Body Bags (1993 TV Movie) User Reviews

Mixed bag

[ODDBear · 6/10 · 1 July 2005]

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.

"I think we got time for one more body bag"

[lost-in-limbo · 7/10 · 10 September 2010]

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.

Zips along quite nicely.

[BA_Harrison · 7/10 · 7 January 2015]

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.

Cool, Solid Horror Anthology With EC Overtones

[squeezebox · 10 September 2004]

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.

Carpenter TV Anthology

[CitizenCaine · 6/10 · 7 September 2003]

John Carpenter presents Body Bags was originally made for television. It's the typical horror anthology movie with three stories, all bridged by Carpenter himself in a morgue setting no less. Carpenter wisely takes the humorous route. The first story is about a gas station attendant's first night on the job, which would be anyone's last night for sure. The story is more dumb and predictable, with the protagonist doing things we would all scream at her not to do in a theater, than scary. The flip ending is reminiscent of an episode of Rod Serling's "Night Gallery." The second story is about a vain man with thinning hair; Stacy Keach was absolutely hilarious. This is obviously the best segment. It's inventiveness, humor, and tongue-in-cheek attitude is sorely missing from the other two stories. The final story is better than the first one, but we've seen this before in "Twilight Zone" episodes more than once. The bridging story turns out to be quite humorous, with Carpenter being joined by two special guests at the end. Perhaps the best thing about Body Bags is the unusual cast members that were assembled. From regular film and television actors like Stacy Keach, David Warner, and Robert Carradine to the off-beat selections of Sheena Easton, Deborah Harry, and Twiggy, Body Bags has it all. Look closely for several genre directors: Wes Craven, Sam Raimi, Roger Corman, and Tobe Hooper. It was also great fun to see old veteran John Agar as the eye surgeon near the end of his career. This was at least as enjoyable as most of Carpenter's other films, which have been uneven over the years. **1/2 of 4 stars.

Good, But For The Wrong Reasons

[gavin6942 · 6/10 · 11 October 2013]

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.

Horror Anthology for Insiders

[Coventry · 7/10 · 5 October 2008]

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").

Funny and Great Horror Movie

[claudio_carvalho · 7/10 · 18 August 2005]

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.

HISTORY OF Body Bags (Spoilers)

[edeighton · 3/10 · 11 October 2019]

My Review of Body Bags (1993) (SPOILERS) If someone approached you in the 1980s or 1990s and asked "will the actor that plays Luke Skywalker ever show his buttocks, scrotum and taint on film" you might have justifiably punched that person in the face. But, then director, Tobe Hooper, convinced Mark Hamil to do a fully nude scene with (inexplicably) famous 1960's British cultural icon, Twiggy, in a stupid made for cable movie. At about the 1:16:56 mark, not only does Twiggy flash the audience (Sharon Stone-Basic Instinct style) but the great Mark Hamil reveals his undercarriage. Body Bags was originally filmed as three separate episodes for a planned new horror series to air on the Showtime cable network. This was Showtimes attempt to copy the popular HBO series, Tales from the Crypt. Showtime lined up John Carpenter's wife, Sandy King, as the Producer for this prospective new series. Sandy King, then lined up her brilliant husband, John Carpenter to direct the pilot episode, The Gas Station. John Carpeneter was not a fan of anthologies in general but agreed to direct a few episodes when he found out that he was going to play the "Coroner", an over the top Crypt-Keeper-like role. Plus, Sandy King convinced her husband that this project would be quick and easy and something he could do in between larger cinema projects. John Carpenter and Sandy King had many friends in the Horror world and they called in a lot of favors for this series. Cameos by notable Horror icons such as Tobe Hooper (Texas Chainsaw Massacre), Wes Craven, Sam Rami (Evil Dead), Roger Corman and Greg Nicotero were easy to arrange because this series was filmed in Las Angeles. Even actors like Tom Arnold were able to agree to appear for a half hour in between other film projects to shoot a scene as a favor to Sandy King or John Carpenter. Although many years later, John Carpenter was still pissed off that Clive Barker passed on his invitation to make a quick cameo in an episode. Unfortunately, once the first three episodes were filmed, Showtime wanted to significantly lower the budget of the series and move the filming to Canada. John Carpenter and Sandy King quickly lost interest in continuing the series in Canada and on a reduced budget and the series was ultimately cancelled before the pilot episode aired on Showtime. Showtime packaged the three episodes into a movie and aired the movie sporadically throughout 1993 and 1994. John Carpenter relished the opportunity to collaborate with Jim Lang on the score for the series and to work with famous Horror make up artist, Rick Baker. Rick Baker modeled the make up for Carpenter's "Coroner" on Lon Chaney's Phantom of the Opera. It took Baker three hours a day to apply the elaborate make up to Carpenter. But once the male up was on, John Carpenter had a blast playing the character and admits that his portrayal of the "Coroner" was nothing more than a blatant Beetleguise imitation. All in all, this was not a very innovative film. It was very derivative of Tales from the Crypt and Creepshow. Was Marvel Films the first production company that realized that you don't have to film a comic book style movie in repetitive single frame close up shots? Nearly every shot in this film was framed like a comic book panel and that leads to a small scope and cheapens the overall look. The last two episodes, Hair and The Eye, were so unremarkable that I don't really have much to say about either one. Both of these stories seemed like they had already been done before in better movies or television series. The first episode, The Gas Station, had some interesting moments: *This episode was set in the fictional town of Haddenfield, home of Michael Myers and setting for Halloween. In fact, there are several references made in this episode to an escaped mental patient killing people in Haddenfield. John Carpenter winks at the audience by having the maniac in this episode perform a Michael Myers style sudden sit up after we think the heroine has killed him outside of the gas station booth. *The episode, The Gas Station, was filmed in the desolate Mojave desert so that John Carpenter could escape all of the ambient light of the cities. John Carpenter had his crew wet down the ground with hoses in between every shot so that the light from the gas station would reflect up from the ground. This effect caused the gas station to shimmer in the otherwise pitch black background adding to the intended atmosphere of isolation. * I kind of enjoyed the early pacing of the film. The audience is made aware early on from the news broadcasts that there is a maniac on the loose. The damsel in distress is left all alone in the dark and strange characters keep approaching her. Any one of these characters could be the maniac. This slow burn of tension was masterly handled by John Carpenter. *Even this moderately well done episode was not without its problems though. If the maniac killed Sam Rami's character, Tim the real gas station attendant, and then donned his uniform shortly before our heroine arrives for her shift, how did he know the phone number for the repair garage?

