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This review was made possible by early screeners of DREAD‘s Bag of Lies. Bag of Lies will have a limited theatrical run on March 29th and will be available on DREAD VOD on April 2nd.
Delving into the horror and thriller genre, I had the opportunity to screen Epic Pictures newest installment, Bag of Lies, to the DREAD label.
Synopsis
Matt (Patrick Taft) is the doting husband of terminally ill Claire (Brandi Botkin), who is struggling to care for his wife as she deteriorates from cancer. Deciding to forego further chemotherapy treatments Claire appears to have accepted her fate…but her husband has not.
Matt meets with a man that promises him the ability to make a wish that can cure his wife, requiring him to take a suspicious bag and perform a specific ritual. But that wish comes with a cost. Of course, with any ominous, potentially dangerous premise, there are rules to follow that are not as easy as they seem. What proceeds is a series of instances that make Matt and the viewer question what is really going on and what is real.
Impression
Coming in at 96 minutes, Bag of Lies has enough time to explain itself to an extent, while avoiding to completely explain things to allow for the audience to guess the real meaning. The relationship between Matt and Claire is questionable at the beginning, but the chemistry between the two characters feels more natural the more time the two have on screen together, which is not really as much as you would expect. Matt’s grief as a husband of a terminally ill spouse is mostly silent which allows for it to be lost in translation. There are times that dialogue feels out of place, and even unnecessary, but does make more sense as you enter the third act. Jump scares are this film’s weakness as they are predictable and out of place with the rest of the film. Bag of Lies is strongest by making the viewer question what is real. This film is also better in its third act as it begins to build better momentum and the events occurring start to make more sense. The ending is not completely predictable, and is unsettling, but not climactic or fully satisfying.
Final Thoughts
Bag of Lies is creepy, ominous, and full of potential. There were moments I found myself fully invested in what happened next while at other moments I was disconnected and uninterested. This film is not perfect but does have a story interesting enough to garner a watch.
Overall Rating for Bag of Lies: 2.5 out of 5