By Andrew Buckner

Rating: ***** out of *****.

One Bullet to Bedlam (2023), the 93-minute sophomore feature from director, co-writer, and star Eric Hand, captures the most endearing qualities of 1960’s Spaghetti Westerns, particularly the era-appropriate contributions of film maestro Sergio Leone, as deftly and captivatingly as Hand’s prior picture, The Archivist (2021). Both movies are awe-inspiring in their profoundly cinematic, senses-commanding music from White Noise Generator, equally attention-garnering sound from Studio 70, and same said cinematography, which utilizes the Super Techniscope 35mm camera format, from Hand. Continually, these projects incorporate action scenes that are grounded and credible. They are also intimate yet epic in feel. This can also be said of both the well-chosen sets for this venture and the excursion itself. These characteristics, along with their classic cool, rapid clip, and ability to become a part of and not overwhelm the account, like so many modern genre outings are apt to do, also beautifully mirror the filmic output of the aforementioned decades.  

As was the case with The Archivist, One Bullet to Bedlam follows Calder Benson (once again portrayed with such skill and gruff enigma that one can’t help but think of Clint Eastwood as The Man with No Name in Leone’s Dollars trilogy, which ran from 1964-1966). This time around, Benson, one of the members of the outlaw group The Six, finds himself separating from said sextet after they burglarize an age-old map and find themselves hunted by a villainous clique dubbed The Regulators. This is after each member of The Six takes a piece of the map for themselves. In order to make slaughtering everyone in The Six more difficult for The Regulators, the collective agree to split up and meet again in eighteen months for the Blood Moon. During this stretch, they will all individually search for a key that is rumored to be hidden in the surrounding wasteland. This key is meant to render asunder an otherwise unopenable door that is guarded by The Regulators. As self-serving acts threaten to tear apart The Six, an ancient power torments them in all new ways.

This terrific narrative template is made even more promising by the often brief, mysterious, poetic dialogue Hand and fellow co-screenwriter Bo Gardner inject into the material. Such a detail, while also another Leone-like alignment, fits the cryptic tone of the storytelling. Gardner and Hand also offer a time-tested structure and a brisk pace that mechanizes just as masterfully. David Noel’s sharp editing, the impressive visual effects from Studio 70, and a stunning title sequence that is filled with breathtaking art from Scott Anderson make the proceedings even more herculean. The tale-told-around-the-campfire tone of the opening five minutes of the effort as well as the manner in which the ending satisfactorily closes this chapter of Benson’s ongoing saga while quietly promising what is to come is just as admirable.

The performances are also noteworthy. For example, Emmett Corbin is superb as Emmett. Craig Hand is just as gripping as the evil cult figure Tate. Mike Olafson is marvelous as Cannon. Jared Williams Thomley is a standout as Whitey Carter. Lauran Wilson, who also heads the great work done by the makeup department in this presentation, is wickedly persuasive as Goat Lord. 

Shot in Sopchoppy, Florida, U.S.A. for an estimated budget of $68,000, One Bullet to Bedlam is a massively entertaining retro western throwback. It’s lean and efficient in a way that few related attempts are nowadays. This is without a filler scene in sight. Still, the themes of the endeavor are standard fare. There isn’t any subject in One Bullet to Bedlam that comes close to the Fahrenheit 451 (1953) by Ray Bradbury-like insights into book burning that arrived in Hand’s previous exercise, The Archivist. Nonetheless, Hand’s latest production is every bit as exciting, visceral, engrossing, and tense as its predecessor. Also, like The Archivist was upon its release, One Bullet to Bedlam is one of the best movies of the year. It continues to establish Hand as a new master of a wonderfully old-fashioned form.