The Wasteland Reviewer

Bagman (2024) Written Review

Are you ready for the latest folk horror story to come to the theater? Filmmakers seem to love finding creepy cautionary tales about strange entities to keep our children in line. Not all those horror films have translated well into great films no matter how strong the mythology is. No matter how many of those films crash and burn, we always seem to get more. With the likes of Bagman hitting theaters, we must figure out if there is a new creature to fear at the theater.

Does director Colm McCarthy offer up a brand-new nightmare fuel for audiences? The creature of this flick is a grotesque entity who finds good children, tortures them to consume their fear, and grabs them to stick them in a zippered sack. Apparently, the Bagman can turn off the lights anywhere, open doors from the outside, and run fast (in a comical way that will most certainly take you out of the film). The Bagman (when it finally appears) has quite a creepy practical design. The sound design makes it eerie as well with the consistent zipper sounds throughout the film. The movements of Bagman are unnerving and unnatural which adds to the fear but (as reference before) much of the mystique is lost because of one ill-advised sequence later in the film. There is even a special “kryptonite” for this creature that becomes important for the film as well. Too bad the execution of the film’s biggest reveal falls flatter than a pancake.

Is the film scary at least? There are certainly moments of some solid tension and suspense. The design of Bagman and his creepy doll pal are the sources of most of the film’s scares but there are a few sequences that have some decent tension built. But the film leans so heavily into common horror tropes and cliches that you get taken out of the film quite often. The telegraphing of every appearance of Bagman makes those moments feel less impactful. The film has issues with logic as well as some moments rushed through and others that belabor the point. There are other choices in how the Bagman’s antics are presented that make the scene feel more laughable than scary. The consistent usage of old police cases and story books drop so much exposition that it is hard to keep any mystery around the creature. The film is too overly explained out and it hurts it in many facets.

Do we at least feel for the characters? Sam Claflin somehow found himself stuck in such a project that does him zero favors. His character, Patrick, makes every dumb decision possible over the course of the film and the one way he could keep the Bagman at bay (which is frustratingly obvious to the audience) seems lost on him. Claflin does a fine job in portraying his character, but he is too ignorant to truly get behind. The rest of the cast is serviceable as well but not a single character in the film feels resourceful enough to keep themselves alive for more than two seconds.

Is the Bagman just another lackluster and frustrating horror film coming out in time for Halloween? It sure is. There might be some fleeting moments of fear that might manifest over the 90-minute runtime but not enough to sustain a whole film. There were some good ideas there too but the execution of the twists and the Bagman himself were not what they needed to be. In the end, you have just another disposable horror flick floating around cinemas.