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Baghead
Sony Pictures Classics


4.5

based on 23 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 2 votes
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MPAA RATING: R for language, some sexual content and nudity

Starring Ross Partridge, Steve Zissis, Greta Gerwig, Elise Muller, Jett Garner, and Anthony Cristo

While the Duplass Brothers were shooting their last feature film The Puffy Chair, a crew member raised the question “what’s the scariest thing you can think of?” Someone immediately said “a guy with a bag on his head staring into your window.” Some agreed, but some thought it was downright ridiculous and, if anything, funny (but definitely not scary). Thus, BAGHEAD was born, an attempt to take the absurdly low-concept idea of a “guy with a bag on his head” and make a funny, truthful, endearing film that, maybe, just maybe, was a little bit scary, too. (Sony Pictures Classics)

GENRE(S):	Drama \| Suspense/Thriller
WRITTEN BY:	Jay Duplass Mark Duplass
DIRECTED BY:	Jay Duplass Mark Duplass
RELEASE DATE:	Theatrical: July 25, 2008
RUNNING TIME:	84 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	USA

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

Portland Oregonian Shawn Levy

Baghead has a nearly documentary quality that infuses it with a sense of heightened stakes and real peril. In a characteristically offhanded way, it's cunningly skillful.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Scott Tobias

Much of the fun of Baghead is that it's unclassifiable, by turns a movie-movie lark, an Eric Rohmer-like relationship comedy, and a surprisingly effective "Friday The 13th" kids-in-the-woods slasher film.

Salon.com Andrew O'Hehir

Baghead is a kick in the pants.

Chicago Reader Staff (Not credited)

A raw, wickedly clever comedy that also includes moments of genuine terror.

Austin Chronicle Marjorie Baumgarten

Kind of funny and kind of scary, Baghead's central horror motif is merely a structure on which to hang its four-character story about the depth of relationships and the drive to find meaningful work.

San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle

An amusing bauble.

Boston Globe Ty Burr

The movie's cheap, it's clever - it's even a little scary in places.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Sean Axmaker

More clever than smart and isn't always emotionally convincing, but the cast brings a palpable, persuasive awkwardness to the social tensions of this not-so-romantic getaway, and there's a sly wit to the way the filmmakers mix and match and upend genres.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Jennie Punter

A late summer treat. And in case you are wondering, yes, there is mumbling.

Miami Herald Rene Rodriguez

Baghead will disappoint gore hounds or anyone looking for an extreme horror experience -- this is more of a comedy-drama than anything else.

Los Angeles Times Michael Ordona

The filmmakers maintain a delicate balance that generates tension on multiple levels, including sexual. They giddily mix genres, but Baghead, part meta-cinematic comedy, part relationship drama and part horror movie, remains rooted in reality.

Slate Dana Stevens

They've made a movie about trickery that neatly tricks its viewers into laughing, then screaming, then laughing again.

Variety Peter Debruge

Though its scares are scarce, Baghead provides what nine out of 10 dead-teenagers movies lack: specifically, a realistic sense of character that gives moviegoers a reason to identify with the would-be victims.

New York Magazine David Edelstein

Too bad the movies collapses at the end when we find out what's really going on. Baghead is so much more vivid when it's indefinite.

Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern

A very short and cheerfully scruffy comedy-thriller.

NPR Bob Mondello

Spectacularly self-absorbed protagonists step on each other, jockeying first for position, and ultimately for survival.

New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman

Anybody who missed 2006's excellent indie "The Puffy Chair" has another chance to discover the off-kilter world of the Duplass brothers.

Washington Post Ann Hornaday

Baghead provides a diverting showcase for actors you may never have heard of but who deserve a shot at fame and fortune.

ReelViews James Berardinelli

The acting is a big part of Baghead's problem. Three of the four protagonists are played by performers who do little to distinguish themselves.

New York Post Lou Lumenick

The actors are engaging enough that you only occasionally remember that there really isn't much going on. Then, unfortunately for the audience, something does actually happen.

The New York Times Stephen Holden

The semi-improvised performances, which seem so natural that it is tempting to confuse the actors with their characters, bring Baghead into the realm of group therapy observed through one-way glass.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

If you walk out after 10 or 15 minutes, you will have seen the best parts of the film.

Village Voice Robert Wilonsky

It's an indie about indies--meta, right?

The average user rating for this movie is 4.5 (out of 10) based on 2 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Jim G. gave it a4:
Smug pretense about smug pretense is a whole bunch o' nothin.

Jay H. gave it a5:
Good effort, but overall it just didn't work for me. The cast does a good job, and the low budget doesn't hinder the film, I just never found it engrossing.

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Baghead Sony Pictures Classics

Baghead
Sony Pictures Classics