User reviews

Three stories courtesy of John Carpenter and Tobe Hooper, sounds like it can't miss, right? The results are mixed, but pretty interesting all the same.

The Gas Station is vintage Carpenter. Here he maximizes the effect from a truly simple premise and creates a genuinely scary story. It's simple, but the final minutes are riddled with tension and general uneasiness. The best of the bunch.

Hair is a truly funny story with a terrific performance by Stacy Keach. It goes way over the top towards the end, but still, it's highly amusing for the most part.

Eye, the weakest of the three, due to it's complete and utter predictability and complete failure of generating any real chills. It's fun to see Hamill and it's pretty gory but that's about it.

One terrific story, one pretty good and one pretty bad, all in all, it's worth watching but it's nothing spectacular.

In this early-90s, Tales From The Crypt-style, made-for-TV anthology from masters of horror John Carpenter and Tobe Hooper, creepy morgue attendee The Coroner (played by Carpenter, whose acting is nowhere near as good as his directing) unzips three tales of the macabre…

Tale number one, The Gas Station, is directed by Carpenter, and stars Alex Datcher as Anne, whose first night as a gas station attendant doesn't go quite as planned when she is targeted by a serial killer. Operating well within his comfort zone, Carpenter returns to the same bag of tricks he used years earlier for his seminal blockbuster Halloween, delivering a tense, atmospheric piece that, while not exactly groundbreaking thematically or visually (one shot, in particular, is lifted directly from Halloween), still proves to be a lot of fun. Datcher makes for a likable scream queen, there's quite a bit of enjoyment to be had from guessing which of the station's patrons might be the killer, and we get a few welcome cameos from some well-known horror luminaries.

Hair, Carpenter's second offering, also sees the director visiting familiar territory: a They Live-style story of aliens operating undercover on Earth, it sees desperate, balding, middle-aged man Richard Coberts (Stacy Keach) visiting an experimental hair clinic that guarantees overnight results. Unfortunately for Richard, his new lustrous locks are actually minute parasitic extraterrestrials that intend to feed on his brain!!! With such a patently silly concept, Carpenter has no option but to play this one for laughs, and amazingly, it works, with the balding Keach proving that he has quite the sense of humour. Hair also features decent turns from David Warner as sinister Dr. Lock, Debbie Harry as his kooky nurse, and Sheena Easton as Cobert's sexy girlfriend Megan.

In contrast to the light-hearted nature of Hair, the third and final segment, Eye, is a much darker affair. Directed by Tobe Hooper, it tells of up and coming baseball player Brent Matthews (Mark Hamill), whose career looks to be over when he crashes his car, losing his right eye as a result (a shard of glass piercing the organ). However, thanks to a revolutionary eye-transplant procedure, he regains full vision, but at a cost: his new eyeball causes him to have horrific visions and gradually alters his personality. Yet another scary story to borrow heavily from horror classic The Hands of Orlac, this is extremely derivative stuff, but thanks to solid direction from Hooper, some cool gore, a surprisingly strong central performance from Hamill, and a neat downbeat ending, Eye proves to be a delightfully twisted and thoroughly enjoyable way to wrap up this fun little flick.

John Carpenter presents "Body Bags", in which it reads true as he plays very-well looking coroner (well he might not be as what he seems) late at night fooling around in a morgue, while spitting out macabre jokes (visual and verbal) and then introducing us to three buoyant little stories. They range from horrific, humorous and simply bizarre with a "Tales from the Crypt" spin to them. In this low-budget TV production Carpenter would direct the first two; "The Gas Station" and "Hair", but the third story "The Eye" would be fronted by director Tobe Hopper. Carpenter and Hooper wouldn't be the only recognizable names, as the cast line-up is rather mouth-watering. You got Stacy Keach, David Warner, Mark Hamill, David Naughton, Robert Carradine, Deborah Harry, Twiggy, George Buck Flower, Charles Napier, John Agar, Roger Corman and a minor cameo from Tom Arnold. Also some horror participants have tiny parts; Sam Ramini, Wes Craven, Tobe Hooper and make-up/special effects maestro Gregory Nicotero.

