The Bondsman

It's good to see Kevin Bacon back. He is no doubt having fun with this role. It's a low budget special with not much at stake. It mostly works because Bacon and Beth Grant, who plays his mother, play it straight and drag the rest of the cast along with them.

Beth especially is having a blast. She is the glue holding this thing together. If you have watched (the much superior) Stan Against Evil, you know what they are trying to do.

Whenever the family angle crops up with the ex and son...the bottom drops out. Whiny yet wise beyond their years teens...kill pretty much every vibe.

Frankly, with the absolute garbage that's being released, this one seems like a bit of a gem...or at least you probably won't feel like your time was totally wasted if you watch a few episodes all the way thru.

It's harmless, ok, time killing. Sometimes...that's enough.

If you were a fan of Ash vs Evil Dead (or even the largely forgotten and underrated Reaper) then this show is for you. Kevin Bacon stars as Hub Halloran, a bail bondsman resurrected and returned to Earth from Hell to serve as The Devils bounty hunter.

Nothing earth shakingly original here, but the show overcomes this with great performances from Bacon and in particular from Beth Grant as his elderly (but still full of fight) mother. Bacon plays up the rough, laconic charm of Hub, but his interactions with his Mum are surprisingly sweet...as they hunt demons together. In amongst the severed limbs and geysers of blood there's a nice family dynamic to balance out all the splattery violence.

I love Kevin Bacon. We were so disappointed when City on the Hill was such a great show. Bacon and Aldis Hodge were great in it.

This is very different but a fun to watch.

Glad to see Damon Herriman in this as he is a great talent. We loved his role in Justified. Who can forget the scene with the fried chicken. Having been tricked into believing his kidneys were removed, Dewey is so upset.

They buy the fried chicken and Dewey says, " I'm gonna eat this whole damn bucket!"".

I hope this show will have some funny lines as well. We have just watched two episides and will watch all of them. Check it out.

Ok so anyone that rates this a 1/10 without even seeing a single episode should get barred from 'reviewing' anything! Trust me, there is someone if you look. Utterly ridiculous!

This show definitely has Ash Vs Evil Dead vibes and Tucker and Dale vs Evil, oh, and maybe Preacher too. It's a 'light' horror with splashes of humour, mixed in with plenty of gore. It's a fun show to watch.

I don't want to say anymore than that, it's best just to give Episode 1 a go like I did.... and then 4 hours later I'd watched the lot, and was typing a review.

Kevin Bacon is excellent as the lead character Hub. The rest of the main characters are great too. Oh, and there's even some nice Country music I liked, and I'm not a fan normally.

It's well acted, good cinematography , great effects, and a high end production. It's a fun ride if you like horror that makes you smile rather than hide behind a cushion. Ok, so some of the dialogue is a bit cheesy but if you stick with it you'll notice a definite difference from episode 5 on.

I would absolutely watch Season 2 if it gets commissioned. Let's hope enough people enjoy it that it does. I'd probably rate it above 7 but not an 8 so that's why I scored it as I did.

The episodes are short so maybe just try it out and see what you think. For a show I'd never heard about, it was a pleasant surprise, and you can't really go wrong with Kevin Bacon who looks great for a guy that's 66 believe it or not!

Those whose memory is able to extend back to 1999 will immediately recognize the "inspiration" for The Bondsman. Okay, a direct copy is the better comparison. In Brimstone , Peter Horton was a New York City police detective, who was sent to Hell because he took pleasure in killing his wife's rapist. John Glover, the Devil, gave the detective a chance at a second life if he would return 113 demons who escaped from Hell.

The Bondsman is still a bingeworthy program, and I really like the mother and son dynamics as they play off each other in the course of returning demons to Hell. Unfortunately, there's no one streaming the original concept in Brimstone, and it isn't available on DVD or Blu-ray. Those who like and enjoy The Bondsman, would really appreciate Brimstone. Still, it's a pleasant watch in its own right and it deserves a second season.