Bullitt County

A tale of fabled buried treasure circa the 1970s, friends swing shovels together in an effort to unearth it. The upshot? So often times, too often, the threat doesn't come from forces external. It manifests when those familiar turn on themselves.

I'm from Evansville, heard there were some scenes filmed locally and that it was good from relatives of the crew. I went into it knowing it was a thriller. What I did not know was that this movie would be a train wreck. I'm sorry. I tried to enjoy it. But the characters were awful. Awful decisions. The ending.. if you can call it that.. didn't make much sense either. You got my wife and my 20 bucks. Good luck next time I guess. I'll probably pass.

It's a stretch to call this a thriller, but it certainly grips you a little. The movie starts slow, and I mean real sloooow. I was tempted to turn it off a few times in the first 30 minutes. You have a bunch of juvenile-acting hipsters who seem to be goofing around and wasting everybody's time, but you then get the feeling that they have a dark secret hovering over them, which is when things start getting interesting.

The action kind of picks up when they start searching for a treasure which is legend in those parts. Once we reach the psychological part of the movie, that's when the film starts messing with you and you start realizing what you may have missed the entire movie even though it was right in front of you the whole time (starting from the very first scene).

I would recommend checking out this movie, but do not expect a masterpiece. It can be better made, and the suspense scenes can be directed better. The acting is not too bad and the plot is first-class.

I saw this in the theater and liked it (probably 7 out of 10) but I just rented it and DAMN there are so many cool details I missed the first time! Storyline pieces fit together really well. The performances are super good too.

"Bullet County" was released in 2018. A few years later, lead actor Mike C. Nelson would become a regular actor on the Progressive "Young Homeowners Becoming Their Parents" ads. And I simply could not separate the two parts.

In this film, set in the 1970s, Nelson plays a tortured Vietnam vet with a secret. But I still hear and see Progressive Mike and it's messing with my head. At no point throughout the running time-no matter how completely different the two roles are-I keep picturing Mike ordering a salad or striking up a conversation at a gas station. I understand that this is my issue, but it completely colored my impression of his performance. So that should be considered.

So Progressive Mike is kidnapped by his buddies as a bachelor party-type excursion through the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, which is a weird choice considering he hasn't had a drink in 10 years. Anyway, they camp in the woods and reminisce and honestly the first half of the movie lost me. I wasn't interested. I was distracted by you know who. I was bored. I nearly gave up but it had some decent reviews although I always ignore the 10s, so I hung in there.

The trip turns in to a hunt for buried treasure and they end up at an old couple's home in the woods and then shooting starts and it's a totally different movie. Unfortunately, I'm still not interested and don't care about what's going on because it doesn't make any sense and I CAN'T STOP SEEING PROGRESSIVE MIKE no matter how blood covered or crazy he gets.

Production value-wise it was fairly good considering the budget, although I really dislike the motion caused by the camera movements seen in every low budget film that can't afford stationary cameras. Lighting was good. Acting was okay. Script was problematic and sketchy. I tried to imagine it without Progressive Mike, and in all honesty, I don't think I'd change my rating. I just would have been less distracted.

Poor Mike. He's now in Progressive Flo territory. But it pays the bills.