Verdict
Summary
Pretty standard and by the numbers, the way-too-well-lit Bag of Lies lacks suspense, originality, or a sense of unpredictability that it needs to stand apart from others of the same ilk. I’m always game for a new horror movie with a gimmick, and this movie certainly revolves around one simple enough to be built around, but it’s just no fun, but its biggest fault is that it’s not even a little bit scary. Purveyors of cautionary fable horror flicks can do better than this, but if you’re interested in something new and can’t settle on anything else, Bag of Lies delivers exactly what you’d expect of it, and that’s no lie.
Plot:
A man performs a ritual to save his wife from dying of cancer, but must face the price.
Review:
With his wife Claire (Brandi Botkin) deteriorating with cancer and only days or weeks away from death, Matt (Patrick Taft) is given a ratty old bag by an acquaintance, and told that if he wishes to save his wife he can do so by performing a ritual with the bag and following three rules afterward. His must put some of his wife’s blood inside the bag, make his wish, and then walk away from the bag, which needs to be in a room of its own for three full days. He must not open the door, must not look at whatever comes out of the bag in the eyes, or touch it. It’s not going to be easy for Matt, who almost immediately begins experiencing a series of very alarming encounters with women who look at him on the street weird, holding up their hand with a black smear on their palm, and various strange phone calls, messages, and hearing Claire’s voice all over the house, beckoning him. Is he going crazy or is the ritual he performed starting to heat up? Since we’ve seen such cautionary tale horror movies before, we know that Matt’s sanity and resolve are going to deteriorate over the next few days and nights with nightmares, jump scares, and a slew of grisly encounters with a monster from the bag before his bargain has run its course, but will he survive? Will Claire’s health be restored? C’mon, guys: this is a horror movie – it ain’t a romantic comedy.
Pretty standard and by the numbers, the way-too-well-lit Bag of Lies lacks suspense, originality, or a sense of unpredictability that it needs to stand apart from others of the same ilk. I’m always game for a new horror movie with a gimmick, and this movie certainly revolves around one simple enough to be built around, but it’s just no fun, but its biggest fault is that it’s not even a little bit scary. The movie is set almost entirely in and around the couple’s home, meaning they get a few visitors here and there (guess what happens to the visitors?), and so the film needed to be stylishly directed to give the viewer a sense of fear and claustrophobia, but it lacks that completely. Purveyors of cautionary fable horror flicks can do better than this, but if you’re interested in something new and can’t settle on anything else, Bag of Lies delivers exactly what you’d expect of it, and that’s no lie. From director David James.
Dread’s Blu-ray release of Bag of Lies (#50 on the spine) comes with a behind the scenes feature. If you’re collecting this line from Dread, then add this one to the collection and keep your eye out for the next one in the series.
