'The Bondsman' review: Kitschy horror series provides perfect role for Kevin Bacon

WHAT IT'S ABOUT Kevin Bacon stars as a bounty hunter with the terrific name of Hub Halloran in "The Bondsman," a kitschy horror series on Prime Video. 

The Georgia-set story begins with Halloran being killed on the job by a couple of his targets. But then, all of a sudden, he's awake. Why is that, you ask? Well, it's because the devil needs him to utilize his bounty hunting skills to hunt down escaped demons from hell.

It's made clear to Halloran by the devil's representative offering this bargain, here taking the form of an ordinary corporate type appearing on behalf of the devil's "Pot O'Gold" corporation, that he doesn't have much of a choice. That is, if he wants to stick around to be with his son Cade (Maxwell Jenkins) and his mother Kitty (Beth Grant, "The Mindy Project"), he'd better get to work.

MY SAY The casting is especially important in determining whether a series like this works, because the story relies on achieving a specific, consistent tone.

That's somewhere between comedy and horror, with a sliver of melodrama and a touch of the personal. There needs to be enough of a sense of the absurd to recognize how over-the-top things get, without abandoning the human story of a man getting a chance to make things right for the most unexpected of reasons.

A viewing of the first four episodes of "The Bondsman," which runs eight episodes in all, reveals that creator Grainger David gets it exactly right.

The actors understand what this hothouse Southern Gothic vision requires to be elevated to where it feels fresh and new, even if it borrows heavily from a wealth of predecessors.

This is the perfect role for Bacon, who knows exactly how to infuse the character with the edginess he needs, while also keeping him grounded and at least somewhat recognizable.

To bring any of that to a person who has been, we'll remind you, resurrected by the devil to hunt down demons, is not an easy task. That's extra true when we learn this bounty hunter also used to perform as a country singer with his ex-wife Maryanne (Jennifer Nettles).

Bacon is complemented by a first-rate performance by Grant as the hard-nosed Kitty, who joins her son on his brutal mission. This is one of those great TV characters. She's totally unfazed by whatever bit of goriness lands her way, and is more bothered by the possibility that Maryanne's sleazy boyfriend Lucky (Damon Herriman), who is from Massachusetts, might turn Cade into a Red Sox fan.

It's rendered with style and flair by David and his directors, with a sense of supernatural menace mixed with a droll comic sensibility, and a consistent grasp of the look and feel of this particular slice of Americana.

BOTTOM LINE "The Bondsman" is not for everyone. But it knows what it wants to be and has the confidence to see it through.