While watching Baghead, the movie reminded me a lot of the film Talk to Me. The name Baghead literally gives away what the movie is about—it’s about someone who wears a bag on their head. This someone lives in the basement of a rundown pub, a place with historical significance. This pub used to belong to Iris’ father, who tried to burn it down. Surprisingly, he ended up burned dead, but the Baghead is still very much alive and residing in the basement. Now, the pub belongs to Iris. But who is this Baghead? Why does it stay in the basement? And will Iris make it out alive or end up like her father? Let’s find out together.
Spoilers Ahead
Why Did Iris Decide To Stay At The Bar?
Iris had always been alone in her life. She had no parents; her mother was dead, and her father never bothered to contact her; or at least that’s what she believed. When Iris was younger, she lived in group homes. As she grew older, she moved from one home to another. She often got evicted and didn’t have enough money or anything else she needed. Suddenly, one day, a solicitor contacted Iris. He told her that her father had died and left an old historical pub in her name. Iris, who never had a proper home or much money, thought this could be her new home. She decided to go there. “The Queenshead Bar” looked like a creepy old mansion with lots of old pictures and belongings from previous owners. The place felt eerie the moment you stepped inside, and Iris felt that too. She was surprised to learn that her father used to own this place.
When Iris arrived, she found out that her father had died in a fire, and there was a scorched area right in front of the basement door. That same night, a man named Neil showed up with two thousand dollars, saying he wanted to talk to the woman in the basement and meet his wife. Iris was shocked! Who was he talking about? Who lived here? She didn’t understand! She told him she didn’t have the key but promised to help him meet his wife if she found it tomorrow. Needless to say, she was curious herself! The next day, when the solicitor arrived with the old lease papers for the inheritance, Iris signed them and received the key.
That night, Neil returned, along with Katie, Iris’s friend. They all went into the basement together, and what they saw was not normal at all. There was a broken wall in the basement, and from there emerged a creepy, shabby-looking creature wearing a bag on its head. When Neil showed it his wife’s ring, the creature swallowed it and then transformed into his mother instead of his wife. They strapped her to a chair and talked to her, but after two minutes, her eyes turned black, as if she were trying to harm them and mess with their minds. But Iris came and tried to stop that, telling it to go back and make it wear the bag on its head—and it was actually obeying her commands! Later, it’s found out that, as Iris is the owner of the pub now, she is the owner of this creature too; she is her guardian, and she must obey her. The same thing happened when her dad was the owner; he was also the guardian.
In an old video left by her father for the next owner of the pub, Iris received instructions on how to handle the creature. Anyone who wishes to speak with her and connect with their deceased relatives must only talk for 2 minutes. Otherwise, the creature may start manipulating their mind and become hostile. It’s crucial to keep it confined to the basement so that it never escapes beyond that area. Also, Iris should never enter through the broken wall in the basement where the creature stays. Iris realized that this place was not safe; even Katie knew it too. But Iris also knows that she doesn’t have anywhere to live, and Neil is ready to pay for anything if they let him talk to the bag-headed creature. Even though they were skeptical at first, they chose to stay because Iris believed that by letting Neil talk to the creature for 2 minutes they would make enough money and would be able to follow their own careers: Iris could open an art studio, and Katie could become a lawyer. So she was willing to take the risk.
What Happened To Katie?
The next day, when Neil returned to speak with the creature, it became clear that his intention was not to communicate with his deceased wife. Instead, he wanted to know if his wife had been unfaithful and if she wanted to leave him. It was evident that he struggled to accept his wife’s death and wasn’t ready to move on. However, as the creature’s eyes turned black again and it began to manipulate their minds after two minutes, Iris intervened, trying to prove that she was its master. The creature revealed something unsettling: Iris herself was now a prisoner of the establishment. Just like her father, she could never leave this place. For twenty years, he had been stuck here, unable to meet his family, and wherever he went, death seemed to follow him. That’s why he had wanted to burn the place down but couldn’t, and now he had burned to death himself. Iris realized she could never leave this place. It became even more apparent that the creature had already begun playing with her mind.
When Katie tried to tell Iris they must leave, Iris accused her of being jealous and was now happy with the idea of owning the property. Even when Iris tried to burn down the lease papers, she saw that they would not catch fire. This indicates one thing: she will forever be the owner until she dies. Yes, she was actually trapped here. Katie followed a trail left by a previous owner of the pub named Otto Vogler. From his belongings, she sought the bag-headed creature to know how to escape. She discovered from the creature who transformed itself as Otto Vogler that, in that 400 years ago, a brotherhood had discovered a woman who could summon dead people. They abused her power and later burned her at the stake, calling her a witch. Seeking revenge, she rose from the dead, and the brotherhood trapped her in a tomb through a dark ritual. However, years later, descendants of those people continued to abuse her power, and she regained her strength. Those who sought to exploit her ended up dead. As Katie listened to this story, her two minutes ran out, and she was dragged past the basement wall—the tomb itself—and killed.
What Happened To Iris?
After Katie died, Iris received a phone call from her, pleading for help from the basement. Despite her father’s warning not to go there, Iris rushed to save her friend. However, upon reaching the basement and hearing Katie’s voice from the broken wall, Iris realized it was a trap. Katie was already dead, and now the bag-headed creature was targeting Iris. You see, the moment Iris signed the lease and became the pub’s owner, she was also cursed, like the previous owners. She was the only one who could prevent the creature from leaving the basement and wreaking havoc in the outside world; Iris was the only barrier. So, naturally, the bag-headed creature wanted to kill her. And whom did it use? None other than Neil. The creature, being able to read minds and play mind games, knew of Neil’s desperate wish to reunite with his deceased wife and manipulated him. It told Neil that if he killed Iris, they could be together, even making a story about the dead wife expecting a child to make Neil more emotional. Unfortunately, Neil believed every word the creature said and was convinced to kill Iris. Despite Iris’s attempts to reason with him, Neil didn’t listen. In the end, he threw her from the roof, and Iris died.
At the end of Baghead, we see that as Iris dies, Neil tries to summon her using the bag-headed creature, saying that he never wanted to kill her and only wanted to be the owner of the creature and reunite with his wife. But here’s the twist: Now, the creature itself becomes its own master because its previous master, Iris, is dead. There’s nothing stopping it from leaving the tomb and roaming the outside world. Finally, it takes its revenge by killing Neil. It has avenged all those who abused her power or tortured her in the past. With no one left to control her or trap her, the creature is now its own guardian. It’s finally free.
