Posted August 3rd, 2009 by Jamie Lisk

• Straight to Video
• Director: François Simard, Jonathan Prévost, Anouk Whissell
• Written by: François Simard, Anouk Whissell
• Running Time: 19 minutes
• Language: French
• MPAA Rating: UNRATED
• Cast: Anouk Whissell, François Simard, Jonathan Prévost, Yoann-Karl Whissell, Jimmy Beaudoin, Daniel-Stoit Désormeaux, Alain Bakayoko, Dave Bellerive, Guillaume Blais-Dubuc, Stephane Coutu, Katrine Girard, Dave Guinchard, Passcal Julien, Joanna Kazmierczak, Sébastien Kazmierczak, Maxime Lapierre, Jean-Marc Leduc, Yan Lhermite, Sebastian Mancini, Olivier Migneron, Pierre Verain, Stephane Verspan

“Le bagman - Profession: Meurtrier” was literally placed into my hands while standing at a table at the 2008 Festival of Fear in Toronto. I’d purchased a bunch of other films on a table set-up to sell Roadkill Superstar Productions DVDs, and in a fit of kindness, or maybe pity, the twenty-something-ish vendor decided to give me a freebie. I glanced the cover; a fellow with a blood-spattered paper bag on his head -- and darkened spots cut out where eye holes would be. Immediately “Friday the 13th 2” flashed into my brain, although I‘m not sure why because his was a pillowcase. Uh… anyways. Needless to say, I was more than happy to take it off his hands. The way I see it, you simply can’t go wrong with free shit. Even if it’s bad, it’s still good.

Awaking from a coma, a young woman named Kimberly (Anouk Whissell) recounts to a detective (Jimmy Beaudoin) how she and some friends were set upon by savage maniac while staying at their cabin. Along with her pals, the maniac also managed to massacre around six car loads of wannabe gangsters, dealers, hookers and junkies. “They can all go to hell,” the detective, an apparent advocate for vigilantism, suggests. Sadly, because one of those wannabe gangsters was the Mayor’s son, he’s forced to investigate further. This, of course, pushes us backwards in time, as Kimberly reveals in a flashback the massacre in gruesome detail. It is this massacre that takes up the majority of the film’s running time.

With his origins rooted in urban legend, the Bagman of the title, much like Bloody Mary, arrives on the scene when his name is spoken three times. Cloaked in a black trench coat, apparently hiding an infinite arsenal of weapons, and wearing a brown paper bag on his head, the Bagman is a rancorous spectre, one who wreaks deadly vengeance upon anyone who dare speak of him. For sure, that’s exactly what we suspect Kimberly and her friends staying at the cabin must have done -- spoken his name three times. When the flashback begins, Kimberly has managed to escape from the Bagman, tearing off into the woods as the maniac takes stock of his kills back at the cabin. The next day, when she emerges from the forest, she is almost immediately smacked into by a carload of wannabe gang bangers. Less interested in her condition, the thugs are curious why she would dare fuck up their car… by getting hit by it. Babbling and incoherent, Kimberly manages to impart to them the story of the Bagman and to definitely not say his name three times. Yeah, like that’s gonna work. The thugs are quick to guffaw her macabre claims, and one of them even manages to mockingly spout off Bagman enough times to keep him hanging off his doorstep for a long long time. Yup, in short notice the ominous sacked-one has arrived to turn the tiny cul de sac where they are parked into a warzone.

While the thugs laugh off the demonic fellow at first, the tone quickly changes when the Bagman manages to dispatch a pair of them in about the time it takes to blink. Reinforcements are soon being called in en masse, to no avail. The Bagman is an indomitable force not to be fucked with, as the thugs quickly decipher. He rips through their numbers with the ease of a butcher in a slaughterhouse… in every conceivable way imaginable. Dismemberment’s, castrations, decapitations, broken limbs and even full body ruptures; if you can think of a way to kill a person, I’m pretty sure this film has covered it.

“Le bagman - Profession: Meurtrier” is an indpendent French film produced entirely in Quebec by a troupe of enterprising young filmmakers. Depending on which version you watch, there’s English subtitles, but that doesn‘t much matter considering how minimal story there is here. Even without subtitles, the film isn’t hard to follow. Heaping helpings of screwball comedy and abundant, well-choreographed, bloodletting is what really drives this sucker. The end result is something akin to a cinematic orgasm for gore fans. If German-born goremeister Andreas Schnaas was to direct a comedic Kung Fu movie, I suspect it would look something like “Le bagman - Profession: Meurtrier”. Evidently, it appears Jonathan Prévost, François Simard (2009’s “Sans dessein”) and Anouk Whissell, the directing trio responsible for “Le Bagman”, were actually inspired by the works of Mr. Schnaas, more specifically his “Violent Shit” series. It’s evident from the first frame. The kills here are creative and perfectly arranged to allow for maximum shits and giggles and gore. Ever seen someone get stabbed in the head with a handgun; or how about a POV shot of someone’s intestines being yanked out of their stomach and strung across a street? If not, well, this is the film for you. Christ, even if I were to detail all the various ways folks are slaughtered here, I still wouldn’t even begin to do the film justice. This is definitely one of those see to believe deals.

