Bloody Hell: A Bloody Fun Genre Piece
Sanctum director Alister Grierson returns with a twisted take on the escape thriller. Combining dark comedy and horror with a dash of demented fairy tale, Bloody Hell is a surprisingly entertaining dingy actioner that leaves a trail of mayhem in its warped wake.
A man with a mysterious past (Ben O’Toole) flees the country to escape his own personal hell... only to arrive somewhere much, much, much worse. In an effort to survive this new horror, he turns to his personified conscience.
January has always been the one month out of every year that seems to be perpetually light in the loafers when it comes to quality or entertaining film content. It’s almost as though studios and distributors scatter all the crap they’ve erected or acquired throughout the first month of the year to set a low bar for the rest of their films to clear as the year progresses. Well, after a colossal dumpster fire year like 2020, it would be a shame to start things off with the usual slump. Luckily, Bloody Hell kicks open 2021’s doors with gusto to prove not all January-released content deserves this bad rap.
Somewhat of a cross between John Wick and a modern Brothers Grimm fairy tale, Bloody Hell combines sadistic hyper-violence with silly, flippant dark comedy with surprising effect. The film takes cannibalism, male machismo, creepy family murderers, high-octane violence, fairy tale trolls, and romance, and blends them all up into an occasionally uneven, yet wholly entertaining and sometimes unexpected experience. Director Alister Grierson lathers the film in style and gives it a boisterous charge, but the film achieves most of its buoyancy thanks to the kooky cleverness of first-time screenwriter Robert Benjamin’s script and the charismatically kinetic lead performance from Ben O’Toole.
After thwarting a bank robbery with violent bravado, our protagonist, Rex (Ben O’Toole), an even mixture of the titular John Wick’s badassery and Die Hard’s John McLane’s wrong-place-right-time, is tossed in a penitentiary for eight years for his recklessly aggressive and excessively brutal actions, which are heralded as heroic by some and psychotic by others. Prior to his release, Rex offers himself over to the hands of fate, hilariously shooting several spitballs at a world map hung in his cell to determine where in the world he’ll run off to upon release, which the cruel mistress fate decides unanimously is Finland. Upon release, Rex is unrealistically, yet humorously somewhat of a celebrity; his release from prison is all over the front page of the tabloids and he’s hounded by paparazzi who are eager to get his photograph, taunting him as they do so as they press for a violent reaction. Little does he know, there’s a world of pain, misery (we choose this word intentionally), and suffering await him, as he’s promptly captured by a savage Finnish family, who seek to feed him to their gigantic, monstrous son who has an insatiable desire for human flesh.
If it sounds outlandish, it’s because it is, but it’s a highly entertaining affair, and to say much more would ruin Bloody Hell’s dark, gory pleasures. Although most of the film fits pretty neatly into genre boxes, it boasts a few delightful twists and turns that keep you guessing and invested. Not all of its narrative threads pay-off, but the film is able to maintain just enough steam to cross the finish line with energy to spare. Benjamin’s script gives Rex more backstory than your typical genre piece, which makes the protagonist into a more rounded character, but a majority of the film’s success is reliant on Ben O’Toole’s superb performance. Since Benjamin has written Rex with a manifestation of his conscience, it allows O’Toole to really have a lot of fun in his dual performances. O’Toole, who has served as minor players in big name films like Hacksaw Ridge or Detroit, wholeheartedly proves that he’s leading-man material; he’s got the handsome good looks (think Robert Downey Jr. mixed with a young Mickey Rourke), charismatic spark, and comedic ability to make it BIG.
Grierson’s confident style doesn’t always land, and the film’s editing is a bit nauseating and bombastic at time (particularly in the first act), but Bloody Hell is a genre piece that completely lives up to its name. It’s worth the watch for Ben O’Toole’s performance alone, which is especially commendable since he spends a majority of the film’s brisk 90-minute runtime bound and suspended by rope in a dingy basement. It also highlights the talents of first-timer Robert Benjamin, whose fun, kooky concepts brand him a screenwriter to watch.
Recommendation: Genre fans looking to start their year off with a gory good time, look no further than Bloody Hell.
Rating: 3.5 hellish vacations outta 5.
What do you think? We want to know. Share your thoughts and feelings in the comments section below, and as always, remember to viddy well!