The Bondsman Review: Curious Experiment That Combines Horror, Black Comedy, and Family Drama!
The Bondsman Review: Eight years after the end of I Love Dick April 3 Kevin Bacon returns in the guise of protagonist of one new series The Bondsman produced by Prime Video (and in May we will see it in Sirens on Netflix). A series that combines horror and comedy and that sees him as a “diabolical” bounty hunter. Here are more details on the plot and our opinion on The Bondsman. It has been a while since a supernatural “pure” series was seen; that is, one that dealt with demons and apocalypses without taking itself too seriously. It seems to have emerged directly from the golden age of this kind, between the late 90s and early 2000s, and yet it is outdated, dirty, and bad.
The Bondsman starts from an idea that, on paper, has all the potential to attract fans of supernatural horror plus pulp: Hub Halloran (Kevin Bacon) is a former country singer who has become a bounty hunter who is killed, only to be brought back to life by the Devil himself with the mission of chasing demons hidden among citizens of the southern United States. In exchange? An extension to eternal hell. The idea vaguely recalls films such as R.I.P.D. or even certain episodes of Supernatural, yet The Bondsman chooses a more camp route, halfway between the horror tribute and the grotesque comedy. The result is deliberately kitsch, with a marked gore vein and a comedy that works at times, at times confusing.
The Bondsman Review: The Story Plot
Hub Halloran (Bacon) is a rough and ruthless bounty hunter (bail bondsman in English means guarantor of the bail) in the deep south of the United States, between arid land and many weapons. One day, he receives a tip on the presence of a wanted man in a hut, but when he goes there, he ends up in an ambush that costs his life. Or at least it would seem. Shortly after, Hub wakes up with a deep cut in the throat in a kind of cavity from which he easily frees himself. The wound heals as quickly as inexplicably, and Hub keeps it to himself with the elderly and religious mother. He begins to investigate the trap he has fallen victim to, ending up on the trail of his ex-wife’s husband and his son’s mother, but after ignoring persistent calls from a mysterious number called “treasure pot,” he directly receives a visit at home. And so a young woman explains to him that he was dead, but he was brought back to life by the Devil, who wants to entrust him with a job: to capture the demons that escaped from hell. Or go back to hell forever. Hub will accept it, but we will not spoil anything else. If we have intrigued you, take a look at the trailer, which has been thoroughly reviewed.
The Bondsman Review and Analysis
The idea of this series is not new: on the contrary, it is practically identical to a 1998 series entitled Brimstone, which had little duration and was released in the USA on Fox and in a few other Asian countries, unpublished in Italy. However, we are not here to give the Golden Globe for the best original script, but to say whether or not The Bondsman deserves to be seen. And the answer is yes. Why Kevin Bacon – actor so prolific that he has an experiment on the six degrees of separation named after him – he is perfect in the role of this man damned in life and death, with a particular sense of justice and the family and a musical talent known since Footloose’s time. In eight half-hour episodes, each The Bondsman alternates, and sometimes unites, splashes of blood and laughter, with the perfect backdrop of a dirty and bad rural Georgia that looks like the antechamber of hell. A successful mix of horror and comedy that warmed the atmosphere, a compelling series that perhaps would have deserved greater promotion also in Italy. But if you cross it, you don’t make the mistake of moving on, it would be a mortal sin.
Since the first episode, The Bondsman has shown that he is not taking himself too seriously. Raised crosses, spontaneous combustion, flaking faces, demonic manuals dated 1973, and rifle shots between one squabble and another: the show moves lightly between the absurd and the disturbing. Violence is explicit and splatter enough, but it is more spectacular than really disturbing. Horror fans “trashone” at Evil Dead or Preacher will appreciate the tone, even if those looking for narrative consistency or genuine tension could turn up their noses. The problem? When the blood stops flowing, the series loses part of its charm. The calmer scenes seem not to know where to go, and the emotional construction often remains superficial.
Kevin Bacon is the backbone of the series: as Hub, he manages to be rough, melancholy, ironic, and tender at the same time. Even when the character looks like a walking cliche (the grumpy cowboy with a dark past), his interpretation manages to give him a credible thickness. It is difficult not to cheer for him, even if it is not always clear what led him to eternal damnation. The real flaw is that the other characters struggle to keep up with him. Beth Grant is adorable in the role of mother Kitty, while Jolene Purdy as Midge shines in an episode of her own. But the rest of the cast – including Jennifer Nettles as ex-wife and Damon Herriman as Lucky antagonist – often remains confined to functional roles, without ever really emerging.
There is an element that stands out for its bizarre, and it is the insertion of country music as an integral part of Hub and Maryanne’s past. The two were a couple on stage as well as in life, and this musical past resurfaces during the series. Unfortunately, the musical sequences are often out of tune – in the least metaphorical sense possible – and seem to be inserted more to satisfy an actor’s whim than to really enrich the plot. The result is alienating: between one demonic execution and another, we find ourselves trembling not for the horror but for the threat of a duet. The Bondsman is a series that thrives on contrasts. It is as dirty and over the top as it is emotionally ambitious, even if often, these two souls really cannot merge. The strength of the show lies in its ability to embrace chaos: demons to hunt, exploding flesh, family members involved in spite of themselves, and a former bounty hunter in search of redemption (or at least an extension from hell). The American rural setting, with its Southern-Gothic flavor, is perfect for hosting this bizarre horror comedy, and the result has a serialized B-movie charm that will appeal especially to viewers more prone to pulp and unbalanced stories.
