The Mark Hamill 1990s Horror Sci-Fi Comedy You Can Stream Right Now

Body Bags is a collection of three horror mini-movies that are tied together with a wrap-around story that takes place in a morgue. A coroner goes to work telling the tales behind three of the bodies on the slabs after two of the attendants leave, giving a chilling way to introduce three tales of terror.

The first vignette, “The Gas Station,” follows a college student named Anne (Alex Datcher) who is working the night shift at a remote gas station. A serial killer has recently broken out of a local insane asylum, setting up Anne for a grisly series of events that put her life in jeopardy. 

Body Bags opens its second movie segment, “Hair”, with a businessman named Richard Coberts (Stacy Keach) that is desparate to find a cure for his quickly receding hairline. After receiving a topical solution that is branded as a miracle cure for baldness by the strange Dr. Lock (David Warner), Richard indeed begins to grow a beautiful head of hair . . .but at a horrible cost.

The third and final Body Bags movie vignette, “Eye,” concerns baseball player Brent Matthews (Mark Hamill) whose right eye is severely damaged in a car accident. Brent gets the eye replaced with an experimental surgery, but later discovers that his new organ originally belonged to a recently executed serial killer. As Brent feels the urge to kill rise within him, he comes to the horrific realization that the deceased killer is attempting to possess all of Brent’s body through his newly acquired eye.

There are several reasons horror fans will love the Body Bags movie, beginning with the the quality of the storytelling within each segment. Though far from original and drawing from a smattering of old folk tales and twists on urban legends, these movie vignettes are well-scripted and hold the interest of audiences.

The acting isn’t A-grade material, but the players on the screen make that seem unimportant. 

The wrap-around story features the legendary John Carpenter as the coroner (he also co-directed the film), and Tobe Hooper (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Poltergeist) as one of the morgue attendants.

Hooper also served as co-director. Comedian Tom Arnold plays the second worker, engaging in witty banter that adds an arc of comic relief over the gory subject matter that unfolds on the screen.

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Body Bags also co-stars Robert Carradine, Wes Craven, and Sam Raimi in “The Gas Station,” Deborah Harry and Sheena Easton in “Hair,” and Twiggy and the late Roger Corman in “Eye.” The cast and crew certainly work to elevate the movie, with so many of them in roles that are out of their typical element.

The score was composed by John Carpenter and done with the same mastery of his other iconic horror themes. It served to give Body Bags that extra layer of terror that many audiences see many horror films fall short of the mark.

The special effects and makeup are as over-the-top as the fantastic plotlines and cheesy (at times) dialogue, giving fans a horror movie that knows how to make fun of itself while also remaining a fun movie to view.

You can stream Body Bags for free with Roku and Tubi or rent the movie On Demand with AppleTV and Prime.