Bingo Hell (2021)

Directed by: Gigi Saul Guerrero | 85 minutes | comedy, fantasy | Actors: Richard Brake, Bertila Damas, L. Scott Caldwell, Adriana Barraza, Gigi Saul Guerrero, Joshua Caleb Johnson, Clayton Landey, David Jensen, Kelly Murtagh, Grover Coulson, Jonathan Medina, Wendy Conrad

Oak Springs is a sleepy neighborhood. A place where many original inhabitants have left, but the first-time residents form a close-knit community. Lupita, a feisty grandmother with Mexican roots, is one of the unifying forces in the neighborhood. She has been instrumental in making Oaks Springs livable in the past. Full of annoyance, Lupita and her friends see how ‘their’ neighborhood is slowly being taken over by hipsters, young people who have little connection with the neighbourhood, who spend most of their time on their smartphones and indulge in fashionable refreshments such as cappuccino with oat milk and sustainable avocados on gluten-free toast. The bingo hall has gradually become the only refuge for the hard core of seniors who have lived in Oaks Springs for many years.

When the owner of their beloved bingo hall hands over the tent to Mr. For Lupita and her companions, Big, a wealthy businessman from the outside, is the proverbial straw that makes the bucket full of pent-up frustrations overflow. The once homely bingo hall is turning into a commercial glitter paradise full of screaming neon lights. The slippery and sinister Mr. Big turns out to be more than an ordinary businessman and manages to seduce some of Lupita’s friends with his promise of quick money. It soon becomes apparent that the large cash prizes Mr. Big lavishly scatters the receivers in Faustian fashion straight into ruin. Only the stubborn and tough Lupita doesn’t fall for the promise of unprecedented cash prizes as the gateway to ultimate happiness.

‘Bingo Hell’ is a special, somewhat outlandish cocktail of (black) humour, horror and light drama. That mix of genres sometimes creates fun and surprising moments. For example, it is quite refreshing to see a group of elderly people go on a warpath to save their neighborhood as true avenging angels. In most films of this type, heroic deeds and brutal violence are reserved for cameragenic young people. But mixing a colorful spectrum of subgenres also creates imbalance. For example, the subplot about the youthful Caleb, whose father has run away and whose emotionally unstable and shop-sick mother is also not an exemplary role model, is not really convincing. In addition, many of the satirical pieces just lack that edge. The horror part is reasonably well taken care of and certainly not devoid of blood and the necessary visual horror.

‘Bingo Hell’ is also a film that tries to hold up a mirror to modern America. The villainous Mr. With his diabolical grin, Big (a nice role in which Richard Brake really indulges) is the personification of neoliberal predatory capitalism, of the American obsession with money and material success. The people with a rich bank account, beautiful house and imposing car in front of the front door are the winners, the rest are losers in the big casino of modern hyper-capitalism. It’s a bit of a shame that director Gigi Saul Guerrero doesn’t pack that socially critical message more subtly and preach it in a way that corresponds to Mr. Big, posters that ask people if they ‘don’t deserve the life they’ve always wanted’.

Although ‘Bingo Hell’ is sometimes a bit over-ambitious and doesn’t have too much narrative substance, this horror satire is sometimes quite enjoyable. Not an absolute high-flyer, but well worth a look.