As "Bingo Hell" (2021 release; 85 min.) opens, an older guy goes into a freak-out and eventually chokes to death upon eating eggshells. We then go to today, and "Welcome to Oak Springs". A fictional town in Louisiana. We get to know an older woman (turns out her husband, the guy from the opening scene, die 6 months ago). Oak Springs is not doing great, with houses for sale left and right, and businesses closing. But there is still the Oak Springs Community Center East, where every Friday at 7 pm, there is bingo to be played... At this point we are 10 min into the movie, but to tell you more of the plot would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.
Couple of comments: this is the feature length directing debut of Mexican actress Gigi Saul Guerrero. But more importantly, this is a Blumhouse Television production and Jason Blum serves as Executive Producer. More often than not, I've enjoyed Blumhouse horror movies, for their cleverness and new takes on old horror themes. Alas, "Bingo Hall" does not meet these criteria. First (and worst) of all, there is nothing scary in this film. Not one moment! The script, such as it is, feels barebones, and even then they couldn't get a full 90 min movie. It all feels like second, if not third, rate on every level. I saw "Bingo Hell" the same day that I saw "Black As Night", another Blumhouse TV production. Both movies were frankly nothing much to write home about. So fool me once, shame on Blumhouse. But fool me twice and now it's shame on me. The quality guarantee that comes with many Blumhouse theatre releases clearly does not exist in Blumhouse television productions. Viewer beware.
"Bingo Hell" was released this weekend on Amazon Prime as part of the "Welcome to the Blumhouse" TV film series, and is now also available on Amazon Instant Video. I honestly can't recommend this to anyone in good conscience. But hey, don't take my word for it, so I encourage you to check it out (along with "Black At Night" for the FULL experience), and draw your onw conclusion.
Couple of comments: this is the feature length directing debut of Mexican actress Gigi Saul Guerrero. But more importantly, this is a Blumhouse Television production and Jason Blum serves as Executive Producer. More often than not, I've enjoyed Blumhouse horror movies, for their cleverness and new takes on old horror themes. Alas, "Bingo Hall" does not meet these criteria. First (and worst) of all, there is nothing scary in this film. Not one moment! The script, such as it is, feels barebones, and even then they couldn't get a full 90 min movie. It all feels like second, if not third, rate on every level. I saw "Bingo Hell" the same day that I saw "Black As Night", another Blumhouse TV production. Both movies were frankly nothing much to write home about. So fool me once, shame on Blumhouse. But fool me twice and now it's shame on me. The quality guarantee that comes with many Blumhouse theatre releases clearly does not exist in Blumhouse television productions. Viewer beware.
"Bingo Hell" was released this weekend on Amazon Prime as part of the "Welcome to the Blumhouse" TV film series, and is now also available on Amazon Instant Video. I honestly can't recommend this to anyone in good conscience. But hey, don't take my word for it, so I encourage you to check it out (along with "Black At Night" for the FULL experience), and draw your onw conclusion.