BULLET HEAD (2018) ****

Tarantino rip-offs used to be all the rage in the mid-to-late ‘90s, but they are getting fewer and fewer as time goes on.  Here’s a nifty little variation on the tropes that QT made famous while offering a few new twists of its own.  With Bullet Head, writer/director Paul (Grace) Solet has crafted a fun crime/horror hybrid that almost plays like Reservoir Dogs Meets Cujo.   

A trio of thieves (John Malkovich, Adrien Brody, and Rory Culkin) on the lam from Johnny Law lay low in a seemingly abandoned warehouse waiting for the heat to cool off.  While they bide their time, they make small talk and share stories of previous robberies gone wrong.  Little do they know they are not alone.  Roaming the grounds is a virtually indestructible killer dog who is dead set on turning the thieves into a steaming bowl of human kibble. 

Usually in a movie like this when the plot starts making unnecessary detours via flashback, it just feels like an attempt to pad out the running time.  In Bullet Head, it’s more congruous with the plot, and helps to inform the audience on the characters’ backstories.  (I particularly liked Malkovich’s ill-fated goldfish heist story.)  Speaking of flashbacks, even the killer mutt gets flashbacks!  Usually, whenever a dog has flashbacks in a movie, it’s a big old red flag (anyone who’s ever seen The Hills Have Eyes 2 or Top Dog can attest to that), but they are quite well done here, as Solet manages to make you feel a little sorry for the mangy mongrel.    

The premise is simple.  The set-up is efficient.  The pacing is crackling.  The tension is high.  It would make a good double feature with Crawl.  That flick was a When Animals Attack movie melded with a disaster picture and this one is a When Animals Attack movie mixed with a heist thriller.  The final act where Brody squares off against not only the killer dog, but his despicable handler (Antonio Banderas, who is excellent) is some real white knuckle shit.   

I will say that while this thriller is top notch, it will certainly put you through the wringer.  If you are in any way squeamish when it comes to dramatized animal cruelty, stay far away from it.  However, if you enjoy a down and dirty action horror movie, this one not only has thrills and chills (there is at least one effective jump scare), but personality too.  And remember what Jules said in Pulp Fiction… personality goes a long way.