Black Bags (2023)

Black Bags (2023). 1h 27m

“As this film opens we see a heavily pregnant woman, Tess, collecting essential medication. She then heads to the bus station, loads her luggage into the storage area before boarding. Another woman, whim an identical bag, boards and sits next to Tess. She introduces herself as Sara. When Tess disembarks at the terminus Sara is asleep. She takes her bag and returns to her remote house. Just as she is opening the bag the doorbell rings… it is Sara saying their luggage has been switched. When Tess goes to get the bag it falls open and she sees something shocking inside… something that suggests Sara may be very dangerous. She closes it and gives it back but it is clear Sara knows that Tess has seen the contents. Sara starts explaining things but can anything she says be believed?u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eI didnu0026#39;t really know what to expect when I started watching this and early on I expected to the disappointed. Opening scenes suggested something overly melodramatic with the u0026#39;wickedu0026#39; Sara making a mistake that made no logical sense… i.e. Keeping the item in the case. However as the story progressed it started to get more interesting and unlikely details were mostly explained. There were some good twists and turns before a denouement that I didnu0026#39;t predicted until very close to the end. The film is almost entirely carried by its two leading ladiesu0026#39; Olesya Rulin and Laura Vandervoort really impressed as Tess and Sara respectively. There is less action than one might expect but there is still plenty of tension. Overall a solid enough psychological thriller; Iu0026#39;d recommend it to fans of the genre with ninety minutes to kill.”