Kevin Bacon’s new demon-hunting series The Bondsman is the perfect companion to the comic book tableau of Robert Kirkman’s Outcast. Aside from the sidesplitting doses of dark humor and head-splitting carnage in each, both series revolve around an existentially compromised central character who grapples with as many internal demons as external. Granted, The Bondsman has a bit more fun and a sillier tone than Outcast, but beyond that, the two are ideal pairings for horror aficionados.
Apart from the character-driven premise, The Bondsman and Outcast share more in common by being set in the American South, providing a specific regional texture that helps distinguish both from the spate of supernatural TV shows. For those who enjoyed Outcast’s two seasons on Showtime but are on the fence about The Bondsman, the latter will undoubtedly scratch the itch left in the latter’s void.
‘The Bondsman’s Premise
Grainger David created The Bondsman for Prime Video. The supernatural horror action comedy stars Kevin Bacon as Hub Halloran, a bail bondsman who tracks down escaped criminals and bond-jumpers in rural Georgia with his mother, Kitty Halloran (Beth Grant). In the pilot, Hub locates one of his bounties but is shot in the back and has his throat fatally slit. Moments later, Hub’s corpse is mysteriously revived, and he goes about business as if nothing had happened.
Once his neck scar rapidly heals and three marks appear on his wrist, Hub realizes something sinister is afoot. Hub’s bounty steals Kitty’s truck, prompting the mother-son duo to pursue them across their small town. As Hub searches for answers to his new undead existence, he seeks advice from Maryanne Dice (Jennifer Nettles), a former flame and aspiring country-Western singer with big plans in Nashville.
What’s most amusing about the show’s conceit is that his job hardly changes once Hub realizes he has been killed and resurrected. Instead of hunting bond jumpers, Hub must hunt demons stalking the land and the local church led by Lucky (Damon Harriman). There’s also a deft light touch that balances the horror and comedy that ironically eludes Outcast at times, despite deriving from a comic book. In other words, The Bondsman is less austere and more comedic than Outcast.
‘The Bondsman’s Hub Halloran Vs. ‘Outcast’s Kyle Barnes
While The Bondsman shares more in common tonally with Ash vs Evil Dead or Hap and Leonard, its main character is similar to the Outcast‘s protagonist. Outcast revolves around Kyle Barnes (Patrick Fugit), a disturbed man who has been plagued by demonic possession his whole life. Much like Hub, who tries to unpack why he has been resurrected and tasked with hunting demons, Kyle races to uncover why he cannot rid demonic possession from his soul.
Both central characters are conflicted about the precise scourge they are tasked with eradicating from day one, making them sympathetic figures that blur the line between good and evil. This is the central tie that binds the two horror shows together. Moreover, while they both hunt demons, they also become possessed by them, giving the Hub and Kyle a unique shared perspective.
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Further connecting The Bondsman to Outcast is the distinct American Southern setting. Outcast occurred in the small town of Rome, West Virginia, but was filmed throughout South Carolina. Similarly, The Bondsman is set in rural Georgia, with Alabama native Beth Grant working wonders with her authentic Southern accent (as always). Grant’s Donnie Darko co-star Jolene Purdy also stars in The Bondsman as a character named Midge. Of course, Donnie Darko also took place in Virginia.
‘The Bondsman’s Tone Is More Comic Booky Than ‘Outcast’
With The Bondsman‘s brisk half-hour episodes compared to Outcast’s hour-long chapters, the difference between comedy and drama remains the starkest. Although Outcast is based on Robert Kirkman’s comic book, the laughs are few and far between. There are brief moments of levity at times, but the tone and tenor are much more severe and suspenseful than The Bondsman, as Kyle grapples with his tormented soul and tries to make amends for harming his wife and daughter.
Therefore, Outcast is also scarier than The Bondsman, which leans into the mordant comedy in ways fans might expect from a Kirkman comic book. In terms of the Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon horror roles, Outcast is more like Stir of Echoes while The Bondsman is more like Tremors. Both TV series are highly recommended despite differing in their tone, tenor, and temperament.
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The Bondsman is also packed with more action, violent fights, and graphic shootouts, while Outcast is more contemplative and dramatic. However, both deliver the unremitting carnage that fans expect from a demon-hunting horror show. Kevin Bacon may have more gravitas and movie-star command than Patrick Fugit, but both shows rely on the inner turmoil their main character faces en route to finding spiritual redemption.
Although The Bondsman debuted with a 100% Rotten Tomatoes score, it has gone down since to become more aligned with Outcast. The Bondsman holds an 83% Critic Rating and 74% Audience Score, while Outcast carries an 81% Critic Rating and 83% Audience Score. Both shows also boast similar IMDb scores, with The Bondsman‘s 7.4 compared to Outcast‘s 7.3. Therefore, beyond their similar premises, both shows equally resonate with a broad spectrum of viewers.
The Bondsman is available to stream on Prime Video.
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