The first story; "The Gas Station" starring Alex Datcher, Robert Carrdine and David Naughton is probably my favourite of the lot. It's the most straight-forward, but effectively atmospheric (very well photographed with its encroaching angles) and suspenseful, which sees a lady on her first day of the job looking over an isolated gas station late one-night night, where she becomes a target of a satanic serial killer. Quite high-tempo with its grounded cat-and-mouse layout. You really do feel the growing unease displayed by Datcher's character and the tension that unfolds from its eerily forlorn backdrop, but this exercise into familiarity just works. Some fruity characters also helps, and it's not without its parodying humour either to balance it out.

"Hair" the second story, starts off with a natural fear before becoming quite an offbeat and quirky entry which sees Stacy Keach being plagued by the fear of losing his hair. After trying everything to combat it, he seeks treatment from a specialist doctor. It works --- lovely long hair, but at what cost. Keach is a blast in the lead and he shares terrific on-screen chemistry with the likes of Sheena Easton, David Warner and a colourful Debbie Harry. Witty dialogues and a nice sense of wicked cruelty in a revelation that's just plain crazy.

Finally we end off with Hooper's "The Eye". A brooding supernatural tale that has Mark Hamill an up-and coming baseball player in a terrible car accident, where he loses his right eye. However a doctor offers him the chance to get that sight back in an eye transplant but there's no guarantee it will work. However it does, but soon he's plagued by headaches and visions --- dark and disturbing ones. This one takes on a more serious approach compared with the previous outings with an excellently confident Mark Hamill with good support by Twiggy. The story might be predictable, but it's well-paced where the inflicted transformation of our edgy central character is suitably pitched. Some ghastly shocks moments show up too.

Joining it up is the enjoyably warped wrap-around segment with Carpenter (where Rick Baker did the make-up for) and this sees the cameo turns of Hooper and Arnold at the end. The dialogues might be what you most remember, but some of the decors on show in this segment are amusingly executed.

As a whole it's a complete package with the stories perfectly complementing each other. They might not be spectacular, but I liked the three.

Good, fun comic horror anthology opus by Carpenter and co.

BODY BAGS is a lot of fun until the unrelentingly grim final segment directed by Tobe Hooper, which is the best thing Hooper has done since Texas CHAINSAW MASSACRE 2. The other two segments are directed by John Carpenter, who also appears as a Crypt-Keeper-like character, and demonstrates why he has spent most of his time behind the camera.

Overall, I like the movie very much. The first segment is good, but also the weakest of the three. It also feels oddly out of place, as the next two stories both deal with medical horror, while it is simply a 50's style slasher-on-the-loose yarn. Despite the slight subject matter (and a poor performance by Alex Datcher in the lead role), it's a solid chiller with some good scares. David Naughton, Robert Carradine and Peter Jason are all good in supporting roles, while fellow horror directors Sam Raimi and Wes Craven have creepy cameos.

The second segment is great, and, unlike the other two, is an out-out comedy. Stacey Keach turns in one of his very best performances as a middle-aged man who dreads the prospect of going bald, and decides to try out a new experimental technique developed by scientist David Warner. It leads up to a great finale that is as disturbing as it is funny. Singers Deborah Harry and Sheena Easton have supporting parts.

The final segment is the polar opposite of the second. As stated earlier, it's directed by Tobe Hooper, and he shows a sense of the macabre here that he hasn't displayed since his CHAINSAW/FUNHOUSE days. A veteran baseball player is in a car accident which results in his eye being poked out. A surgeon suggests an experimental eye transplant. Unfortunately, the donor eye belonged to a homicidal maniac, and Hammill begins having nightmarish hallucinations and bouts of uncontrollable rage. The climax of the segment is unbelievably cruel and grim, recalling Hooper's early work. It's a genuinely unsettling and horrific little flick. Twiggy, Charles Napier, as well as horror icons John Agar and Roger Corman appear.

