Bonded – Movie Review (1/5)

BONDED is a new LGBTQ+ slasher movie that I really wanted to like, but it’s simply too unprofessional. The screenplay is terrible, the plot severely lacking, and there are many weak performances. Read our full Bonded movie review here!

BONDED is a new movie that wants to be a slasher horror movie but clearly doesn’t prioritize this very much. It feels like someone decided they wanted to make a horror movie and then just figured “If we have a serial killer and some slasher scenes, we’ll be good”.

Well, as someone who is gay and a horror movie fan, I have to say you failed miserably. Pretty much at both, because the gay part is so campy that while I find it funny, it feeds into every single [mostly bad] stereotype about gay men. And the horror “plot”? It’s a footnote in the movie. At best!

Continue reading our Bonded movie review below. Find it on Digital and DVD on February 20, 2024.

Allegedly inspired by true events

I’ve heard of movies “based on true events” or “Inspired by true events”. However, in the Bonded materials we’ve come across, the words “Allegedly inspired by true events” appear and that’s new to me.

The movie stars B.J. Minor (teen Mike Tyson in Hulu’s Mike) who portrays a doctor who is stalked by his psychologically disturbed patient. Mind you, this part of the plot is something you have to catch on to when it’s shown in flashbacks and via off-handed comments. It’s not something that is really a big part of the storyline.

Also, there’s a 20-year time jump from when the movie begins in 2003, which begs the question: How old is this doctor supposed to be?!

In any case, the whole stalking element of Bonded – which features spoof-like scenes completely with the stalker hiding behind shelves at a convenience store and behind a bush – is never scary.

This is never scary

Also, the stalker goes after the doctor when he goes on an annual trip with his friends. His wonderfully campy queer friends, who deliver plenty of fun (and even more steamy) moments, but nothing of any real relevance to this being a horror movie. Only if making a slasher or horror spoof is the purpose.

Brett Sturgis, Ernest Harden Jr., Brentley Willis, Dre Matthews, and Jarick White costar. Some are better than others, but with the lines in this script, I don’t know how much you could expect from them. Or, I do, as one could definitely expect more than this.

Having said that, it is up to the director to make sure that his actors deliver what he wants. So maybe the result is a reflection of what he wanted. After all, the director is also the writer of the screenplay.

I’m happy that we’ll have a chance to see at least star B.J. Minor in a new horror movie soon. The movie Scared to Death is currently in post-production and stars Lin Shaye and Bill Moseley, which feels like a good sign.

Watch Bonded on Digital or DVD

It’s obvious that writer-director Anthony Bawn wanted to make a Black LGBTQ+ horror movie. I can appreciate that and was looking forward to watching that. Unfortunately, this is very much a Black LGBTQ+ movie that fails miserably at being a horror movie of any kind.

In fact, it feels like it was made by someone who doesn’t like horror nor has watched much horror. A movie like Spiral (2019) managed to have a Black male LGBTQ+ lead character. And Huesera (2023) has Latinx queer main characters and also managed to be a good horror movie.

It’s not an “either-or” situation but the good story must come first. Not just the idea that you want to make a movie with Black LGTBQ+ characters and then you make something up on the fly, which is what Bonded feels like.

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Check out out LGBTQ-tag as there are many genre productions with LGBTQ+ characters >

Bonded was out in a limited theatrical run in October 2023, and I can imagine people from the LGBTQ+ community having a blast watching this together. Not because it’s a good horror movie – or even a good movie of any kind – but because it’s campy and relatable.

Also, I can admit that this is absolutely one of those movies that is so bad, it’s entertaining. Not good, but one you can’t stop watching as decent performances are met with the most lackluster delivery of lines, I’ve seen in a long time.

Or when a rather feminine woman is described as “butch” by a queer man that doesn’t fit the classic “manly man”-stereotype. It’s funny, but in ways that are completely irrelevant to the storyline and a horror movie.

Oh, and yes, there is a brief end-credit scene early on. Someone’s clearly ready to create a franchise! Speaking of end credits, they are the sloooowest credits, I have ever seen. They also make up quite a bit of the runtime, which is effectively just over 1 hour.

Bonded debuts on digital and DVD on February 20, 2024.

Details

Writer & Director: Anthony Bawn
Cast: B.J. Minor, Brett Sturgis, Ernest Harden Jr., Brentley Willis, Dre Matthews, Jarick White