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Baghead PDF Print E-mail
Written by Saul Berenbaum   
Saturday, 09 August 2008
 
 
Visual:
 
7.0
Audio:
 
8.0
Acting:
 
10.0
Writing:
 
9.0
Overall:
 
9.0
Starring: Ross Partridge, Steve Zissis, Greta Gerwig, Elise Miller
Director(s): Jay Duplass, Mark Duplass
Writer(s): Jay Duplass, Mark Duplass
Genre: Comedy
Website: http://www.sonyclassics.com/baghead
Rated: R

Classifying Baghead into one genre is irresponsible and reckless. To call it a straight comedy or relationship piece is to open yourself to criticism from horror fans, and to call it a real horror film is using the term in the broadest manner conceiveable. It is, in fact, a subject of its own theories, headers and definitions. But it has none of those.

Welcome to Baghead, a film which, once experienced in its entirety, is nearly impossible not to enjoy. It has a nervous, creepy comedy about it that doesn't really fit with much else being put out today. It also has an air of terror that is unlike anything I've seen in a long, long time. It has elements of The Blair Witch Project but isn't told from a first-person perspective, and it has elements of the typical slasher but is far, far beyond atypical.

The comedy almost always hits its mark and even when it doesn't is touching in a sad, heartwarming way. The horror theory it presents is inspiring and constructed like a mobius strip of self-reflexiveness. There are pretty much four parts in the movie and all of them are effortlessly performed by a cast of total unknowns. Obviously a labor of immense devotion and love, but constructed with a seemingly nonexistent budget, it's a movie of wit, charm and magic. Oh, and it gets to be pretty fucking terrifying at parts.

What Baghead is - Really - won't be clear to you until the final black hits. A few moments before, your mind will most likely create a dozen different scenarios to branch off of, but they'll most likely be wrong. Even if you guess at one of the bigger mysteries of the film, you won't guess why. And even if you walk out not sure if you enjoyed it, you'll probably want to watch it again.

In regards to the audio and visual style, the score is manipulatively brilliant and Goblin-like in design, often repeating, always unsettling, and always engrossing. Like I said before, the camerawork is kinda Blair Witch, but also very The Mist, and in a crazy, fucktwisting way, it's some of the best work I've seen all year.

You'll notice I haven't said a word as to the film's plot, and that's because I respect its uniqueness enough to not devulge it. If you really want a synopsis, go to the film's site and watch the trailer, or read another review. You should know, though, that no matter what it's about - in the beginning, in the middle, in the end - Baghead kicks ass. See it.

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