FILM Bagman tells the story of an evil threat from childhood that comes back to haunt Patty/Patrick (Sam Claflin), a father who is desperately fighting against his deepest fear, Bagman. A mysterious figure who takes innocent children and puts them in his bag.
Bagman processed stories from urban legends about creatures that haunt children. Stories that continue to be passed down from parents to their children so that they will listen to orders and not go against the taboos that have been set. Patty and her older brother, Liam (Steven Cree), are ordinary kids who like to challenge themselves and explore what they shouldn’t do. They are not allowed to enter the former mining area in their village. However, one day, the two of them did this, and since then, Patty’s fate has changed.
In today’s life, Patty and Liam have lived adult lives. Both of them are married. Patty is married to Karina (Antonia Thomas) and has an adorable son, Jake (Carell Vincent Rhoden). After living far from her childhood village, Patty brought her small family back to the place where she grew up as a teenager. However, an unfathomable terror awaited him.
The figure that once haunted Patty as a child lurks again. It wasn’t just Patty who was terrorized, but also Karina and Jake. Patty’s paranoia, which had been brewing for a long time, reappears as strange events occur around her house. Until the presence of this figure threatens Jake. At her parents’ house, which Patty now shares with her family, becomes Bagman’s entry point to take away Patty, who is no longer a child.
The combination of mystery and horror that Bagman brings is effective enough to create a feeling of anxiety that could suddenly bring about a major disaster. Event after event surrounds the lives of Patty and her family who are also plagued by financial problems.
After Bagman succeeded in teasing the family, it was revealed what Patty had been experiencing when she went back to see her childhood psychologist, which enabled Patty to continue living the rest of her life since she was 8 years old. As a result of his father’s feeling of being scared, as well as the very heavy trauma he experienced when he was in an ex-mining cave, he still had childhood problems that had not been resolved until he became an adult, just like Bagman who didn’t bother chasing Patty to put her in his bag.
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The jump scare element with sound effects is the formula applied by the director, Colm McCarthy, who also worked on episode six (Black Museum) of the fourth season of the Black Mirror series. Starting from the sound of the house alarm to the rustle of the wind in the backyard, or the sound of a doll.
McCarthy sets the audience on edge to guess what will happen next to Jake. Throughout the film, McCarthy directs the camera’s intentions and the narrative moves in that direction. Before finally turning at the end of the film which is also the climax of Patty’s struggle against Bagman.
The elements of myth and urban legend in this film are also things that bring the audience closer to the terror that lurks. Belief in totems or talismans as protectors, the presence of figures who carry away children, and mystical powers that cannot be defined using logic, are the strengths of the film. Even though it seems that this film will give us an absolute victory for the protagonist, in fact McCarthy gives the twist that there are sacrifices that must be made in the struggle to save the remaining family members.
Bagman is currently showing in Indonesian cinemas. Indonesian media watched it in the preview session, Tuesday (24/9) at XXI Kota Kasablanka mall, South Jakarta. (Z-9)
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