Posted on: April 27, 2015 Posted by: Jocelyn Probasco Comments: 2

To Hell with a Bullet is a modern, metal twist on the classic Robert Johnson myth: A struggling musician who sells his soul for a chance at talent and fame.

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Billy (played by Trenton Rostedt) is a drug-addled metal singer desperate for a chance at fame. His brother has found success as a rock guitarist, and Billy is consumed by envy. His struggles with drugs cause him conflict within both his band and his relationship with his stripper girlfriend, Dallas (played by Danielle Vasinova). I thought that Trenton Rostedt was a great choice for the lead as he exudes a rock and roll persona throughout.

 

Billy meets Dr. Nick Devyril one night by chance, after hearing another band speak to him about a promise of fame. Timothy V. Murphy is perfect as Dr. Nick Devyril, with his lilting, Irish charm. He presents himself as a voice doctor, but also appears to be something much more menacing. He portrays a charismatic, brooding personification of evil, and is an excellent casting choice for this film.

 

Billy soon reaches out to Dr. Devyril out of desperation and signs a contract promising “everything” in exchange for a better voice. Billy is cavalier and dismissive about the terms, as he has nothing to his name worth signing over anyway.

 

Following a bizarre sequence of unfortunate accidents, the lines between reality and nightmare begin to blur. One of my favorite parts of this movie (without revealing too much) is a sequence of Evil-Dead type antics from one of the deceased characters.

 

By the climax of the movie, we are left wondering if Billy’s drug habit is distorting his mind, or if evil forces are at play.

 

Overall, this is a cool horror movie. The soundtrack is diverse and really pushes the movie along. I especially enjoyed the underused didgeridoo as a marker for the more intense scenes. The script is fairly straightforward, but once in awhile the characters wax poetic about life and fates worse than death. A surprise twist at the end really seals the deal, making this a breath of fresh air for the horror scene.

Rating: 8/10

 

 

To Hell with a Bullet/2013 Vicktory Films / 107 Minutes / http://www.vicktoryfilms.com / Director and Writer: Vick Wright

2 People reacted on this

  1. Hey John- I’m not sure if it is available on dvd yet, but you can watch it on Vimeo on Demand. Add them on facebook if you haven’t already for new updates regarding the movie.

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