Hosted by a creepy coroner (played by director John Carpenter), Body Bags features three tales of the macabre. First up is “The Gas Station”, in which college student Anne (Alex Datcher) spends her first overnight shift as a gas station attendant worrying about a serial killer on the loose.
The second segment, titled “Hair”, centers on Richard Coberts (Stacy Keach), a middle-aged man who is losing his hair. Fearing this will affect his relationship with girlfriend Megan (Sheena Easton), Richard tries everything to keep from going bald, finally deciding to put his trust in Dr. Lock (David Warner), who has developed a revolutionary new procedure that is guaranteed to grow hair.
Closing out the trilogy of tales is “Eye”, the only of the three not directed by Carpenter (Tobe Hooper took the reins for this one). Minor league baseball player Brent Matthews (Mark Hamill) is on a hitting streak, and is sure to get called up to the big leagues. Unfortunately, a car accident costs him his right eye, bringing his career to an abrupt end. But all is not lost; Dr. Lang (John Agar), a surgeon, tells Brent about a potential medical breakthrough, a procedure in which Brent will receive an eye transplant. The operation proves a success, but when Brent starts experiencing grisly visions, he can’t help but wonder whose eye he received.
One of the most entertaining aspects of Body Bags is its cast. “The Gas Station” co-stars Robert Carradine as Anne’s co-worker; David Naughton as a customer who drives off without his credit card; and filmmakers Sam Raimi and Wes Craven, who turn up in cameos. Along with Keach, Easton and Warner, “Hair” also stars Debbie harry as Dr. Lock’s flirtatious nurse, with brief appearances by model Kim Alexis and make-up effects artist extraordinaire Greg Nicotero. In “Eye”, Hamill and Agar are joined by Twiggy (as Brent’s wife) and Roger Corman (as Brent’s first doctor). Even Carpenter’s wraparound segments feature a couple of fun cameos when co—director Hooper and Tom Arnold turn up at the end as a pair of Morgue workers.
Still, there’s more to Body Bags than its star-studded cast. The segments themselves run the gambit, giving us thrills and suspense (whenever a new customer turns up in “The Gas Station”, we, like Anne, wonder if it might be the serial killer); comedy (there are some funny scenes, and a couple of laugh-out-loud moments in “Hair”); and psychological horror (Hamill does a fine job in “Eye” as the baseball player tormented by violent visions he cannot explain, and which may be transforming him into a killer).
Tying them all together is John Carpenter, clearly having a blast (under some fairly grotesque make-up) as the wise-cracking morgue attendant who enjoys spending time among the dead, especially those corpses that met a violent end.
Body Bags was initially designed to be a half-hour television series, to rival HBO’s hugely popular Tales from the Crypt. Showtime, however, nixed the idea, so what would have been the first three episodes of a new show instead became this anthology film.
And as entertaining as Body Bags is, I can’t help but wonder what might have been had the series been green-lighted.
Rating: 8.5 out of 10
Forensic specialist Viktor Burakov (Stephen Rea), recently assigned to the post by his superior, Col. Fetisov (Donald Sutherland), finds himself dealing with an obvious serial killer when the decomposed bodies of seven children are found in a forest near Rostov. Promoted by Fetisov to be lead detective on the case, Burakov spends the better part of the next decade trying to track down a killer who refuses to stop, stabbing and mutilating child after child before (in some instances) sexually assaulting their remains.
Frustrated at every turn, both by the lack of evidence and the increasing pressure put on him by Bondarchuk (Joss Ackland), the head of the local Soviet crime committee and a staunch Communist, Burakov’s mental state slowly disintegrates. Yet he continues searching for a monster who, until he is behind bars, will never stop his reign of terror.
Like a good many movies in which a determined investigator faces off against bureaucrats, Citizen X features obligatory scenes where Bondarchuk, well-played by Ackland, continually criticizes Burakov’s methods, including his desire to speak with the American F.B.I. and compare notes, a request that Bondarchuk and the rest of the committee immediately deny. More than this, Bondarchuk often interferes in a way that is far from helpful, at one point insisting that Burakov release a potential suspect because he is a “Communist in good standing”.
As I said, these showdowns are nothing new for this sort of movie, but it is only a small fraction of Citizen X, and, though well-handled, pale in comparison to what makes it a truly unique motion picture.
