Bag of Lies review
How far would you go to save someone you loved? And what do you do when the price is even higher than you thought?
New movie reviews will not contain spoilers.
Bag of Lies
Directed by David Andrew James
Written by David Andrew James, Nick Laughlin and Joe Zappa
Starring John Wells, Madison Pullins, Patrick Taft, Brandi Botkin, Terry Tocantins and Judy McQueen Bauer
Bag of Lies Review
Don’t look at it. Don’t touch it. Don’t talk to it.
There’s something about simple rules laid out in horror movies that elicits immediate excitement. It likely stems from Gremlins and their rules for caring for Mogwai forty years ago. I’m sure it dates back even further…but that’s a good start for most people. What makes rules so fun is that, when they are spelled out, you can be certain that they will be broken. There isn’t much of a story if the characters just followed the rules, after all. Billy Peltzer managed to break all three Mogwai rules within a weekend. Bag of Lies makes it a bit longer to break them all…but sets a record for failing to follow all of them.
Matt (Patrick Taft) is getting desperate as his wife Claire’s (Brandi Botkin) health deteriorates. She’s decided to end treatment…and her time is running out. Leaving no stone unturned, Matt seeks out a solution steeped in dark magic. A solution that may end up costing him his sanity.
The dark mojo in Bag of Lies involves, fittingly, something called The Bag. A blood ritual is performed, tied up in The Bag, and stored in a place it won’t be disturbed. Matt follows the plan to a T…and manages to break rule #1 immediately. The result of doing so leads to some unforeseen consequences. Consequences that show why breaking those spoken rules is so necessary. That’s where all the fun is.
The number of strange things that Matt begins to encounter can best be described as relentless. Noises, visions, full on hallucinations…Bag of Lies pours a non-stop assault on Matt’s senses. Most movies will present a bit of strangeness only to slow it down between beats. Bag of Lies immediately rolls into its next trick. Not all the beats hit…but another one plays so quickly that momentum never slows.
Complicating matters for Matt is that his ritual seems to be working. Claire’s health appears to improve as his ability to perceive reality continues to evaporate. The cost for Matt is high…and, since his friend inadvertently breaks a couple more rules, it’s getting higher. How far you would go to save someone you love quickly becomes more a question of how much you can take. Overwhelmed by horrific imagery…and, at the same time, watching the beauty of the miracle he prayed for.
The creepiest bits Matt is confronted with involve a smiling woman. She pops into view repeatedly…just to waive at him. It’s the kind of thing that would drive a person mad. She’s also more than a simple unrelated manifestation. Her identity ties into The Bag as Matt will discover as he tries to find a way to stop the madness. Stop it…without undoing its effect. Claire’s improvement is non-negotiable. The improvement that Claire, herself, believes is the result of discontinuing her treatment. Poison no longer pumping through her veins having the desired effect she sought out for her final days. It raises some interesting questions. If The Bag can launch a psychological assault on Matt…wouldn’t it also be capable of causing her turnaround?
Bag of Lies delivers some surprising answers in its third act. An already dark movie grows even darker. And that’s before we look inside The Bag. No matter how bad things become…the main question of the piece only becomes more interesting. How far would you go to save someone you love? Matt seems willing to go all the way. Even if the conditions attached to The Bag are more horrific than he could have ever imagined.
Taft does a good job handling the role. He oscillates between hopeful and freaking out repeatedly. The most important aspect of the character is in believing that Matt is desperate enough, committed enough, to do anything for Claire. Taft leaves no doubt. Botkin has the tough task of playing the long-suffering Claire. She does such a fine job of it that later scenes showcasing her improvement can feel jarring.
The best thing that Bag of Lies does is present a seemingly unending assault of horror scenarios. From the time Matt accidentally enters the room containing The Bag until The Bag opens…he’s presented with a non-stop string of nightmares. Nightmares that you can’t wake up from. Visions, sounds and interactions with things that can’t be real…but must be endured.
Scare Value
Bag of Lies doesn’t waste time getting to the heart of the story. The ritual comes very quickly, the aftereffects show themselves immediately. It takes a relentless approach to scares…throwing them at you one after another after another. They don’t all work…but enough do. The result is a long haze of wondering what is real and what isn’t. And to question of how much further it’s going to go.
3/5
Bag of Lies Links
In select theaters March 29 – Fandango
On VOD April 2
Buy on Blu-Ray from Amazon