Good anthology horror from John Carpenter and Tobe Hooper

[dworldeater · 7/10 · 3 February 2015]

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.

Unimpressed

[view_and_review · 5/10 · 1 October 2020]

Body Bags is a John Carpenter anthology of three different sketches. Instead of me saying which was my favorite, I think it's more appropriate to say which one I hated least.

Of the three I suppose the last one was the least egregious. The first segment was about a woman trying to avoid a serial killer while at a gas station. It would've been better but TWICE she turned her back on the killer believing him to be dead or incapacitated. That is a serious pet peeve of mine.

The second segment was about a man (Stacy Keach) who desperately wanted to regrow his hair. He got more than he bargained for when he visited Dr. Lock (David Warner).

The final segment was a theme I'd seen before. In this segment a baseball player (Mark Hamill, who didn't know what accent he was going for) lost his eye in an auto accident and had it replaced with the eye of a serial killer. Slowly the desires and entire persona of the serial killer began to take over his body.

None of these segments were impressive.

Three great horror stories

[kurciasbezdalas · 10/10 · 20 September 2008]

There isn't much to say about this film, if you are horror movies fan, you gonna like it. This film is made in a same style as Creepshow and many other horror flicks. There is nothing special about it, but it does what it promises - to tell three great horror stories. All three stories were good. After i've watched Creepshow 2, I thought I would newer watch these kind of movies again, but this movie was much better than Creepshow 2. The first story was the best. It was made in Alfred Hitchcock's style when waiting of whats coming to you is the scariest part. The second story was more comical but still great. Deborah Harry had a small role in it. The third one was also good and I liked an idea of it very much.

"What a bunch of stiffs!"

[Hey_Sweden · 7/10 · 20 November 2013]

TV horror anthology is no classic of the genre but still offers some good laughs and chills; its pedigree is most impressive. It was intended to kick start a series, but Showtime decided not to proceed with it. As a result, we get this effort which shows some variance in style - from straight suspense ('The Gas Station') to creepy dark comedy ('Hair') to out and out gore ('Eye'). Most notable throughout are the steady parade of cameo appearances, which I've decided I won't spoil here and leave the viewer to discover for themselves. They help in making this a solid bit of entertainment.

John Carpenter directs 'The Gas Station' and 'Hair' and appears in the wrap around segments as a goofy "coroner" who cracks bad jokes and spins stories about the dead bodies in his morgue - the kind of dead bodies he likes to see turn up, as that old standby "natural causes" just bores him. It really is a treat to see Carpenter sink his teeth into an extended acting role; usually he restricted himself to a small role ("The Fog") or a Hitchcock-type bit part.

'The Gas Station' tells of Anne (Alex Datcher of "Passenger 57"), a new employee at the isolated title location. Her first night is one of terror as strange people make appearances while a serial killer happens to be on the loose (in the town of Haddonfield, no less). This is vintage Carpenter, with good jolts, tense moments, and a bloody conclusion. Robert Carradine co-stars as Bill.

