), brothers Jay and Mark Duplass turn their handheld DV camera toward skewering the pretentiousness of the independent film world while tossing in a few horror film scares for good measure. The result is entertaining and unique, with enough laughs, insight, and excitement for adventurous viewers. After seeing the accolades heaped up on a colleague for his laughable film (WE ARE NAKED) at a Los Angeles film festival, Matt (Ross Partridge) decides that he can do better. With his sometime girlfriend, Catherine (Elise Muller), and friends Michelle (Greta Gerwig, HANNAH TAKES THE STAIRS) and Chad (Steve Zissis) in tow, they immediately set off to a cabin in the woods for the weekend to create the film that will make them all famous on the festival circuit. While Chad focuses his energy on winning the affections of uninterested Michelle, Matt comes up with the cinematic construct of a stranger with a paper bag on his head terrorizing a group of people in the woods. After the initial evening of alcoholic brainstorming, though, the idea becomes reality, and the friends' relationships are tested as they find themselves in a truly scary situation. The idea for BAGHEAD was hatched on the set of the THE PUFFY CHAIR when, during a discussion requesting those involved to think of the scariest thing imaginable, someone said, "A guy with a bag on his head staring into your window." Though it may be a flimsy starting point for a film, the Duplasses surround the idea with a believable cast, truthful insight into relationships, and a few genuine chills. The result is clever, funny, and refreshingly difficult to classify. [More]

Starring: Steve Zissis, Ross Partridge, Greta Gerwig, Elise Muller

Starring: Steve Zissis, Ross Partridge, Greta Gerwig, Elise Muller

Director: Jay Duplass, Mark Duplass

Director: Jay Duplass, Mark Duplass
Screenwriter: Jay Duplass, Mark Duplass
Producer: Jay Duplass, Mark Duplass, John Bryant
Composer: J Scott Howard
Studio: Sony Pictures Classics

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Dec 27, 2008

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Reviews for Baghead

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1 - 20 (sorted by rotten rating)
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N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch | comment Comment
10/18/08
St. Louis Post-Dispatch

The truth eventually comes out, as it must, and it's not exactly a stunner.

Full Review Source: Arizona Republic | comment Comment
09/18/08
Bill Goodykoontz
Bill Goodykoontz
Arizona Republic

Once the threat arrives, I was praying to return to the childish mating rituals of these monotonous characters. Watching lousy actors try to express heartache through limited gifts is far more frightening than any masked, crazed killer.

Full Review Source: BrianOrndorf.com | comment Comment
07/24/08
Brian Orndorf
Brian Orndorf
BrianOrndorf.com

Baghead's got exactly one joke to exploit -- it's a relationship movie masquerading as a horror movie -- and proceeds to beat it to death.

Full Review Source: Las Vegas Review-Journal | comment Comment
09/05/08
Carol Cling
Carol Cling
Las Vegas Review-Journal

What could have been an amusing short subject, the Duplass Brothers' not-quite-horror/not-quite-comedy drags its one note premise out to an almost mind-numbing 84 minutes.

Full Review Source: FilmJerk.com | comment Comment
07/25/08
Edward Havens
Edward Havens
FilmJerk.com

The Duplass brothers waste a perfectly good porno premise by getting meta on our asses

Full Review Source: CinePassion | comment Comment
08/26/09
Fernando F. Croce
Fernando F. Croce
CinePassion

I felt like putting a bag over MY head.

Full Review Source: Philadelphia Daily News | comment 1 Comment
08/08/08
Gary Thompson
Gary Thompson
Philadelphia Daily News

The problem with Baghead isn't that it's cheaply made but that it's sloppily composed.

Full Review Source: ReelViews | comment Comment
08/05/08
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli
ReelViews
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The plot is tired, the actors are not much good, the situation is way too familiar, there is no humor or fright in sight.

Full Review Source: San Diego Metropolitan | comment Comment
10/18/08
Jean Lowerison
Jean Lowerison
San Diego Metropolitan

Too bad the characters are so rote. The women are almost nonentities, and the bond between the men borders on the maudlin. The actors are often better than their lines.

Full Review Source: Seattle Times | comment Comment
08/08/08
John Hartl
John Hartl
Seattle Times

The Duplass brothers find themselves sucked into conventions that even their too-cool detachment can’t compensate for.

Full Review Source: Time Out New York | comment Comment
07/24/08
Joshua Rothkopf
Joshua Rothkopf
Time Out New York

An extended navel gaze.

Full Review Source: UGO | comment Comment
10/22/08
Keith Uhlich
Keith Uhlich
UGO

It's clear that horror isn't really the Duplass' forte: The simple scenes of these four aspiring filmmakers sitting around a table, brainstorming ideas while tearing each other apart are more interesting than all that running and screaming.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
08/08/08
Ken Fox
Ken Fox
TV Guide's Movie Guide

Jay and Mark Duplass -- the brothers who wrote, directed and produced this bauble -- take literally two-thirds of the film to come to a very small point.

Full Review Source: Charlotte Observer | comment Comment
08/29/08
Lawrence Toppman
Lawrence Toppman
Charlotte Observer

Trouble is, it's never really funny or really scary, and a lot of it is hugely predictable.

Full Review Source: Jam! Movies | comment Comment
08/08/08
Liz Braun
Liz Braun
Jam! Movies

Satire, you see, requires the sort of artistic discipline that is anathema to mumblecore filmmakers.

Full Review Source: New York Post | comment Comment
07/25/08
Lou Lumenick
Lou Lumenick
New York Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

For the Duplass' film about these talentless slackers to work - both as a drama and then as a horror film -- it's essential that we care about the characters. I couldn't do it.

Full Review Source: About.com | comment Comment
07/24/08
Marcy Dermansky
Marcy Dermansky
About.com

The co-directors and co-writers, Jay and Mark Duplass, appear to be saying, 'Hey, we are the new emperors of the independent cinema. And guess what? We have no clothes.'

Full Review Source: Baltimore Sun | comment 1 Comment
09/05/08
Michael Sragow
Michael Sragow
Baltimore Sun

He [baghead] is obviously simply a device to make the movie long enough to qualify as a feature, and the denouement will be one of stunning underwhelmingness.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
08/01/08
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Even in the spookiest woods in the dead of night, there will be no difficulty figuring this one out.

Full Review Source: Philadelphia Inquirer | comment Comment
08/08/08
Steven Rea
Steven Rea
Philadelphia Inquirer
 
 
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Latest News for Baghead

June 20, 2008: Baghead: A Mumblecore Mix of Laughs and Screams Opens in new window
A guy with a bag on his head can play out a couple of ways. The Unknown Comic went for laughs. Recent films such as "The Orphanage" and "The Strangers" go for straight scares.... More...

May 11, 2008: Trailer & Poster review Opens in new window
More...

May 06, 2008: trailer and trailer review Opens in new window
More...

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