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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.

Runtime: 84 mins

Genre: Comedies

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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Reviews for Baghead

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 >> >|
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A wildly funny parody of low-budget horror cinema.

Full Review Source: Screen International | comment Comment
10/18/08
David D'Arcy
David D'Arcy
Screen International

There are some humorous and touching moments in Baghead, but the actors lack the finesse needed to make us really feel for their characters.

Full Review Source: Washington Times | comment Comment
08/30/09
Sonny Bunch
Sonny Bunch
Washington Times

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

That documentary-like naturalism might be a bit much for some viewers, but Baghead is still an intriguing film, as the Duplass brothers construct genuine suspense while toying with their audience's expectations.

Full Review Source: Times-Picayune | comment Comment
08/14/09
Mike Scott
Mike Scott
Times-Picayune

Baghead delivers more scares with its paper masked stalker than Jason and Michael Myers combined in their respective reboots.

Full Review Source: What Would Toto Watch? | comment Comment
07/05/09
Christian Toto
Christian Toto
What Would Toto Watch?

An extended navel gaze.

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

Click to read the article

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

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

Just when you think the film is about to zig, it zags and heads another direction. And it's smart enough to cut things short before it wears out its welcome and before it gets too predictable.

Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
10/18/08
Jeff Vice
Jeff Vice
Deseret News, Salt Lake City

Alternately funny and scary, 'Baghead' suggests that 'The Blair Witch Project' may be as responsible for mumblecore as any of the self-consciously anti-commercial movies that usually are credited with jump-starting the trend.

Full Review Source: Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN) | comment Comment
09/19/08
John Beifuss
John Beifuss
Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)

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

I want to shout, not mumble, that the Duplasses are a couple of the most promising filmmakers out there.

Full Review Source: Arizona Daily Star | comment Comment
09/11/08
Phil Villarreal
Phil Villarreal
Arizona Daily Star

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

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

Baghead is best in its first half, when it's just about a group of four friends trying to escape the ruts their lives have become.

Full Review Source: Las Vegas Weekly | comment Comment
09/04/08
Josh Bell
Josh Bell
Las Vegas Weekly

A refreshingly brisk and modest salvo from the American independent film front, proving there's still interesting life in the scruffy, shot-on-video genre.

Full Review Source: Miami Herald | comment Comment
08/29/08
Rene Rodriguez
Rene Rodriguez
Miami Herald

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

Alternately hilarious, subtly sinister, and finally poignant, Baghead is not quite like any other film in memory.

Full Review Source: DustinPutman.com | comment Comment
08/23/08
Dustin Putman
Dustin Putman
DustinPutman.com

Baghead is at its best when it captures the subtleties of romantic machinations, macho power plays and the indignity of women aging in Hollywood.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
08/21/08
Ann Hornaday
Ann Hornaday
Washington Post

Compared to films such as Tropic Thunder and The Blair Witch Project, Baghead's poke at the film industry and attempt at verite horror are a little like making vroom-vroom noises next to a Porsche.

Full Review Source: Let's Not Listen | comment Comment
08/20/08
Tricia Olszewski
Tricia Olszewski
Let's Not Listen
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 >> >|
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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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