Carpenter's antics as the narrator are uncomfortably flat, and things don't get any better when an irritating Tom Arnold and a clueless Hooper show up in cameo roles as well. Despite the weak wraparound, I recommend this anthology to horror fans, particularly fans of the two directors' work.

This was a pilot episode for a possible series on Showtime. Showtime wanted to spend less money on it, so the idea was aborted and John Carpenter continued to make feature films. All three episodes are packed with guest appearances and cameos by many great actors and horror directors. Performances in all of them are excellent and each episode has a different tone and style. The first is somewhat of a slasher. The second is a bizarre comedy with sci fi elements. Both of those were directed by John Carpenter. The third is the darkest and is directed by Tobe Hooper. Body Bags has a lot of actors that are very talented, but very underrated that normally don't get to do this type of stuff like Robert Carradine and Mark Hamill. Stacy Keach is always excellent as well and does great here. As far as I am concerned the Tales From The Crypt series on HBO is the best anthology horror there is. Body Bags would have made a good series and could have been able to compete with it if it could maintain this sort of quality. John Carpenter is the host of this show and has the right delivery and the right hair to keep up with The Cryptkeeper.

Movie-buffs (and perhaps horror fanatics in particular) are strange and unpredictable beings, aren't they? Most of the time we're extremely skeptical and criticize ambitious new projects, yet sometimes we're easily pleased and highly enthusiast about something that is completely derivative, mundane and unoriginal. "Body Bags" is the perfect example to illustrate that: it's a horror omnibus existing of three incredibly prototypic segments and a repetitive type of wraparound story, yet I personally enjoyed it immensely. This is a good old-fashioned "sit back, relax and switch off all brain functions" type of anthology with a nice diversity in suspense, comedy, splatter and absurdity. Yet, the undeniable strongpoint of "Body Bags" is the all-star horror cast and crew, with legendary actors and even directors of the genre appearing in fun supportive roles and insignificant cameos. No less than John Carpenter directs two out of three stories and even stars as the host in the wraparound story. Clearly inspired by "Tales from the Crypt", Carpenter plays the witty and morbid morgue employee exactly like the infamous Crypt Keeper; though with still a little more flesh around the bones (though not too much). The first story was the most effective one! Regardless of how clichéd, repetitive and predictable "The Gas Station" is, it's a genuine horror entertainment. With the landmark "Halloween", Carpenter obviously proved he's the undeniable master of stalk-and-slash movies, and "The Gas Station" ideally fits the pattern. During her first night working in a remote gas station, Anne receives a visit from the maniacal killer who's been terrorizing the area since weeks. It's a highly segment with cool red herrings, dumb decisions, some good gore and a neatly uncanny atmosphere. The remaining two stories are slightly less overpowering, mainly because they revolve on sillier topics. "Hair" introduces an aging playboy who cannot accept his hairline becoming thinner. He desperately starts seeking for a hair-growing method that works and finds the incredibly treatment of the slightly odd Dr. Lock. Needless to say Richard's new hairdo begins to lead its own life with terrible consequences. "Hair" is obviously the most blackly comical chapter of the three. This story isn't gory or tense, but it's a very likable satire about vanity. Finally, "Eye" centers on a successful and happily married athlete who loses his eye in a tragic car accident. He spontaneously volunteers for a brand new and risky eye-transplant procedure and slowly begins to carry on with his life. Shortly after, he begins to suffer from horrific visions and learns the eye's previous owner was a sadistic serial killer. "Eye" starts off a little slow and dull, but gradually turns into an exciting and gruesome little shock-story. With a bit of imagination, you could even interpret this segment as some sort of predecessor for the more famous Asian ghost story "The Eye". Admittedly none of the stories are extraordinary brilliant or innovating, but they're definitely traditional and enthusiastically made. And, as said already, if you don't care about the actual stories, you can always yourself entertain by playing "spot-the-horror-star". "Body Bags" boosts an amazing cast including John Carpenter ("Halloween"), Tobe Hooper ("The Texas Chainsaw Massacre"), Sam Raimi ("The Evil Dead"), Roger Corman ("Pit and the Pendulum"), Wes Craven ("Nightmare on Elm Street"), Robert Carradine ("Orca"), David Naughton ("American Werewolf in London"), George Buck Flower ("The Fog"), Stacy Keach ("Mountain of the Cannibal God"), David Warner ("The Omen"), Mark Hamill ("Star Wars"), Twiggy ("The Doctor and the Devils"), Deborah Harry ("Videodrome") and Charles Napier ("Supervixens").

