Bingo Hell

A heartfelt horror/comedy with a great balance of gruesomeness and character connection. The residents of a small, impoverished, American town are struggling to remember who they once were in a community who has forgotten its true identity. Seduced by a nefarious newcomer, this Faustian story will test the moral fibre of this tribe presenting them with a fight for the very soul of their town.

This struck a note of sincerity based on the authenticity of the well developed characters and the exploration of the every day problems of the real people in America. This has all the ingredients to be a cult horror B-grade classic. A simple yet effectively executed message about people being tested and self-discovery in a light hearted comedy/horror context. Fun yet significant.

Bad acting bad plot bad pacing bad editing bad movie.

Very entertaining and well done despite its tonal problems, Bingo Hell is a strangely wonderful little horror gem that isn't afraid to do whatever the hell it wants. I weirdly found myself quite happy with how this film turned out, it wasn't as B-ovie as I expected it to be, in fact it had some surprisingly deeper moments. Tonally this film is all. It can be a bit sentimental at times, a bit goofy, a bit dramatic, and just plain absurd and creepy. It's a mess of tones and it shows that the writers truly didn't know where to go with the story at hand, but it does manage to grab you ever step of the wa and always keep your attention. The acting is quite good surprisingly with Adriana Barraza as the obvious standout, and some other good supporting performances from L. Scott Caldwell and the infamous Richard Brake. The cinematography is an interesting blend of old and new, and the music choices are absolutely excellent. It can be a bit ridiculous at times, as well as tonally frustrating, but in the end this weird bingo horror flick did manage to surprise me and prove to be enjoyable all the way through. It's by no means a great film, or even a good one, but it does manage to be a fun ride.

My Rating: 5.1/10.

Bingo Hell did a few things really well, but most things weren't great, and it was disappointing. Despite the 4/10, I am glad I watched it. I can't recommend it, but I think it might be worth the watch as long as you keep your expectations low and want to enjoy the visuals and a few great scenes.

What went right?

Basically every scene with Richard Brake (Mr. Big) was insane, and great to watch! His smile, his laughter, the lighting, and camera work were all fantastic. It was a spectacle worth watching and literally the only reason I liked the movie. Unfortunately you don't get a ton of him on screen.

The production quality was fantastic: everything was clearly lit even in dark scenes, all the sound was balanced and I never needed to adjust it. The camera work was a little *too* ambitious, sometimes dizzying, but they accomplished some really awesome shots so it was worth it. I hope to see some similar stuff, just reigned in a bit. They do a lot of lighting effects that I thought worked pretty well, which is an easy thing to mess up.

What went wrong?

Story-wise, they had an ok idea, but just didn't make it interesting enough or put the pieces together clearly. I thought I'd love the tough old-lady main character from the trailer, but she just felt awkward to me the whole movie. I didn't like most of her dialogue either, but luckily some of the other characters were pretty entertaining when they got screen time.

They didn't do enough with the actual horror elements, but when they used them they were quite good. They had some really crazy death scenes, but didn't do enough of them. The logic for the demon didn't really hold up in some regards, and there was almost no build up. It seemed like they couldn't decide exactly what the demon should be and it made it clunky.

It escalated too quickly and it was a ton of wasted opportunity since they didn't spend time on the most interesting parts. They had some mysterious details (like slime) that they set up and never used again. A big chunk of the movie started to get old as it drifted into mediocre-drama territory for too long.

No offense to any of the actors in this (mostly at least decent performances), but Richard Brake takes the cake. And if a movie is only as good as its villain ... well this should be way better rated by me I reckon.

That aside (and I have no idea if there is a novel/book this is based on), the movie works on a certain level even if it does seem to be stuck in first gear for most of the running time. So yes there are pacing issues and the social commentary may be hammered home too much ... still you can have some fun with this ... certainly with Richard Brake ... did I mention how great he is in this? Well he is an awesome actor so there is that ...