Bagman

Bagman is essentially the definition of a generic horror movie. Nearly everything it attempts has been done before, and audiences are tired of these tropes. An evil entity tries to lure a young child away from its parents, who are too clueless to take effective action against it. There are cheap thrills, weak jump scares, foolish characters, and a child who sounds eerily similar to Gage Creed from Pet Sematary (1989).

Perhaps the most frustrating aspect is the parents' irrational behavior. When your child seems to be in danger and there are multiple break-ins at your home, you would make sure to stay close to your child. However, these parents do a remarkable job of ignoring their kid or keeping a significant distance, allowing the entity to enter the house undisturbed. There's also the typical exposition dump and one of the most generic modern horror plots imaginable.

Honestly, though, I kind of liked the entity, and I think there was some potential to create a decent horror movie with it as the antagonist. Unfortunately, the film fails to stand out amidst all the subpar horror being released today, making it hard to imagine that many people will enjoy it. While there were a few moments I appreciated, overall, it's far from good. [5.2/10]

This is just like all the other films with the same boogeyman premise. This "Pied Piper" uses a bag. That is pretty much all.

And because of the narrative skipping around the way it does, this is not only boring - it gets really confusing. So they couldn't even copy the formula in a productive way.

The effects are kinda meh. I guess there was music too. But it was probably some cliched horror music library of tiresomeness.

Oh and that dreadfully atrocious, terribly deplorable, shamefully abysmal, horrendously annoying, abominably appalling, stratospherically ear-piercing wooden deal that the kid treasures. Yeah, no.

This movie just wasn't my bag, man.

I mean come on... your house has been invaded 10 times and you still choose to watch your kid on a monitor, leave him unsupervised in a tub, and constantly move out of sight of the child to allow things to happen further? Where is the common sense meter when it comes to writing. I understand movies need suspense points but when you have to insult our intelligence to achieve suspense then that's just a recipe for a bad review. No parent will put their in law who has been attacked in the bed with them while they put their baby in another room to watch on a monitor. Lots of holes in the story and terrible editing. At one point a loud bang in the babies room and both parents started running somehow in that 2 seconds the wife was on the phone with the police. God this was awful.

While I had actually never heard about the 2024 horror movie "Bagman" prior to sitting down to watch it, there would be no doubt about me actually sitting down to watch it. Why? Well, given a life-long romance with the horror genre ensures that any horror movie available gets a fair chance.

Writer John Hulme put together a script and storyline that definitely had potential. However, the narrative suffered from the fact that the movie had no ups and down. It was a pretty monotonous viewing experience, fairly devoid of anything particularly scary or thrilling. A shame really, because there definitely were potential to the storyline and script. Just a shame that it sort of fell short of delivering.

The only performer on the cast list that I was familiar with was William Hope, and he only had a supportive role to play. I will say, however, that the acting performances in the movie were fair, despite of only having a mundane script to work with.

Visually, the movie was okay. It was not a horror movie that relied heavily on special effects, and the effects that were in the movie were good enough. However, the design of the bagman itself just wasn't overly impressive, and the grand reveal once the hood was pulled back was sort of anti-climatic.

Watchable, for sure, but director Colm McCarthy just didn't deliver an outstanding or particularly memorable horror movie. And I doubt that I will ever return to watch the movie a second time.

If you are a horror aficionado, such as I am, give the movie a chance; you might just happen to find it more enjoyable than I did.

My rating of "Bagman" lands on a four out of ten stars.

"Bagman" (2024) is a horror film that explores the terror of a family haunted by a malevolent entity. While it delivers some effective scares and a chilling atmosphere, the film ultimately falters due to predictable plot points and a lack of originality.

The movie effectively uses sound design, lighting, and a secluded setting to create a sense of dread and unease. The jump scares, though frequent, are well-timed and genuinely startling. The performances, particularly from leads Sam Claflin and Antonia Thomas, are commendable, conveying the characters' fear and vulnerability convincingly.

However, "Bagman" suffers from a reliance on familiar horror tropes. The plot follows a predictable pattern, with the family members making questionable decisions that escalate the danger. The antagonist, while visually unsettling, lacks a compelling backstory or motivation, reducing it to a generic force of evil.

Furthermore, the pacing feels uneven. Some scenes drag, while others feel rushed, disrupting the flow of the narrative. The film also fails to delve deeper into the psychological impact of the terror on the family, focusing primarily on the physical threats.

Despite its shortcomings, "Bagman" offers a decent dose of jump scares and a chilling atmosphere for horror enthusiasts. However, those seeking originality or a more nuanced exploration of fear may find it underwhelming.