Body Bags (1993), dir. John Carpenter/Tobe Hooper, 187 Corp./Showtime Networks
Got a twofer this time out, as both John Carpenter and Tobe Hooper worked on this anthology. I was tempted to have this for both men's entries this year but we'll have this under Carpenter as he did the lion's share of the work.
The wraparound begins with a morgue attendant (Carpenter) puttering around the morgue and waxing poetically about the recent customers.
"The Gas Station" (Carpenter) has Anne (Alex Datcher), your typical college student doing the late night job bit to pay for her schooling. This is her first night at an all night gas station. She's going to be the only employee as the manager Bill (Robert Carradine) fills her in on what the job entails. Before he leaves, however, he stresses that she must never leave the booth as the door will lock her out without a key. Also there's a homicidal maniac on the loose, 'kay.
Naturally Anne sees every customer as the maniac. Is that boozy stranger (George Buck Flower) hiding a blade under his coat? That guy named Pete (David Naughton) seems rather tense, is it because he lost his credit card or because he's trying to kill her? Who can she trust?
"Hair" (Carpenter) has Robert Coberts (Stacey Keach) as a man in crisis. Coberts has a shameful secret-he's bald. His girlfriend Megan (Sheena Easton) is about her wit's end as she simply doesn't care but she care about his constant fretting.
Television to the rescue! Coberts sees an ad promising a miracle. Dr. Lock (David Warner) promises he can make hair grow anywhere. Coberts eagerly signs up and within twenty-four hours later has a head of hair that would make most romance cover models sick with envy. That's good; except when Dr. Lock promises hair growing anywhere? Yeah, Coberts finds hair growing through his teeth.
That's bad.
"Eye" (Hooper) has minor league ballplayer Brent Matthews (Mark Hamil) finally catch a break. Yup, years of playing nothing but farm leagues have finally paid off and he's off to the majors! Pity about the car wreck. Oh, he survives but with a piece of shrapnel sticking out of his right eye.
Doctors Lang (John Agar) and Bregman (Roger Corman) have a suggestion. They just happen to have an extra eyeball on hand. Would Matthews mind having it? He agrees but it seems he really should have asked who the donor was as Matthews is haunted by visions of women being brutally murdered. Is he cracking up or is the eye's previous owner trying to live again?
Scattershot; this began life as a pilot for Showtime, mostly trying to compete with HBO's Tales from the Crypt but it was canceled at the last minute. The Carpenter bits are great; Gas Station is pretty much Halloween on a budget while Hair perfectly captures the EC comics feel. I could honestly see it with the Crypt-keeper hosting. Eye is decent, with Hamil carrying the film with just the right amount of hammy but overall it's just decent. The final product is a bit uneven. Could a series have worked? Who knows
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