In a morgue, a weird coroner (John Carpenter) presents the cases related to three corpses in body bags, with the participation of Tobe Hooper and Tom Arnold in the last scenes:

1) The Gas Station: On the graveyard shift of the new hire Annie (Alex Datcher), the maniac Bill (Robert Carradine) attacks the gas station where she is working. This tale, directed by John Carpenter, is the most frightening of the three segments, very supported by the atmosphere created by the tense music of John Carpenter. Wes Craven and Sam Raimi have minor participations, being another attraction.

2) Hair: When Richard (Stacy Keach) starts loosing his hair, he becomes obsessed trying to find a cosmetic to stop the balding process. He goes to the clinic of Dr. Lock (David Warner) for a revolutionary transplantation treatment, ignoring the tragic side effects. This is the funniest and silliest tale, also directed by John Carpenter, and with the singer Sheena Easton in the role of Richard's girlfriend Megan.

3) Eye: The baseball player Brent (Mark "Luke Skywalker" Hamill) has a car accident while driving home in a stormy night. His doctor proposes a new eye transplantation technique, and Brent and his wife Cathy (Twiggy) accept the risky terms. However, the unexpected side effect jeopardizes the safety of Cathy. This segment, directed by Tobe Hooper, is the most macabre of the three, having the participation of Roger Corman in the role of Dr. Bregman. I recently watched a very scare movie ("Jain Gui", of the Pang Brothers - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0325655/usercomments-167), and I believe that its storyline was probably based on this segment.

My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Trilogia do Terror" ("Trilogy of Terror")

Note: On 12 July 2020, I saw this film again.

This is a great film that has several ingredients to be considered in high esteem: they are involved in various roles characters such as John Carpenter (Halloween), Sam Raimi (Evil Dead), Roger Corman (King of B Movies), Greg Nicotero (FX Master), Tobe Hooper (Texas Chaisaw Massacre), David Warner (Resanimator), Debbie Harry (Blondie), Mark Hamill (Star Wars), Wes Craven (Scream), Robert Carradine (Nerds Revenge), Stacy Keach, Tom Arnold, etc. . We can't ask for more. The stories are excellent and well directed. You can not ask for more. The segments stand out for well achieved and not bet on cheap scare. It's excellent.

Three short stories in the horror genre: The first about a serial killer. The second about a hair transplant going wrong. The third about a base ball player who receives a questionable eye transplant.

The sad truth is that giving this film as high a rating as I did really comes down to one thing: the endless supply of guest stars from the horror genre (and beyond). Who can dislike a film with Wes Craven, Sam Raimi, John Carpenter, Tobe Hooper and more? That is incredible.

As for the film itself, it is about average. The acting and directing are fine, and the gore really starts to add up in the third segment. But the script was really nothing special, and I am not shocked that Showtime declined to turn this into a regular series (any given episode of "Masters of Horror" is better).

The disc from Scream Factory makes this average film a little something more, with plenty of insight from Stacy Keach, John Carpenter and producer Sandy King. Horror fans may think the movie is average, but you are bound to learn a few things from the commentary.

