With a name like Bag Boy Lover Boy, I had no idea what to expect going into it. I was thinking it was going to be some artsy fartsy flick that tries to pretend to be more than just a horror film. Thankfully and I can’t stress that thankfully enough, I was completely wrong. Bag Boy Lover Boy skips trying to be an art film and instead tries to be an actual damn good horror film, and it succeeds.
Most of the success can be attributed to lead actor Jon Wachter’s creepy portrayal of the oddball Albert. Part of you feels bad for Albert, who is just trying to impress his friend (Tina Tanzer) and make a better living than just selling hot dogs out of a dirty truck. He’s interested in photography, but when photographer Ivan (Theodore Bouloukos) picks him up off the street to model in his wacky show, Ivan’s constant insults slowly drive Albert even crazier. It’s not hard to see why Albert eventually snaps, and snap he does.
Albert starts bringing “models” he finds off the street back to the studio he is squatting in and proceeds to get them to model for him. A few terrible photos, a couple of bags over the head and a nice juicy All American Beef Hamburger does not a professional modelling session make.
It isn’t just Wachter that needs to be applauded, as both director Andres Torres and DP Anna Franquesa Solano are owed a lot in regards to how damn good this film came out to be. It’s always looking spectacular either when capturing the seedy and dirty streets of New York or the porno-esque set of the modelling studio.
Some may find the slow build up towards the inevitable craziness of Albert’s obsession a bit tedious, but I felt it allowed us time to get to know him. We can tell by his random bouts of nightmarish daydreams, that he isn’t quite right in the head. However, he does know how to dance to a rocking techno tune.
I know Bag Boy Lover Boy has been referred to by other reviewers as a gross film, but I felt that the movie shied away from just focusing on gore for gore sake. It’s pretty tame in comparison to other horrors films out there. We don’t see a lot of red plasma flying all over the place, but we do get a couple of gross scenes involving some meat grinding. I believe when they say this film is gross, it more has to do with that icky feeling you get from the set pieces and Albert eating hot dogs in a dilapidated, black mould infested, pornographic photo covered apartment building. I most certainly felt gross after that scene.
Severin Films has released Bag Boy Lover Boy on a standard Blu-ray package, with both fantastic picture and audio quality. The Blu-ray’s special features consist of an audio commentary with Director Andres Torres, Actor Theodore Bouloukos and Editor Charlie Williams and two short films by Jon Wachter. The short film titled The Never-starting Story has some rather funny commentary by the man himself, Wachter. Rounding the features out is a trailer.
VERDICT
Bag Boy Lover Boy impressed me, and because of that, I recommend checking the film out. It isn’t a gorefest, but it does make you feel slimy after seeing the film. Be sure to pick it up on Blu-ray from Severin Films.
BLU-RAY SPECIAL FEATURES
- Audio Commentary With Director Andres Torres, Actor Theodore Bouloukos and Editor Charlie Williams
- The Student Films of Actor Jon Wachter: GOT LIGHT and THE NEVER-STARTING STORY
- Trailer