Considering how little is asked of the cast here, outside of showing up for their requisite kill scenes, it’s not surprising to see how far Anouk Whissell (2008’s “Dead Time Stories”) stands out. First off, she’s hot. Secondly, she’s actually not a bad actress. As the sole survivor, she is tasked with acquainting us with the rampaging maniac known as the Bagman, thus giving context for the circus macabre to follow. She’s also tasked with screaming… a lot, and she does that pretty well too. The actors, including Yoann-Karl Whissell, who, I’m guessing, is Anouk’s brother, is hilarious as the jive-talking, bald-headed ‘Master Pimp’ who, despite his geeky looks, proves that he can give as good as he gets. Of all the gangsters, he’s probably the most interesting of the lot. Also, much of the dialogue is designed to mock the macho male posturing, rap-inspired slang-speak typical of white wannabe-gangbangers. K-Fed, eat your fucking heart out. All in all, an enjoyable little film that sure to give gore hounds a solid, rock-hard boner.

For more on "Le bagman - Profession: Meurtrier" check out Filmsuck.net where
Stan Hart and Jamie Lisk chat about the film.

 

 

Also included on the “Le bagman - Profession: Meurtrier” DVD (and the sole reason why you should head over to the Roadkill Superstar Production website and buy a copy) is a series of short films from Jonathan Prévost, François Simard and Anouk Whissell. While none of them have the oomph of "Le bagman", they are still an interesting watch for those curious about these three up and coming Canadian filmmakers.

“2 Morts”, similar in structure to “Le Bagman“, plays out as a flashback, as two men, Jonathan Prévost and François Simard, sit amongst the rubble of their destroyed apartment surveying the chaos that they have wrought unto themselves. One is missing his finger, while the other is much worse off -- his whole hand is gone. Both have gaping wounds in their stomach and chest, and one is even forced to push his guts back up into himself after it begins to fall out. As they reflect on what lead to this, they begin to remember their deadly night-time encounter with young woman (Anouk Whissell) in the park some six hours earlier. It seems while chatting her up, the young woman slipped, fell and cracked her skull open on a rock. Rather than call for help, the two young men, both half in the bag from a day spent drinking tequila and beer, scramble back to their apartment. It isn’t long before articles of the young woman’s clothing begin turning up in and around their pad, thus sparking the mother of all blood and gut scraps between the two men. The fight reminded me a lot of “Le Bagman” but on a much smaller scale, as it is well choreographed and gruesome. Even the special effects are quite impressive. There’s even a cool twist ending, to take the short out on a high note. Directed by Jonathan Prévost, François Simard and Anouk Whissell.

 

“Chez Tony Spaghetti” is the next short film and it is directed by Jonathan Prévost and François Simard. Seamlessly melding the vampire and mobster genre together, with hilarious results, “Chez Tony Spaghetti” would work-well as a viewing companion to “Strange Things Happen at Sundown“ as the two films are very similar in tone. When the film opens, two mobsters (Claude Vertzagias and Jonathan Prévost) are meeting at an outdoor spaghetti joint, Chez Tony Spaghetti, of course, to discuss a contract which has been taken out on four individuals. Cough. "Pulp Fiction". Cough. As they chat, who should stumble into the place but the same four individuals. Within minutes, the two hitmen are shooting up the joint, with unexpected results. As it turns out, one of the four wanted people (François Simard) is actually a vampire and he isn’t going down without a fight. This seems to throw our smug hit men off their game, momentarily. More gore and choreographed gruesomeness follows as a slayer arrives on the scene even up the score. This short is really quite enjoyable, and I have to admit, the notion of a vampire cop (Daniel Desormeaux) handing out tickets is very funny.

“Itsy Bitsy Grampy” is a short animated film from Anouk Whissell. It involves a bored little girl who seemingly gets a kick out of placing small house spiders on her grandfather while he lay napping. One day, gramps awakens to discover that he’s literally crawling head to foot with arachnids... and has a heart attack. At the funeral, the little girl eyes up her grandmother, spider in hand. Ah yes, a deliciously dark and devious sense of humor Anouk has. Enjoyable.

“La Roue Faucheuse” is a short animated film from François Simard. More or less a morality play, the film lays out a standard message - do unto others as you’d have done unto you. For sure, this is something that a young man discovers after he nonchalantly steps on an insect, only to have a boulder fall from the sky and land on his head. From there, he is given the opportunity to spin the wheel that will determine where he’ll spend eternity. To his surprise, the wheel lands on reincarnation. His joy suddenly turns to shock when he discovers what he’ll be reincarnated as... If you say ‘insect’, you’re laughing.

“Bagman 2001” was directed by François Simard and Anouk Whissell, and, from what I can tell, it’s the first incarnation of the Bagman character. Structured to look like a silent film, “Bagman 2001” uses title cards and music to tell the story of a man (François Simard) who has an encounter with the mysterious Bagman outside his home one cold winter day. Again, the comedy is there, including a scene where Simard has his dreadlocks chopped off. For what it’s worth, this is enjoyable enough. I sense that this short will gain more relevance in the coming years, if a full length Bagman film gets off the ground, which I hear, accordng to their website, is going to happen soon.

“Pub Bagman”, the final short, is directed by Jonathan Prévost, François Simard and Anouk Whissell. Like an early draft-extension of “Le bagman - Profession: Meurtrier”, this one, with its short running time, manages to be both gruesome and funny. While perusing their local videostore, three twenty-somethings (Jonathan Prévost, François Simard and Anouk Whissell) are happened upon by the Bagman while looking for a copy of the film, “Le bagman”. The results are as you expect. Lots of blood spatter and dismembered bodies. Can honestly say, I never thought I'd see "Elvis Gratton" getting rammed through someone's head. Awesome!