Welcome to the Scream Factory Crypt! In this binge series I will be watching all my Scream Factory titles I own alphabetically! Scream Factory is my favorite imprint of Blu-Ray’s because they take movies that studios and the public might not adore but have fans and deserve to be given respect. This will take a long time as I have over 120(!) titles and counting, I know I will have more before I finish, so stay tuned! Not only will I talk about them on the podcast but I will review them here as well so you can see how I feel about aspects of each release. Part 15 is the John Carpenter Anthology, Body Bags!
Released in 1993, Carpenter tried his hand not only in directing a cable television horror series but he also serves as a Crypt-Keeper knock off host known as The Coroner. Now Carpenter says that this was to serve as sort of pilot for Showtime, however in the commentary, Sandy King (producer and also Carpenter’s wife), says that is not the case. That Body Bags was intended to be a horror movie on TV to show everyone else on how to do horror. King is right at least one of the three tales as the final tale, “The Eye”, not directed by Carpenter but by Tobe Hopper is pure horror bliss.
The first tale is “The Gas Station” that is a straight up slasher film starring Robert Carradine from “Revenge of the Nerds”. A woman named Anne is starting her first day at a remote gas station. After her co-worker leaves she is unsettled by several customers, the best being a man played by the great Wes Craven. Besides some cool horror cameos, “The Gas Station” is pretty ho-hum and it’s those cameos that save it from being totally forgettable. Carpenter does have some clever shots as well, however “The Gas Station” is just average.
Second up is a more comedic tale, “Hair”. Starring Stacy Keach as a man who is going bald, looking for anything to give him a full head of hair. He finds it in a wacky doctor who gives what he wants a beautiful mane of hair. Featuring more awesome horror legend cameos, “Hair” works better than “The Gas Station.”
The final tale is easily the best and maybe the best segment ever in a horror anthology, “The Eye” is mean and violent. Mark Hamill stars in a tale as a Major League baseball player who suffers a horrendous car accident that costs him his right eye. With the help of doctors, he receives an eye transplant. His new eye comes with a side effect however, as now he has violent visions and a violent temper. Hamill is amazing, his descent into madness is something to behold.
Body Bags is a little uneven. Carpenter, who admits he’s no actor and his Crypt-Keeper/Beetlejuice knock off, The Coroner is just not as good as the those two horror icons. That might not be fair to Carpenter, but when you do a horror anthology, being introduced by a dead guy, the comparisons are inevitable. Also, the first tale, which should have been right in Carpenter’s wheel house suffers from predictability. Body Bags is saved by the other two tales being better, with “The Eye” a straight up classic.
The video on Scream Factory’s Collector Edition of Body Bags is solid but won’t blow you away. The colors a little muted but the detail that appears on the makeup and clothing is great. The image does have some scratches and a big red dot pops up during “The Hair”. I am also betting that because this is a TV movie from the early 90’s might also have something to do with the inconsistences in the video.
No issues with the audio. It sounds clear with dialogue coming through very well. It won’t test your home theatre system but it does the job.
For being a Collector’s Edition, Body Bags is a little light on extras. The extras that are included however are pretty good. The better of the two is the commentary that is supplied by Carpenter and a few of the actors, specific to their segment. Sandy King pops up to give some great insight to the production of the film on “The Eye”. King is great at giving some really great behind the stories of the making of Body Bags. The only other new extra is a short 20 minute making of featurette.
Body Bags is a fun horror anthology. It never reaches the heights of Creepshow, but it doesn’t have to. It does entertain and deserve a place on a horror movie fans shelf.
Film: B-
Video: A
Audio: B+
Extras: B-
Overall: B