‘The Bondsman’: Kevin Bacon Is a Perfect Anti-Hero in Gory Demon Hunter Romp

Alci Rengifo

Kevin Bacon is the cantankerous heart and soul of Amazon’s “The Bondsman.” He’s one of those actors with the range to be the most likable guy in the room and the most menacing presence. In this gory bit of horror, which also works as a dark comedy, Bacon makes us root for a guy we might not want to necessarily hang out with. The plot itself is a classic rehash of many familiar tropes. Our hero is one of those lucky devils who cheats death, only to discover that higher powers have tagged him for a mission. Why this particular person is so special isn’t for us to ask. The essence is Bacon thoroughly annihilating opponents.

Creator Grainger David gives Bacon the role of Hub Halloran, a country musician turned bounty hunter in sleepy Landry, Georgia. During one operation to nab a fugitive, Hub has his throat slit and should obviously be dead. However, he awakens to find that he’s still breathing, despite the gaping wound in his neck. At first he doesn’t quite understand what is happening and goes to see his ex-wife and local country singer Maryanne (Jennifer Nettles), convinced her baller boyfriend Lucky (Damon Herriman) was behind his attempted murder. She denies it and besides, they share a teenage son, Cade (Maxwell Jenkins), who she wants to take to Nashville for her potential big break. It takes a woman named Midge (Jolene Purdy) to explain to Hub that he is being kept alive by Satan. Hub’s experience as a bondsman means he’s perfect for the job of hunting down renegade demons. 

David is clearly drawing from no doubt favorite titles. There’s a John Carpenter meets Sam Raimi wackiness to the style of the series, with a dash of “Preacher.” Rural America is always a magnet for runaway demons from hell and the hero must be a chain-smoking tough guy. All logic must be dropped, like why hell has “company policies” that haven’t been updated since the 1970s. The Devil apparently needs to run a pyramid scheme complete with spam mail. The writing functions like a series of gags as opposed to a fully formed or layered narrative. Side characters like Kitty (Beth Grant) are fun in a self-contained way. She’s Hub’s loving mom, confused why her son would even go to hell. He is clearly no saint, but worthy of eternal damnation? She warns him, like any good mother, to do his job since termination means going into that fiery afterlife. Kitty is also a church-goer, so she’s double shocked when one of Hub’s demon targets is at her place of worship. 

In the spirit of a more classic network format, a lot of “The Bondsman” is practically a monster of the week series. Every episode features a new challenge for Hub, from possessed preachers to insecure cheerleaders. Hub takes them down in gory lunacy. Fans of shows like “The Walking Dead” or movies like “Evil Dead” will enjoy the shots where a camera pans through a head wound, fingers get sliced off or broken or bodies explode in crimson splatters. Bacon looks born for the part in his bondsman vest (Kitty tags along at times too), aiming a shotgun or using any other available weapon. Corpses are soon found hanging upside down in the shape of a cross and when fighting demons, expect to levitate against your will. Maybe Bacon was behind trying to add a bit more to the character’s angle of having musician dreams, since he himself is part of The Bacon Brothers duo with brother Michael. Take away Bacon’s rugged, back-talking performance and “The Bondsman” might still entertain for fans of camp. It’s one of those shows like bygone titles such as “Brimstone,” where you just cheer on the hero while he beats down his otherworldly targets. It could have been more but doesn’t overstay its welcome.

“The Bondsman” season one begins streaming April 3 on Prime Video.