NIGHTSTREAM 2020 | "Bloody Hell" Is Bloody AF And Entertaining As Hell
9/12 ForReel Score | 4/5 Stars
Every family has its quirks. But in Bloody Hell, the family that Rex (Ben O’Toole) encounters is very different in a very bizarre way. The nightmare he becomes trapped in because of them might be a less-than-ideal situation for him, but ends up being a wild and thrilling ride for audiences.
After Rex serves time in prison for his violent assault on bank robbers that resulted in the death of a hostage, he decides to start life fresh in a new place that’s randomly chosen from shooting a spitball at a map. This takes him to Finland, where he and the imaginary subconscious he often talks to quickly wind up captured by strangers. Now, chained up in a basement and crippled by a poorly amputated leg, Rex has to find a way to escape this hellish ordeal before he loses any more limbs - or his life.
There’s a lot going on in Bloody Hell as the story tries to cover a lot of ground in setting up the primary conflict then executing and resolving it. But there’s plenty to keep this movie’s head on straight, so to speak. Such as Ben O’Toole, whose performance is fresh and entertaining as he banters with - well - himself. The use of an imaginary self conscious was a creative and plenteous source of comedy, and the dichotomy between Rex’s cautiously calculated nature and his imaginary self’s influential recklessness is rich.
Bloody Hell isn’t without its flaws, however. The biggest of which for me was the score. Cliched, cheesy use of music and sound effects cheapens the production value more than necessary. These moments are often distracting or cartoonish to me - underscoring the difficult challenge horror-comedies face trying to strike the right tone.
It’s a minor gripe for what is otherwise a fun and entertaining horror-comedy experience. With a solid cast, great sense of humor, gory violence, and a batshit crazy family in the middle of it all, Bloody Hell might not be perfect, but it’s a bloody good time.
Acting and Casting - 2 | Visual Effects and Editing - 2 | Story and Message - 1 | Entertainment Value - 2 | Music Score and Soundtrack - 0 | Reviewer's Preference - 2 | What does this mean?