SGM Month of Halloween Horror Movie for Oct. 11

"Body Bags" (1993)

Themes: Horror anthology
Synopsis (from the back of the box): Slip into the crypt for a peek at the “necro-files” of director John Carpenter, in three dead-on tales from today’s top terrormeister! Robert Carradine and David Naughton pump-up for high-octane horror when a satanic serial killer stalks “The Gas Station.” Stacy Keach, Deborah Harry and rock superstar Sheena Easton wig-out in the hair-raising tale of tonsorial terror, “Hair.” And special guest director Tobe Hooper takes the reins when Mark Hamill and Twiggy set their sights on the supernatural and stare Evil right in “The Eye.” So zip yourself in tight and chill-out with host John Carpenter in this shock-around-the-clock scarefest that will keep you coming back for morgue!

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This “Tales From the Crypt” knock-off TV movie – I think made for Showtime – featured John Carpenter looking pretty fucking ghoulish in makeup, yet looking in 1993 much like he does, sans makeup, in 2008. Never a good thing.

Much love can be given to anthology horror films, and this one is no different. All three stories are pretty serviceable, and the acting is decidedly over-the-top, which for horror films of this nature isn’t always a bad thing. Stacy Keach, in particular, is fun to watch in “Hair,” as he plays up his character’s vanity with some interesting subtleties mixed with his over-the-top performance as an aging man losing his hair. When he uses a hair restoration product that yields spectacular overnight results, women swoon over his newfound confidence. Yet, in his hammy performance of a man who’s regained his confidence as well as his coif, he effects pathos for his character, a man who is so insecure that he can not face each day knowing that his best days may be behind him.

Not all of the acting in the other stories is as laudable; in fact, the quality of each vignette is uneven, with “The Eye” – a possessed body part transplant story – being the least of the bunch.

This has the feel of having been shot for a pending series to capitalize on HBO’s success with “Tales From the Crypt,” and it would have at least been interesting to see where it would have gone had the producers been given more stories to develop. But if this is what we’re left with, I guess it could have been worse.

Rating: 2 count