Review: ‘Bloody Hell’ is like a Grimm fairytale but on acid

If you’re well-versed in your fairy tale lore, you know many of the classics like Cinderella and The Little Mermaid are far more wicked and disturbing than Disney’s sugary adaptations. Themes of morality and truth remain largely intact, shifting loosely within grisly, skin-ripping imagery that’ll make your blood run cold. Alister Grierson’s Bloody Hell, written by first time feature screenwriter Robert Benjamin, playfully employs a fairy tale aesthetic to impart one of life’s most earnest lessons: you can’t run away from your problems. The film is an absolutely bonkers campfire tale ⏤ like if you went out in the woods looking for Jason Voorhees and decided to drop some acid first. Bloody Hell hits Tubi on February 1.

Ben O’Toole plays a former war veteran named Rex, whose quick-footed, sharp-shooting skills come in handy when there’s an armed robbery at a local bank in Boise, Idaho. When several masked men, equipped with semi-automatic weapons, threaten the lives of innocent civilians and bank tellers, Rex takes matters into his own hands. His intentions are well-placed, yet his bold heroism costs not only someone’s life but eight years of his own. Despite doing the right thing, amidst such harrowing, extenuating circumstances, he pays a heavy price.

Cut to: eight years later, and he is finally a free man. During his prison sentence, he made the very calculated decision (through hurling spitballs at a map) to fly off to Finland to restart his life. Untethered from the shady sideways glances and hushed, harsh whispers, he might be able to find freedom for himself once again. Of course, things don’t always go the way you want them to, and Rex quickly finds himself trapped and bound in a charmingly pecular family’s basement (think Hostel but with a fairy tale skin) ⏤ with his right leg gruesomely amputated at the knee.

We come to know and wholly root for Alia (Meg Fraser), the daughter of two very disturbed parents whose eldest offspring is some sort of deformed, bloodthirsty Ogre. Together with her brothers Gidden (Travis Jeffery) and Pete (Joshua Brennan), Alia must participate in hunting humans, and perhaps animals, to keep “Uncle” (Jack Finsterer), as the beasty sibling is called, satiated and content. Alia doesn’t want any part in it; in fact, she’s tried to runaway on numerous occassions, leading her family to punish her by extreme measures like locking her in a wooden cage for months at a time.

Rex’s arrival naturally causes mayhem to ensue. When Alia’s younger brother Olli (David Hill) sneaks into the basement, Rex coaxes the boy to come closer ⏤ quickly clocking him with his across the forehead, before putting him into a sleeper chokehold with legs. Alia soon follows, discovering what’s happened, and Rex makes his best efforts to persuade her to let him go. She doesn’t, of course, at least not at first and not before attending to her brother upstairs. Her parents are absolutely furious with her, promising to discipline her further, and hop into the car to motor off to the hospital, along with Gideon and Pete.

Their absense sets up a window for Rex to escape, or at least try to. In her efforts to tend to his wound, Alia falls head over heels for him, in true damsel-in-distress fashion. It’s goofy, but damn if it isn’t endearing. From the lush set desgin and jarringly chipper soundtrack to Rex’s third act fight for survival, Bloody Hell beeps along as you might expect it to. It’s predictable enough, yet it’s the kind of popcorn flick that’s delightful and engaging, start to finish. Grierson works his magic behind the camera, employing Benjamin’s outlandish and bizarre script to light his way. Particular stylistic reference points are unsurprising but totally satisfying. There’s a clear set-up for a sequel, and sure, we may not actually need one, but the world that’s been built certainly needs further exploration.

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