Baghead Review | Road Rash Reviews

4 star creepy and compelling horror.

Baghead is a 2023 supernatural horror film, written and directed by Alberto Corredor. His feature directorial debut, it is based on his short film of the same name.

It is available to buy on DVD. Blu-ray and Digital from 8th April 2024 courtesy of STUDIOCANAL.

“I’m going to tell you what I tell everyone who comes through that door, looking to see her. Leave, take your grief elsewhere. You’ll find no peace here.”

As the film opens, we see an older man, Owen (Peter Mullen – Welcome to the Punch, Ozark) in a run down old bar. A knock at the door and a young man appears, Neil (Jeremy Irvine – War Horse, Benediction) desperate for his help. He is turned away and Owen records a warning video, before attempting to set fire to the building.

Iris Lark (Freya Allen – The Witcher, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes) is a young woman who has recently been evicted from her flat and is currently living with her friend Katie (Ruby Barker – Bridgerton, Wolfblood) in London. It seems like her fortunes might be on the up when she receives a phone call informing her that her estranged father Owen has passed away in Berlin, leaving her his old bar, The Queens Head.

She is met by a solicitor (Ned Dennehy – Glitch, Peaky Blinders) who is keen for her to sell immediately, but she is intrigued and wants to stay for a while, so she signs the lease. Suspiciously, she is given the warning video only after she has signed on the dotted line.

Katie comes to stay with her and the return of Neil reveals the presence of a witch in the basement, Baghead (Anne Müller – Sisi & I). She can shapeshift to allow you to communicate with the deceased for two minutes, for the meagre sum of £2,000. But this kind of power comes at a cost higher than money, as Owen tried so hard to warn her.

“This property comes with a special tenant. Lives in the basement. She’s tied to the property and now that your name is on the title deeds, you’re her guardian.”

Baghead is a very enjoyable film. It’s not in-your-face horror and doesn’t bring anything particularly new to the table, but it’s well written and certainly chilling. The acting is pretty good and the location is very well chosen, the big old building almost feels like a character in it’s own right.

The mysterious hole in the back wall of the basement does it’s job admirably, even I was dying to find out what was in there, despite being told otherwise. The film does feature your standard levels of horror film decision making, which can be frustrating, but all in all it’s good fun.

If nothing else it’s worth watching just to see a witch eat a smartphone. If you enjoy a supernatural thriller, this is worth adding to your collection.

“You cannot let her out of the basement, ever. You’re the one thing that stands between her and the outside world. It seemed like a blessing once, to have access to her gift. But tonight, her curse ends with me.”