'Hair' strikes a familiar chord for any man who's obsessed over the loss of his locks. Stacy Keach stars as Richard, desperate to get back his hair and his self-esteem. So he goes to the new clinic run by Dr. Lock (David Warner, who's delightful), whose revolutionary treatment gives Richard a long, flowing mane, but at a price. The revelation here is wonderfully squirm-inducing. The segment is a little dull and dragged out in spots but the payoff is worth it.

'Eye' stars Mark Hamill (in what is actually a pretty good performance) as a minor league ball player who loses his right eye in a car accident and receives a transplant from ambitious surgeon Dr. Lang (John Agar, whose presence in anything is always welcome). Basically, this is yet another variation on the old "Hands of Orlac" plot, and viewers will likely guess the ending right away. Still, some of the imagery is effective. This segment is actually directed by Carpenters' peer Tobe Hooper (who also puts in an appearance in the morgue).

KNB do typically impressive work in terms of makeup effects, the score by Carpenter and Jim Lang is good (the jazz in 'Hair' is a nice touch), the acting is fun to watch in general, and overall 'Body Bags' is worth a viewing for genre fans and Carpenter completists.

Seven out of 10.

The Twilight Zzz...

[skymovies · 2/10 · 1 December 2003]

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...

The first segment is worth seeing.

[matthew-58 · 15 March 2002]

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.

For Carpenter Fans Only

[utgard14 · 6/10 · 18 December 2013]

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.

A generally enjoyable anthology which suffers heavily from a poor second segment.

[Snake-666 · 6/10 · 26 July 2004]

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.

Body Bags is scarily atmospheric for John Carpenter and Tobe Hooper fans

[tavm · 7/10 · 16 April 2007]

Body Bags was John Carpenter's attempt to produce an anthology series for Showtime. This movie is all we have of what it would be like with the director appearing as a morgue attendant who drinks formaldehyde as he hosts the three stories. Amusing lines abound throughout. The first segment titled "The Gas Station" has a young woman (Alex Datcher) on her first night as the titled attendant all alone. First there's Pete (David Naughton) getting some gas and flirting with her. Then a stranger asks for bathroom keys. When he doesn't return the lady investigates...Watch for cameos by horror directors Sam Raimi and Wes Craven. Robert Carradine also appears. Carpenter's direction makes this a pretty good atmospheric start. Second segment called "Hair" has Stacy Keach wanting badly to keep from going bald. David Warner on TV provides the solution. Soon, Keach and his girlfriend, Sheena Easton, can't stop making love. But soon after his barber cuts some of the new hair, they start to move...Hilarious and creepy at the same time, this one is so wonderfully weird that I'd rather you be surprised at this one. Carpenter hits the bulls-eye with this segment. Look for Deborah Harry as a nurse and Kim Alexis as a beautiful blonde who Keach notices in slow motion. Final segment "Eye" has Mark Hamill as a baseball player who's scoring is off the charts. Then he gets in a car accident that causes him to lose one eye. Doctors Roger Corman and John Agar give him a new one but then Hamill starts acting strangely which makes his wife (Twiggy) very worried...Tobe Hooper really gives the chills with this one as he haunts with various images that really give Mark Hamill something to work with. The end is especially frightening with the closeup of a bible passage spread with blood after Hamill stabs his "criminal" eye. So, in summation, see Body Bags if you're a big horror fan of all of the above directors I've just mentioned and I hope you don't end up in John Carpenter's morgue..

Three simple horror tales, with John Carpenter himself as the host.

[joshi_3592 · 7/10 · 15 October 2009]

Finally seeing John Carpenter doing some real acting was very funny. His performance as the very ghastly coroner at a morgue, was brilliant, and he handled it very well for someone who technically isn't an actor. The TV movie is basically about the coroner who tell the stories of three corpses, basically because they were the only one's with interesting stories. Apparently he hates death by natural causes, because he have no fun checking them out. Honestly, he was hilarious, in a very morbid way of course. Oh, and of course, let's not forget the co-directing of Tobe Hooper who also did a splendid job with this TV movie. (I added this sentence later, because I forgot he was in this movie, so sorry Tobe Hooper fans for not having mention him anymore)

The first story is about a woman who has to work late at a gas station. And there has been report of a murderer in the town, so she's a little shaky every time someone stop at the station. I think you get the general idea, so I don't think I'll need to say more about his one.

The second story is about a man(Stacy Keach) who is very disturbed about his thin hairline and wishes their was a way to grow back his hair. One day he sees an ad on TV telling about a new miracle cure than can give you a full hairline over night. He applies, and wakes the other day with long lush hair. His life takes a twist for the better, but his hair never seems to stop growing and he starts feeling a little sick. Once again I'll leave the rest for you.

