‘All Hell Breaks Loose’ is Mighty Groovy (Review)

Written by: Matt Molgaard

Directed by: Jeremy Garner

Cast: Mike Bazanele, Nick Forrest, Joshua Lee Frazier

Jeremy Garner directs the fun, exploitative, often completely off the wall riot, All Hell Breaks Loose. The picture is a blast, from point a, to point z. The movie really rocks. The one thought that refused to be stationary within my cranial space was how good can it be, being a Wild Eye release? I’ve never hated Wild Eye by any means, but there was a stretch of time there in which we weren’t seeing too many quality releases from the still relatively young company.

That’s been changing in the last few years.

We really have been seeing some worthwhile films coming our way courtesy of WildEye. It’s hard to deny the success stories like Hi-8, Blood Soaked, Coyote and President Wolfman. It’s taken some time, but Wild Eye is slowly but surely becoming a serious player in the field. I applaud this ambitious and relentless little company, and while I’m at it, I applaud All Hell Breaks Loose.

This story is entirely whacked out, scratch your head kind of whacked out. We’ve got a pair of newlyweds, and we’ve also got an aggressive, violent demon biker gang that has a tendency to turn any young lady that captures their eye into a murder victim. But on one specific night, these hoodlums pick the wrong guy. This gentleman, distraught as his wife has been kidnapped, has God on his side. Pretty much literally. And that means the evil doers are going to encounter competition far stiffer than initially prepared for. Ultimately, Bobby Sue’s well-being hinges on the shoulder of a complete and utter nerd. It’s a good thing he’s damn hard to kill

The aesthetic value, as a whole is amazing. This could have very easily been plucked from a 30 year old VHS bin. That’s strong post-production, perfect lighting and the creative mind and hands of a stellar costume designer. Garner’s decision to shoot in atypical fashion.

I loved the nod to Lethal Weapon, and the cheesy dialogue. There are a few great punchlines to field as the picture rolls toward a predictable but rewarding conclusion. Loose ends are tied up. Plenty of blood sprays about the sets. It’s just so damn fun! If it’s a slow Saturday night and you’ve got the house to yourself, open a cold one and enjoy this groovy little comedic horror piece.

Rating: 3.5/5