It’s a classic story. Boy flirts with girl, boy and girl end up in a bank robbery, boy is accused of manslaughter and sent to prison, boy goes on a journey of self-discovery which goes horribly wrong. Director Alister Grierson’s latest release Bloody Hell follows Rex (Ben O’Toole) as his attempt to escape unwanted infamy by traveling to Helsinki goes to hell.
Based on the title alone, Bloody Hell promises two things, blood and hell, which it eventually delivers in spades. Alongside guts and torture, there’s an equal amount of pitch black humor and even a dabble of psychoanalysis provided by Rex’s own subconscious (also played by Ben O’Toole) with whom the audience spends the majority of the runtime with.
Initially it appears the film’s title is a misnomer. The first act plays more like The Hitman’s Bodyguard, helped along by Grierson’s direction and the snarky banter Rex shares with anyone who interacts with him, than a slasher. When Rex arrives in Helsinki a little bit of the promised blood and hell are delivered when, after being gassed in his Uber, he awakens alone in a basement tied like a pig in a slaughterhouse and missing a leg. The gore effects on the stump are just a sampling of the practical effects shown progressively more throughout the film. At this point Bloody Hell takes a sharp turn from pseudo-action/comedy for Funny Games meets The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2.
The remainder of Bloody Hell splits between Rex and his id in the basement, and his newfound keepers living a twisted Wes Anderson-colored life above. There’s the mastermind Mother (Caroline Craig), the willing second in command Father (Matthew Sunderland), the butcher and voyeur Uncle (Jack Finsterer), papier-maché mask clad twins of slaughter (Travis Jeffery), and less than reluctant caretaker Alia (Meg Fraser). Alia, who’s instantly head-over-heels for Rex, provides context to his current predicament whilst bandaging his nasty stump: he’s tied up like he’s in a slaughterhouse because he’s dead meat. He’s slowly going to lose each of his limbs to feed the family which Alia has tried to escape since childhood.
After Rex finally escapes, the blood and the hell finally combine in an insane final sequence combining action, comedy, and horror elements and uniting the tone of the film. Rex delivers Ash Williams-level fight sequences, with a nail gun in lieu of a chainsaw, as he takes down his captors with the aid of his id in full force. It’s a satisfying payoff to the slow burn that was the first hour of the film.
Bloody Hell is the epitome of a good horror comedy. It balances dark humor and genuine despair so the two elements feed off each other rather than one overpowering the other. The plot continually lulls the audience into a sense of comfort before carefully crafting another unexpected twist that somehow is both shocking and natural. Its genre-curious approach, steadily building tension and gore and both outright and subtle comedy, ensure that there’s something for every viewer. Overall, Bloody Hell is a satisfyingly twisted film that embraces both the debauched and the absurd.