First off is the relationship that develops between Rea’s Burakov and Sutherland’s Fetisov. During their first encounter, when Bukarov announces to the committee he believes there is a serial killer on the loose, Fetisov is dismissive and even insulting towards his newest subordinate. In their initial exchanges, we are firmly on Burakov’s side, and like him, believe Fetisov is covering his own ass, a high-ranking official who wants to keep his nose clean, rarely going to bat for Burakov. But then, like Burakov, we realize over time that we may be wrong about Fetisov. Watching their relationship move from one of animosity to something more substantial was a twist I wasn’t expecting, and both Rea (who won Best Actor at the Stiges Film Festival for his performance here) and Sutherland (who took home both a Primetime Emmy and a Golden Globe for his turn as Fetisov), are outstanding throughout.
But where Citizen X really impressed me were the scenes in which we watch the killer at work. Unlike the film’s central characters, we know in the first 10 minutes who it is that’s committing these horrible crimes: Andrei Chikatilo, played brilliantly by Jeffrey DeMunn. A husband and father of two, we spend a little time with Chikatilo outside of the murders, witnessing moments between him and his abusive wife (including one very uncomfortable sexual encounter shared by the two) and his run-ins with his superior at work, who also goes out of his way to embarrass Chikatilo. Yet even in these scenes, writer / director Chris Gerolmo is careful not to develop too much sympathy for his killer, and these moments are balanced with us tagging along with Chikatilo as he stalks his prey, lures them into the woods, and brutally stabs them numerous times (often, his victims are well under 12 years old). The killings seem more violent than they truly are (save one or two, which get pretty graphic), yet every single one is upsetting to watch. We understand Chikatilo, but we do not like him, and never once do we root for him to elude the justice that is closing in.
Released in 1996, Citizen X marks yet another venture into Communist Russia produced by HBO, after 1985’s Gulag and the magnificent 1990 biopic Stalin. With Citizen X, they round out what I’d recommend as a damn fine afternoon triple feature.
Rating: 9 out of 10
Directed By: Fraser Clarke Heston
Starring: Charlton Heston, Christian Bale, Oliver Reed
Tag line: "Sail the high seas. Battle the pirates. Live the adventure"
Trivia: The ship used in the film is The Bounty from the 1962 production of Mutiny on the Bounty
Yet another adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's timeless adventure story, Treasure Island is told from the perspective of Jim Hawkins (Christian Bale), a young boy serving aboard the Hispaniola, a ship bound for a place known only as “Treasure Island”. According to a map that once belonged to the drunken "Captain" Billy Bones (Oliver Reed), this is where the late pirate Flint buried a fortune in gold and jewels.
But aside from a few honest men, including Dr. Livesey (Julian Glover), Squire Trelawney (Richard Johnson) and Captain Smollett (Clive Wood), the entire crew of the Hispaniola is made up of pirates, all of whom are biding their time, waiting for their chance to take over the ship
Led by Long John Silver (Charlton Heston), the brigands plan to seize the Hispaniola the moment the treasure is on-board. But thanks to Jim, who has gained Long John’s trust, their devious plot is revealed, leading to a stand-off for which neither the pirates nor the honest men are fully prepared.
One can’t discuss this made-for-TV movie without mentioning its all-star cast. Oliver Reed seems the natural choice to portray Billy Bones, the gruff, hard-drinking former pirate who ultimately turns the treasure map over to young Jim Hawkins, and Christopher Lee has a brief but memorable appearance as Blind Pew, one of Flint’s men who come looking for said map.
Having grown accustomed to seeing Charlton Heston play the hero, which he did in a number of epic films (Ben-Hur, El-Cid, The Ten Commandments), his turn as the treacherous Long John Silver was a welcome change of pace, and he's damn good in the part. While Heston does, at times, come across as a likable foe (due mostly to the friendship he forges with Jim), there’s enough of a scoundrel left in his Silver to make him a dangerous adversary.
As for the good guys, Richard Johnson is at his best as the boisterous Squire who, on occasion, allows greed to cloud his judgment; and Julian Glover’s Livesey is, in every situation, the perfect gentleman. Then there’s the Dark Knight himself, Christian Bale, who, though only 15 when Treasure Island was produced, manages to hold his own alongside the film’s more experienced stars.
Directed by Heston’s son Fraser, Treasure Island makes great use of its various settings (aside from the scenes that take place at sea, portions of the movie were shot on-location in Cornwall and Jamaica). This, the convincing period costumes, a good number of exciting scenes, and the tremendous performances all work in unison to bring Stevenson’s literary classic convincingly to life.