The structure of the show reminds me a lot of Tales From the Crypt - there's a narrator who drinks formaldehyde for fun when he's not cracking morbid jokes.

The first segment is pretty darn creepy - still good for a jolt a decade later. If you've ever been at a gas station late at night, you can identify with the creepiness that goes on.

The second spot makes me glad I have all my hair, and shows that anti-bald technology hasn't come far in that last decades.

The third spot is a weird closer (sorry, baseball pun). And Mark Hamil jumps out of at you if you're a geek like me. He apparently did do something other than Star Wars!

The first segment "The Gas Station" is the only frightening story in this trilogy. Set at night, apparently in the middle of nowhere, it has a plausibilty that the others lack (similarly to Hitchcock's "Psycho", it is scary because it's not completely beyond the realms of possibility). Plenty of atmosphere, a little gore and enough sudden shocks and suspense to make it worthwhile. The second segment is at times funny, but not at all scary. The third is an improvement on the second, but more fantastical than the first and therefore not as frightening.

The scenes with the man in the morgue, between the segments, are pretty weird. Lots of jokes about corpses. Fine, if you like that sort of thing.

Body Bags is a horror anthology film that was intended as a pilot for a Tales from the Crypt knock-off TV series. Thankfully, that series never came to pass. Now it serves as a curiosity for fans of the two big directors attached, John Carpenter and Tobe Hooper. Both Carpenter and Hooper were past their primes by the time this film aired, though Carpenter had substantially more gas left in the tank than Hooper. Body Bags provides further proof of this fact. It features three stories; the first two directed by Carpenter, the last directed by Hooper.

Right from the start, the obvious attempt to mimic Tales from the Crypt is evident as we are greeted by a ghoulish-looking coroner who presents the film's stories. The coroner is played by John Carpenter himself, who tries his cackling best to emulate the Cryptkeeper from Tales. Carpenter's acting here is atrocious and it would come as no surprise to me if the TV execs who watched this pilot turned it off within minutes due to this opening.

"The Gas Station" is about a new attendant (Alex Datcher) on the night shift at a gas station who is stalked by a escaped killer. The second story, "Hair," is about a man (Stacy Keach) obsessed with his thinning hair. So obsessed he is willing to try an experimental treatment. It works too well, however, as his hair won't stop growing. The last story is called "Eye." It's about a baseball player (Mark Hamill) who loses his eye in a car accident. He's given a new eye in an experimental surgery and, you guessed it, the eye belonged to a murderer. And what's this? Now the killer's spirit is taking over his whole body and making him want to kill! This was such an original story....in the 1920s or '30s. The film ends but not before Carpenter does some more schtick as the coroner character, including a bad twist.

The first story is easily the best and has touches of classic Carpenter. The second story is passable despite the lame twist ending that is telegraphed early on. The third story is another derivative Hands of Orlac story. It was done many times before 1993 and at least a few times since. Hooper seems more concerned with shock scenes and gore than building any kind of suspense. Truly a mess. The movie's only merits are in the Carpenter segments. Good score, tense direction, fun cameos from the likes of Wes Craven. The best I can say about the Hooper segment is that Mark Hamill did a decent job. Overall, it's a mixed bag film that gets worse as it goes along.

Horror legends, John Carpenter ('Halloween' (1978), 'The Thing' (1982)) and Tobe Hooper ('The Texas Chainsaw Massacre' (1974), 'Poltergeist' (1982)), team up to bring us this fun, cheesy 80's-style horror anthology presented in the morgue by the creepy and ever-so-slightly deranged Coroner (John Carpenter).

