A cadaverous coroner (John Carpenter having a maniacal field day in grotesque make-up) at a hospital morgue relates three tales of terror.

First and most suspenseful segment, "The Gas Station" - Anne (a solid and sympathetic performance by Alex Datcher) finds herself being terrorized by an escaped killer while working the late shift. Carpenter builds plenty of nerve-wracking tension and makes supremely claustrophobic use of the isolated central location. Robert Carradine has a ball portraying a relentless psycho.

Second, most quirky, and amusing yarn, "Hair" - Balding Richard Coberts (a terrific Stacy Keach) seeks an unusual treatment for his hair loss problem which has unpleasant side effects. Done with a winningly dry sense of humor by Carpenter, this one has a nice message about the price of man's vanity. Keach deserves a lot of praise for being such a good sport, David Warner excels as the sinister Dr. Lock, Sheena Easton contributes an appealing turn as Robert's long-suffering girlfriend Megan, and Deborah Harry vamps it up with saucy aplomb as a nurse.

Third and most gruesome vignette, "Eye" - Baseball player Brent Matthews (a sturdy performance by Mark Hamill) receives an eye transplant which has lethal repercussions. Director Tobe Hooper really piles on the gore and does an able job of crafting a spooky atmosphere. Twiggy does well as Brent's concerned wife Cathy. While the punchline is predictable, it nonetheless still delivers a seriously nasty punch.

The enjoyable assortment of cool cameos by such familiar faces as Roger Corman, David Naughton, Wes Craven (who's a hoot as a slimy creep),Charles Napier, John Agar, George "Buck" Flower (cast to type as a grubby bum),Sam Raimi, and Peter Jason adds immensely to the overall entertainment value. Both Gary Kibbe's fluid cinematography and the moody score by Carpenter and Jim Lang are up to snuff. A neat omnibus opus.

A three-story anthology which is successful due to the amount of talent involved. BODY BAGS consists of three strange little tales, two of them very gory indeed, the third an amusing black comedy. None other than John Carpenter hosts the anthology, acting as a crazed morgue attendant who enjoys showing us all the gore and gristle that he can find in the morgue. Cue lots of shots of mangled bodies and various entrails slopping about all over the place.

Thankfully the film is done with a tongue in cheek so things don't get too hard to stomach. Carpenter's portrayal brings to mind the Crypt Keeper and his macabre gags, and the film is very close to the spirit of the TALES FROM THE CRYPT television series - except with more talent and more gore. And as was the case with INNOCENT BLOOD, half the fun comes from spotting all the familiar faces popping up in cameo roles. For example, Tom Arnold and Tobe Hooper (who also directs the final episode) show up as a couple of ghoulish morgue workers!

The first story, The Gas Station, is quite a clichéd one and runs like a mini-slasher film, which is no surprise as the director is John Carpenter himself. He throws in a few familiar tricks from HALLOWEEN plus lots of interesting camera-work to make this one interesting and creepy. Alex Datcher is good as the segment's lead, doing all the victim stuff (screaming, running, outwitting the killer, etc.),and Robert Carradine has a great role as her strange-acting colleague. Also putting in cameos are Wes Craven as a pasty-faced customer, David Naughton as a heroic ally, George 'Buck' Flower as a drunk and Sam Raimi (as a corpse!). This segment gets very grisly at the end!

Hair isn't a gory tale, but the story is a lot better. Stacy Keach takes the lead as the man losing his hair, while the reliable David Warner puts in a typical performance as the head of the firm which treats him. Of course, Keach's solution starts off brilliantly, and then goes hideously wrong. A simple tale, well told and quite funny with some excellent effects work to recommend it. Here, special effects man Greg Nicotero appears as a dog owner, and Debbie Harry's in here too.

The final episode, Eye, is by far the most chilling and disturbing. Some scenes are also difficult to watch, especially those involving Hamill hallucinating that his wife is a corpse as he makes love to her. Yes, that is Mark Hamill as the lead, and he puts in a very good performance too - it's a shame he's been relegated to doing voiceovers in recent years, but at least he's kept working. The organ transplant tale is pretty clichéd and predictable, but executed (no pun intended) well, with good acting from the cast. The eye operations which take place are very gruesome and sometimes sickening to watch, so beware. It's actually quite a tragic tale too. The finale is predictable but fairly exciting. Here, veteran actor John Agar and director Roger Corman play a pair of doctors.

So, in the end, BODY BAGS is a pretty average example of a recent anthology, it keeps you watching but doesn't really frighten, just disgusts. As with most American horror films of the '90s, the emphasis is on the special effects and gore instead of the story. If gore's what you're after, though, then you've come to the right place. Otherwise, this is pretty much routine.

Three short stories in the horror genre: The first about a serial killer. The second about a hair transplant going wrong. The third about a base ball player who receives a questionable eye transplant.

The sad truth is that giving this film as high a rating as I did really comes down to one thing: the endless supply of guest stars from the horror genre (and beyond). Who can dislike a film with Wes Craven, Sam Raimi, John Carpenter, Tobe Hooper and more? That is incredible.

As for the film itself, it is about average. The acting and directing are fine, and the gore really starts to add up in the third segment. But the script was really nothing special, and I am not shocked that Showtime declined to turn this into a regular series (any given episode of "Masters of Horror" is better).

The disc from Scream Factory makes this average film a little something more, with plenty of insight from Stacy Keach, John Carpenter and producer Sandy King. Horror fans may think the movie is average, but you are bound to learn a few things from the commentary.