The third story is about a baseball player (Mark Hamill) who in an car accident loses his right eye. Then he gets the offer from a doctor who say he can give him an eye transplant. the procedure is a success and he can play baseball again. Plus he's gonna be a father, his life couldn't get any better. But eventually he starts seeing dead bodies everywhere and his personality gets more aggressive. And he later uncovers a horrible truth about the man from which he got his new eye.

Now these three stories were quite enjoyable. The first one had the best Carpenter style atmosphere and suspense, and was probably the best of the three. the second was more funny than scary, but that's not a bad thing either. To be honest it had a bit of a TwilighZone feel to it, but for me that's not a bad thing in any way. The third story had a great performance by Mark Hamill, but was little predictable. Still it had some frightening and gory moments.

For Carpenters great performance in both acting and directing, and some decent horror stories, I give "Body bags" a 7/10. I only have a simple warning, if you're easily scared and are a afraid of a little gore, don't watch this. But if you're a horror fan, or for that sake a Carpenter fan, you'll love this.

reminds me of Tales From the Crypt

[the_real_berserker · 5/10 · 22 May 2006]

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!

Enjoable Omnibus entry

[kannibalcorpsegrinder · 7/10 · 6 August 2012]

This film introduces three short films that are tied together through John Carpenter himself, as he introduces three people that have died and tells of their fates.

The Good Story(ies): Easily the best story is the first, "Gas Station," directed by Carpenter himself. It tells of a woman's (Anne Draxter) first night on the job at a gas station in the middle of nowhere, run by Bill. (Robert Carradine) She is left alone and begins the usual daily activities inherent with a gas station: serving customers. When one stranger arrives asking for the bathroom, she obliges, and he goes to the bathroom. Another stranger arrives later, and since the first man is still in the bathroom, she becomes worried. She asks him to check the bathroom, and tells her that he is sleeping around one of the toilets. He leaves, and she goes to check on the man. She finds the bathroom empty, and notices Satanic-like drawings on the side of one of the stalls. Trying to report it to police, she hears strange noises in the auto-shop across the lot. She investigates to find the mysterious man killed and Bill as the murderer. After several false endings, Bill is finally defeated by being crashed under a car in for repairs. This works because it showcases Carpenter at his best: females trapped in a situation without a chance to escape; atmospheric settings, and a neat twist at the end. This is the best one in the movie, and also provides about 90% of the total gore for the movie, which isn't a lot, as some have reported.

"Eye," directed by Tobe Hooper and the third of the three stories, is also another great short. It concerns a baseball player (Mark Hamill) who looses an eye during a freak car accident. He receives a transplant, and can soon see again. However, he soon begins to experience strange hallucinations of body parts in his house, and becomes convinced his eye came from a serial killer who would torture and rape his female captors. For some reason, I like this story. It has some nice moments and then some shocking moments. The fact that his hallucinations occur at the oddest times helps to deliver some nice shocks, and Hooper definitely has another great piece of horror on his resume than "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre."

The Bad Story: "Hair," the middle entry and the other one directed by Carpenter. This concerns an aging man (Stacy Keach) who becomes concerned with his rapidly thinning hair. Everything he tries is in vain. Desperate, he hears an ad for a new hair transplant procedure and signs himself up. He undergoes the procedure, and overnight has a head of hippie-length hair. Despite his new confidence, he begins to experience terrible pain all over his body, and begins growing hair over his body as well. He returns to the doctor, who laughs it off and tells Keach that the entire procedure is a scam to get his alien race the food they need to survive: human brains. Keach is therefore rendered brain-dead and becomes another helpless meal for the aliens. Despite the neat plot gimmick, this is an uninspired affair. No horror, no scares, no gore, nothing.

Rated R: Graphic Violence, Graphic Language, Brief Nudity, and a scene of Rape

Master of Horror

[clarkgrizwold-54634 · 10/10 · 26 October 2020]

This is one of my all-time favorite JC movies! The story line is amazing for each segment.

Creepy, comedic Carpenter...

[poe426 · 7/10 · 7 May 2013]

John Carpenter has some range as an actor, as the prologue and epilogue of BODY BAGS makes clear. We've seen him play it straight (THE FOG), but here we get to see him at his best, doing something that seems more akin to what he SHOULD'VE been doing all along: slabstick humor. As The Coroner, he's a wise-ass cracking wise and, in the end, getting his (whether he deserves it or not). His makeup is great (I kept the photo from TV Guide for years) and his timing is flawless. Unlike the rickety puppet that hosted the TALES FROM THE CRYPT series, Carpenter's coroner is a living(?), breathing(?) (g)host with a sense of humor (dark though it may be). It would've been nice to have seen this show continue on as a series (or a series of movies) with Carpenter at the helm. (George Romero's phoned-in job of hosting on the dreadful DEADTIME STORIES gives one an idea of just how good Carpenter's turn was.)

What the heck is this!?

[Agent10 · 4/10 · 6 May 2002]

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!