Bag of Lies

I liked the idea for this film. Resurrection of a loved one is a fairly popular theme recently with "Baghead", and an "Unquiet Grave" and others being produced. At first watch, I didn't get it. I thought the film was disjointed and about 20 minutes too long. Upon re-watch, I understand the story now. The key to this film is the plot exposition in the home of "Al", the man who supplies the "bag" to Matt, who wants a cure for his wife, Claire. The cure for his wife depends on the ritual he must perform involving a mysteriously full, burlap bag. Pay attention to this conversation (and revelation) and you will understand the story better! There are rules to follow in this ritual, but in the end they don't matter really. So, Matt attempts to use a questionable ritual involving a full burlap bag to cure his wife of cancer. The rules are violated by him and others, but he gets what he wanted . . . There are consequences to his wish, and it means people must die. There are many scenes of delusion, dreams, hallucinations, and apparitions for Matt, the husband. This might be a problem because they may confuse the viewer and the effect wears thin after the first few appearances. I think less is more here. I liked it, but it took some review and much thought to figure out the story. It's a good film!

Let me start the same way I start all my reviews. I love horror movies. I grew up on horror movies since I was a little kid. Bag of Lies (2024) was not a scary or funny movie. I have tried to watch this movie a few times, but It kept losing my attention. The acting was not bad. I do not believe it was the actors fault this movie didn't do well. The story line, the picture, and the excitement were not there. The beginning of the movie had promise, but it just fell short. I usually do not give movie reviews less than a five out of ten, but there is no way I can give this one a five, this is why I gave it a four. There are other bad movies that are just not as bad as this one. I do not recommend this movie at all.

The movie was cool, it didn't try to be too big for its pants. The characters were portrayed well, albeit a little bit stiff in the first 20 some minutes. After that they seem to be fine. But what I really liked was the soundtrack. Whoever did that probably has a ton of the same 90s Warp Records stuff that I collect. Overall it was a nice hidden gem on streaming services. I didn't even look at the description before viewing because for so many of those films even that is a waste of effort. Not once was I thinking I should start looking for something else. I wasn't completely enraptured by the ongoings of the film either. It seems to hit a nice stride of entertaining, without trying too hard, and just overall chill.

I was on the edge of my seat! This movie definitely kept me guessing! I was confused as to what was going on to keep her alive, I didn't really figure out what was going on until the end of this movie. The movie was disturbing. The acting was good! Despite the fact it was low budget...there was one part that confused me on a scene where the girl was having a good day & changed her hair appearance in 1 scene. I didn't quite understand how she went from one look to another. Besides that it was sooooo good! This movie would be good for a girls night or a date night! I highly recommend, this was a great watch!

I can't get over how the premise of the movie is very similar to Baghead. I enjoyed Baghead a lot and it was something very different but to watch basically the same style of movie again felt very unoriginal and cheap. It was strange that the lead did everything that was instructed of him not to do. Like every little thing. I was also confused about how the spirit presented itself throughout the movie by appearing as different people. I didn't know the lead was taking medication for what I assume was mental issues while the lead women took medication due to cancer. I will say while the premise is similar the plot isn't. The ending is confusing though because I'm not sure who or what I'm looking at in regards to the wife and what the ritual actually did. I don't want to spoil anything so I'm trying to be as vague as possible.

The cast carries this movie. The setting and sets were well done too. Oftentimes with indie work, I find myself too distracted by the acting to make it through the entire show. I watched this to the end with friends. We enjoyed the suspense and sharing what we thought was happening. I'm not the best at reading in between the lines, so had I not been having a fun night with friends, I may have gotten more frustrated with the sometimes confusing progression of the plot. When it comes to the horror genre, I usually choose suspense and thrill before violence and gore, so I liked that aspect. If you're on the fence about watching, I would say, give it a shot!