For some, Baghead walks a similar line to the massive Australian hit by the RackaRacka boys, Talk To Me, with its focus and obsession with reaching out and connecting with lost loves, families or friends in the afterlife. Where the latter made waves in the horror genre, was in one measure the manner in which it was able to tap into the popular geist of a modern audience and scrutinise the obsession, addiction, and all-round youthful ignorance when compelled to delve into matters beyond explanation. Tie this in with a grief ridden compulsion to seek the truth and you have a tale fraught with tension and danger.

In the case of Baghead, the audience is presented with a young lady, Iris (Freya Allen – The Witcher) who is seemingly drifting through life with no real purpose. Her aimlessness is somewhat explained when we learn of her estrangement from her father, (Peter Mullan). Iris must come to terms with the gulf that lay between them, and one that will forever be exposed when she hears of her father’s untimely death. The news is one of mixed emotions, but also comes with the discovery that she has inherited a run-down centuries old pub in Berlin. Believing that she may be able to turn her luck around, Iris flies out to identify her father’s remains, and it is then she finds out that there is more than meets the eye about this dilapidated drinking establishment; one that comes with a shape-shifting creature that resides in the basement. This entity can transform into the dead and for a period of two minutes can reconnect loved ones to their lost kin. As always there is a perilous journey at hand when one dabbles with the unknown and if you don’t adhere to the rules, then the Bagheaded creature can turn the table. What is her true motive and can she really be contained in the basement?

The Prognosis:

Baghead is an entertaining story that delves into all-too-familiar terrain. While it treads this path of predictability, there are still a number of twists and turns to keep you gripped along the way. As always, Peter Mullan is painfully enigmatic on screen, exposing the darkest and most vulnerable components of the human soul. His supporting role helps to elevate the narrative to a degree, but the feature and its close proximity to the successful release of Talk To Me, means that it is doomed to fall under its shadow. For that, Baghead will no doubt slip into mediocrity and be lost among the plethora of average horror flicks.

• Saul Muerte