Bingo Hell

When i get old, i only have one plan. 

Lying on a beach in Spain with my favourite Christmas card collection? Visiting the wonderful castle Gibb in Leeds? Reading all novels from romantic author Loretta Chase? 

Actually, no. My only plan right now is to visit every Bingo Hall in the UK. So why visit every Bingo Hall over there, and not in Sweden? It is pretty easy, because this would be my chance to experience the greatest pop band of all time known as Five ( let´s be honest, no pop band can ever beat Five in hit singles ). So why seeing Five in a Bingo Hall, instead of a concert arena? If you think about it, there is no better combination than playing bingo, and seeing Five live. It´s like the best combination that this world have ever seen. Five have performed in bingo halls before, so you know they always get booked at the best places. So now you know my plan when im older, and i must say, it might be the best retirement plan i have ever heard. Speaking of playing bingo. i have tried playing some different kinds of bingo games. You have the traditional Swedish game known as Bingolotto, where you can win cars, big gift cards, or a lot of money. In modern days we do have a different kind of bingo competition. If you prefer a little bit more wilder bingo playing, you should probably try playing bingo in the UK at Bongo´s Bingo. Imagine a combination of a rave party with no limits, combined with a bingo competition, and you can probably imagine what this bingo night looks like. Just head over to their homepage Bongo´s Bingo, and i guarantee your grandparents wants to go right away. I did play a bingo game on a cruise ship to Denmark, that was also quite different. You started playing bingo after breakfast, with a vodka drink. That vodka drink was included in the morning bingo game, and i have never seen this before. I was actually lucky that day and won a gift card for massage, so not bad at all. Speaking of bingo halls, you barely ever see them in films anymore. I have no idea why, because let´s be honest, more films should have bingo halls included. I actually had a look online if we have films that includes the game bingo, and there are not a lot of titles out there. Well, now we have a film that actually digs deep into the bingo hall tradition in a horror comedy called Bingo Hell. I am a big fan of horror comedies, especially Shaun Of The Dead from 2004. So the question is, is this bingo inspired film more fun than i expected, or is Bingo Hell not worth waisting your time on?

Lupita ( Adriana Barraza ) lives in the community of Oak Springs. She have lived here for a long time, and have a group of close friends. But Oak Springs is going through some changes, business are closing, and new trends are taking over coffee shops. Lupita is happy though that their local bingo hall is still going, where they gather money for local hair salon owner Yolanda ( Bertila Damas ), to be able to run her business. But the bingo hall owner Mario ( David Jensen ) have been missing for days, as they decide to run the bingo hall on their own. Until one day, when an odd car park infront of the bingo hall, everything is about to change. A new bingo hall is about to open, and nothing will ever be the same on Oak Springs.

The one thing that Bingo Hell actually prove, is that when you are older, it is important to feel a part of society. Just because you age does not mean that you should be alone, that you find someone to do things with, or a group of people. Social life matters a lot, if you want to enjoy life. It helps you stay sharp, and updated with the future. And to see the old folks gathering at the local bingo hall, in the community of Oak Springs, is actually nice to see. They gather to help each other, support the community, and have a good time. When this film switches over, to become a horror comedy, this is where the fun really begins. To combine playing bingo with horror elements is actually a quite clever idea. How far would you go to win that big prize? Are you willing to take the consequences, even if it means loosing your life? You can clearly see that there are a lot of unhappy souls in Oak Springs. Business are shutting down, properties are for sale, so to have an evil man such as Mr. Big ( really well played by legendary actor Richard Brake ) using vulnerable souls, is of course a perfect place for him to feed on their need for money. The scenes where you see Mr. Big begin the bingo game, is such a perfect match, that he has to be the perfect bingo host that i have ever seen. Richard Brake have absolutely no problem getting into his character, and i had a really good time watching him in this film. When it comes to the rest of the cast, i have to say that pretty much all the characters match well with this film. Especially lead actress Adriana Barrazza ( who i remember from Sam Raimi´s horror film Drag Me To Hell ) as the lead character Lupita. She is a very determined lady, who does not take shit from anynone. And she also have a big passion for the community of Oak Springs, and you can tell that when she clearly does not like changes. Adrianna manage to capture the personality of Lupity in a way, that we can actually feel sorry for her. She seems stuck in the past, and i can imagine that a lot of older people can easily look from the same perspective as her. When it comes to the combination of horror and comedy combined, they actually work well in this film. Not all the time, but there are several scenes where they manage to balance these genres in a positive way. It is actually quite refreshing to see something different in the horror comedy section, and Bingo Hell definetely stands out from the crowd. Director Gigi Saul Guerrero deliver a film that will definetely entertain the specific audience, that appreciate horror comedies with a bit of satire thrown into the plot. Bingo Hell may not strike big all the time, but this film will definetely inspire more people to visit bingo halls in the future. Definetely worth checking out on Amazon Prime. Anyone want to join me on a bingo night? I promise, it will be the best night of your life.....

Rating: DDD