However, initial enthusiasm can easily slip into frustration for those looking for more solid writing or tone consistency. The familiar element — with Hub who tries to reconstruct a relationship with his ex-wife and son — has good premises but is treated in a slightly’ way too superficial to leave his mark. Although the mystery that develops behind the infernal mission suggests more articulated developments, the narrative prefers to focus on special effects and action scenes without really digging into the themes it introduces. Despite everything, however, there is a beating heart inside The Bondsman: the story of an imperfect man who tries, with the wrong means and in absurd circumstances, to do the right thing. Although the series does not always manage the multitude of registers and ideas it puts into play, it retains a bizarre and irreverent energy that makes it a unique product in the current serial landscape. Maybe not perfect, but it’s certainly interesting. After all, between a beheading and a country solo out of time, it is not excluded that someone even finds something to get excited about.
The influences from Supernatural (the Winchesters are “replaced” by the Hallorans) and by Preacher (we said that it seems to come directly from ninth art), mixed with many other titles that we lived in the middle. The key to The Bondsman is to never take yourself seriously and always leave everything over the top, thanks to the Southern setting of the story. This also allows you to take advantage of the religious theme present since the title logo has the Christian cross. Many moral and ethical dilemmas are put in place: What event led Hub to end up in hell? What to believe if the Devil has this freedom on Earth? Does God Listen to Our Prayers? The “corporate” side of the character’s new “work” is also joked, thanks to the figure of Midge (an excellent one Jolene Purdy), a human recruited by Lucifer himself as coordinator of external collaborators who in her employment winks at corporate current events (the reference to MeToo, for example). Just like when it uses a sort of “modern” Book of Shadows via internet and fax to guide the unlikely duo against the demon of the week.
We are facing a series of second chances and how desperately Hub and we all would desperately want one to make choices differently. Also, once the task is finished, its destiny is to return to the Kingdom of the Fallen Angel. And he has no intention of doing it if he can find a quibble. From the title, the Prime Video series seems to come out of an American comic (but it is not) and has the classic as its protagonist anti-hero to which it is impossible not to become attached from the first moments. Created by Grainger David, he sees the protagonist die and end up in hell; at that point, the Devil himself resurrects him to have an “external collaborator” ready to capture and send back the demons who fled the prison of the underworld.
In short, a demon bounty hunter, perhaps an unpublished character on TV: he has his “costume” – the bulletproof vest with his stage name written – and an exceptional shoulder: his mother Kitty (the character Beth Grant) ready to do anything to help the child. Again, we would say uniform. A buddy series in which nobody takes himself seriously, in which the characters accept their new roles, and in which the action and the splatter with an excellent work of choreography of the sequences and prosthetic makeup are the masters, seasoned with humor and rhythm thanks to the duration (eight half-hour episodes). The family picture is completed by ex-wife Maryanne (Jennifer Nettles), a country singer with whom Hub was supposed to break through (Bacon’s guitar skills are exploited), and their teenage son Cade (Maxwell Jenkins), in addition to her new boyfriend Lucky (Damon Herriman), very little recommended. Just the affections will reveal what could save the protagonist from his eternal condemnation, as well as being one of the strengths of the show, thanks to the immediate characterization and relationships between the characters. Together with one, obviously, country soundtrack.
The Bondsman Review: The Last Words
The Bondsman is the perfect series for those who want to detach the brain but with intelligence. Play with such archetypes and mix them, shaking well and getting a uniform compound full of humor and nonconformity, starting with the protagonist perfectly channeled by a Kevin Bacon in excellent shape. The family unit is the other strength of the serial, together with the case of the week that soon leaves room for an increasingly horizontal storyline on the fate of the character of the owner. The excellent technical sector – even if it falls into some scenarios and backdrops – does the rest, especially in terms of music and makeup. The Bondsman is a curious experiment that combines horror, black comedy, and family drama under the direction of a convincing and charismatic Kevin Bacon. Between demons to flush out, hellish rednecks and a Devil hidden behind a multinational company, the series amuses especially when he gets his hands dirty with blood and nonsense. Less successful in emotional moments or slower passages, however, an enjoyable vision remains for those who love series over the top, provided that they accept their disordered and deliberately trashy soul. A product that seems to come out of a mix between pulp comic and demonic country video clips, in which, however, the real damnation could be… music.
Cast: Kevin Bacon, Jennifer Nettles, Damon Herriman, Beth Grant, Maxwell Jenkins, Jolene Purdy
Created By: Grainger David
Streaming Platform: Prime Video
Filmyhype.com Ratings: 3.5/5 (three and a half stars)
The Bondsman Review: Curious Experiment That Combines Horror, Black Comedy, and Family Drama! | Filmyhype
Director: Grainger David
Date Created: 2025-04-04 13:38
3.5
Pros
- Kevin Bacon in one word: fantastic.
- The outline cast, starting with Beth Grant.
- From buddy series to horror comedy: a good rhythm thanks to the short duration of the episodes.
- Soundtrack, action choreography and prosthetic makeup.
- Kevin Bacon holds the entire series with a solid and charismatic interpretation
- Grotesque humor that works in the craziest moments
- Tone deliberately camp and splatter that amuses the niche audience
- Some secondary characters shine, especially Midge and Kitty
- Original and captivating visual ideas and basic concept
Cons
- CGI in some sequences lacks naivety.
- Some choices of the ending and some joints not explained very well.
- Sharpening rhythm and uneven narration
- Some undeveloped or stereotypical characters
- Country musical sequences at times out of place and dissonant
- The emotional element is weak and not very thorough
- Humor and tone too unstable to really involve in certain moments
