Common Sense Media Review
By Jeffrey M. Anderson
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Monster abducts kids in dull, by-the-numbers horror movie.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 14+?
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Where to Watch
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Bagman
What's the Story?
In BAGMAN, Patrick McKee (Sam Claflin) is forced to move back into his mother's house with his wife, Karina (Antonia Thomas), and their young son, Jake (Caréll Rhoden), after Pat's invention—a robotic tree-trimmer—fails to catch on. Pat takes a job at his family's sawmill with his brother, Liam (Steven Cree), and starts working to pay off his debts. Then he starts hearing strange noises in the yard, and Karina has a scare when Jake wanders off into the woods behind the house. Pat remembers stories his father told him as a child about the mysterious Bagman, who captures good little children. The only protection against the Bagman is a magical totem, an object that the child loves dearly. Jake's totem is a wooden flute carved for him by his father, but it's gone missing. Can Pat protect his family?
Is It Any Good?
This horror movie is competently made, but it's also deadly dull, as if on autopilot, gathering up a collection of clichés and laying them out in a predictable order. Bagman starts out poorly, with an overly familiar title sequence made up of creepy drawings that outline the backstory of the Bagman. Then we meet the various characters, portrayed by actors who don't seem to want to be there, reading dialogue that sounds generic and phony. Little Jake has more personality than any of the adults, but most of the movie is spent yelling after him ("Jakey!"), since he keeps disappearing or wandering off ... or, inexplicably, gets left in the bathtub by himself.
Otherwise, Pat pokes around the house in the dark, brandishing a baseball bat and yelling "come on!" at the shadows. Anytime anything happens, Pat and Karina call the police, and none other than the chief of police (William Hope) himself shows up to take a look around. (Wouldn't he have something more to do in New Jersey?) There are also repeated flashbacks, just in case the plot starts to lose anyone, and nightmare sequences that have nothing to do with anything. The scares are perfunctory, the showdown is pathetic, and the twist is totally transparent. Apparently the Bagman villain is based on real lore (the monster is also known as the "Sack Man" or the "Man with the Sack"), but for all the interest it generates here, it might have just been a trash bag.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about Bagman's violence. How did it make you feel? Was it exciting? Shocking? What did the movie show or not show to achieve this effect? Why is that important?
Is the movie scary? What's the appeal of horror movies? Why do people sometimes enjoy being scared?
Did the movie inspire you to look further into the lore of the Bagman? How does he compare to other monstrous figures connected to real-world legends (e.g., La Llorona, Krampus, etc.)?
Do characters demonstrate courage? Why is that an important character strength?
Movie Details
- In theaters : September 27, 2024
- On DVD or streaming : October 18, 2024
- Cast : Sam Claflin , Antonia Thomas , William Hope
- Director : Colm McCarthy
- Inclusion Information : Female Movie Actor(s) , Black Movie Actor(s)
- Studio : Lionsgate
- Genre : Horror
- Topics : Fantasy
- Run time : 93 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- MPAA explanation : terror, violent content and strong language
- Last updated : September 18, 2025
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