In the first of three ghoulish tales, we learn that a serial killer is stalking the town of Haddonfield (déjà vu anyone?) and while dismembered corpses are being found by the roadside, Anne (Alex Datcher), a psychology student, is working the nightshift at a gas station where she has just begun employment. A fun and eerie way to kickstart this frightfest, this first segment (entitled 'The Gas Station') displays the directorial flair that helped make John Carpenter a household name. While not bearing much resemblance in terms of presentation to his earlier slasher-masterpiece, 'Halloween', this segment does provide the viewer with a few of the thrills and chills that made many of his earlier films so endearing. Despite the time constraints, there is a noticeable build up of tension and Carpenter utilises both camera and character-based trickery to unsettle the viewer, all the while retaining the exuberance and merriment of the overall movie. The segment is predictable but that does little to detract from the overall enjoyability and 'The Gas Station' is a reasonably agreeable way to start this horror anthology.

Unfortunately, the second segment, simply entitled 'Hair', is a huge letdown and feels almost entirely out-of-place in this movie. Veteran actor Stacy Keach stars as the balding Richard who distraught by his ever-thinning hair seeks help from Dr Lock (David Warner), a new-in-town doctor who claims to have a miracle hair-regeneration treatment. The remedy appears to work, but naturally, there are unforeseen complications for Richard. The premise of the segment, although far from original, is one that does possess potential if used to the greatest extent. Unfortunately, the segment is quite flat and far too slow in developing which leaves the already dubious conclusion as a laughably short series of ludicrous plot-twists. Still, one has to commend Stacy Keach on his portrayal of his undeniably feebly-written character.

The third and final segment auspiciously returns the movie back into the almost forgotten realms of enjoyability. In 'Eye' we meet Brent Matthews (screen legend, Mark Hamill), a lower-league baseball player, destined for the MLB who is involved in a horrific car crash which causes him to lose sight in one eye. Desperately depressed, Brent agrees to undergo an experimental eye-transplant which may well solve all his problems. Despite the rather slow and tepid beginning, 'Eye' eventually becomes the most entertaining segment of the entire film. One can easily draw parallels between this quick story and the modern Asian masterpiece that is 'The Eye' (directed by Oxide Pang Chung and Danny Pang), although the latter film is far superior. 'Eye' succeeds by introducing an element of psychological horror, which is fitting as this is the segment directed by Tobe Hooper who made it big in horror with the psychological horror tour de force that is 'The Texas Chain Saw Massacre' (1974). Hooper showcases for the viewer elements that many of his post-TCM films have gravely lacked such as characterisation and atmosphere. If not for the TV-movie presentation, this short segment could easily have become a dark and chilling horror effort, and Tobe Hooper appears to realize this. He tortures the viewer with nigh-on harrowing imagery that just stops short of being extreme. The violent hallucinations are presented in a nightmarishly realistic way and bear resemblance to sections of the similar imagery from movies like 'Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer' (1986) and 'Candyman' (1992). Unfortunately, due to time constraints and other factors, Hooper could only hint at what he was directorially capable of which is also kind of fitting and ironic as he has been doing the exact same since TCM. 'Eye' is easily the most accomplished segment of the movie.

So, all-in-all, we have a watchable, often enjoyable, piece of early 90's campy horror with an 80's presentation. A notable offering from the two horror auteurs which, despite flaws, is possibly one of the better films either of these two have produced recently. In some ways, the first two segments of 'Body Bags' could be described as an unintentional commentary on the works of John Carpenter. After a bright start, making creepy, suspense-based horror, he changed his style to lose the suspense and incorporate nonsensical story lines with bizarre and often disadvantageous plot-twists. It is mainly because of the second segment that the film suffers and may encourage people to give up on it. The first segment, kooky as it may be, is enjoyable enough to keep the viewers attention but 'Hair' almost destroys the film and does inflict irreparable damage on the film overall. It may only be a short segment, but as it accounts for almost a third of the total running length, it is hard to pass over. My overall rating for 'Body Bags' - 6½/10.

A sort of forgotten horror anthology, and although quite comical, it's a hidden delight for a horror fan, being directed by genre legends John Carpenter (Halloween, The Thing) and Tobe Hooper (Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Poltergeist), plus having cameos by them, and also Wes Craven, Sam Raimi and Roger Corman.

