Creepy, But Somewhat Empty: ‘BAG OF LIES’ – Blu-ray Review

Horror/drama? Emotional horror?? Is there a sub-genre for films that attempt to be equal parts scary and heart wrenching? Bag Of Lies, a Dread Original release from first time director David James, explores the extreme measures a desperate man will go to, to save his loved one.

Synopsis

“Desperate to save his dying wife, Matt turns to The Bag, an ancient relic with dark magic. The cure demands a chilling ritual and strict rules. As his wife heals, Matt’s sanity unravels, facing terrifying consequences.”

Have a look at the trailer below.

Claire (Brandi Botkin; Zero Percent) has a grim prognosis. A terminal cancer patient, who has given up on chemo, she is bed ridden at home, waiting for the inevitable, or a miracle. Her devoted husband, Matt (Patrick Taft; Wildfire), not content with waiting for a traditional miracle, explores other methods of curing his wife, whatever the cost. After a brief encounter with a guy in a bar (seriously), Matt acquires a mysterious bag, that, following a pretty simple ritual—an offering of blood, clandestinely obtained by swiping a blood sample drawn by the couple’s nurse friend Gwen (Aja Nichols; Rebel//Rebel), promises to grant his wish of a healthy Claire.

However, just like a Mogwai, there are three simple rules to follow: don’t look at it, don’t talk to it, and, predictably, don’t touch it. Of course, I mean this is a horror film after all, Matt manages to cock all three up in short order, with an assist from his pal Harold (John Wells; Arena Wars), and the lines between reality and insanity are blurred, with Matt falling victim to increasingly vivid and foreboding hallucinations, nightmares, and ghastly visions. The Bag (its gotta be capitalized, right? Its “The Bag” in all the accompanying box synopsis and press…there are all the components for a stunted adolescent joke here, but I shant be making it. You do the leg work…) soon exacts its terrible price on the doomed couple.

A marginally original premise, borrowing liberally from the “monkey paw” mythos, Bag Of Lies tries really hard to be an emotionally wrought terror tale. And, to be honest, it has it’s moments. However, it lacks punch because of a weak script and some really flat performances. With a writing team of: James, Nick Laughlin (Wrong Turn) and Joe Zappa (Clever Girl) I really expected more.

The lore/origin of the bag is never even explored (its ancient, though!), the dialogue is clinical at times, and most of the plot turns you can see coming a mile away. Botkin is the only actor exhibiting any enthusiasm for the material (although a scene where she pukes sounds really fake, the fact that I noticed this probably says more about me than it does her though…), which is not to say the rest of the cast is bad, they just seem sort of detached from the material they were given to work with.

The effects are suitable creepy, the soundtrack, while overdramatic, is ominous when it needs to be, the jump scares are 50-50, so there really are quite a few things that work well in Bag Of Lies before it goes off the rails in the third act and careens to a strangely muted, ultimately unsatisfying conclusion.

The Epic Pictures Blu-Ray is pretty bare bones. An unrated cut of the film, presented in a crisp transfer, with better than normal for an indie feature audio, makes for a pleasant viewing experience. Packaging is the standard case with a BTS featurette as the only extra. I also found it a bit cheeky that a Dread Original produced film features a single review quote on the box from…wait for it…Dread Central.

Clocking in at 96 minutes, which somehow seems like more, Bag Of Lies isn’t a bad film, its just hamstrung by a lifeless script and some lackluster performances. If you have someone who is into emotional dramas that you’re trying to ease into horror, definitely make some popcorn and cue this up. It strives to be heavy, but Bag Of Lies ends up decidedly light weight, it’s worth a watch as a time killer/entry level horror film.

Epic Pictures’ Blu-Ray release of Bag Of Lies is available now from fine retailers and for rent from Amazon and other streaming services.