The first story follows Anne (Alex Datcher), who starts her first night shift at a remote gas station - every visitor gives off funky vibes, and there's something sinister lurking around... Most straight-forward, and, personally, the least favorite segment, and the one that seems the most unfitting, given that the other two (and the wraparound segment) are dealing with medical horror.

The second segment covers black comedy genre, and has the ever-charming Stacy Keach having a real midlife crisis propelled by his thinning hair. Extreme measures must be taken to keep a man's confidence! Amusing set-up leads into a bit of body horror and a twist.

Third story is arguably the best one. Directed by Tobe Hooper, it sees Mark Hamill, a highly successful baseball player, losing his right eye in an accident. If not for the pioneer doctor offering a transplant, his career would be in ruins... But where does the eye come from? If the first story was a slasher, the second - black comedy, we now got a little psychological thriller.

The wraparound segment has John Carpenter as the coroner, introducing the stories and having a bit of fun. All in all, this body bag is a mixed bag, but a cheerful one. 6/10.

John Carpenter literally and unamusingly presents three uninspired stories, and once again you wonder why he bothered. Two of the three 'twists' are painfully obvious, and the most promising set-up - 'Hair' - is completely squandered. Looks as though someone's been stealing from the 'Rejected' piles in the production offices of The Outer Limits, The Twilight Zone and Alfred Hitchcock Presents...

BODY BAGS is an anthology or omnibus horror movie in which three separate stories are framed by a wrap-around story narrated by a creepy host played by John Carpenter. This concept was borrowed from TALES FROM THE CRYPT (1972), itself based on a comic strip series in the 1950s, which inspired a number of movies in this format.

Despite its flaws, CRYPT was entertaining, but many of the movies it inspired fell short of it. BODY BAGS, however, is better than most of these. It has a lot more humor than CRYPT and is lighter on the moralizing tone. Also, the host breaks the fourth wall whereas in CRYPT the host addressed an audience of unfortunates.

BODY BAGS features three stories.

The first, a slasher story with elements reminiscent of those found in Carpenter's HALLOWEEN (1978) plays out in a gas station and combines mystery, tension, horror and humor in just the right amounts.

The second, which has echoes of Carpenter's THE THING (1981) and THEY LIVE (1988), is a black comedy playing rather effectively on a common concern of middle-aged men: hair loss.

The third, a variation of the "evil body part" concept of THE HANDS OF ORLAC (1924) but involving an eye and an aspiring baseball player, has both the least humor and is also the weakest of the stories.

The quirkiness of the movie might be off-putting to some, but I think fans of the CRYPT concept and horror anthologies in general will enjoy this, and horror buffs will appreciate the often funny cameos by several famous genre directors (I especially liked Sam Raimi and Wes Craven's performances).

Sometimes, the more absurd something is, the better it can looked upon when its aged. Perhaps that will be the fate of Body Bags. With the exception of John Carpenter's little interludes between the acts, this film just reeks. Its not even funny, which has always been kind of a trademark with Carpenter's overly elongated career. This should have been an clear indication that Carpenter's career was going down the drain. But does anyone listen? NOO!

John Carpenter is one of my favourite horror directors, he has given us some classic horror movies and even though this hasn't really hit the heights of Halloween, it's a fun horror anthology movie. The first segment is in my opinion, the best. It has the perfect blend of horror and suspense. The second is more black comedy than straight horror, but David Warner, Sheena Easton, Debby Harry, and Stacy Keach are marvelous in this. The third has a wonderful Mark Hamil and Twiggy in it and the story is psychological horror. There are some great actors throughout. David Naughton. Tom Arnold, Sam Raimi. Also appearances by Tobe Hooper, and Rodger Corman.

There are some great moments throughout and seeing Carpenter as a corpse is pure fun. It's not one of his greatest, but it is enjoyable.