Warning! This article contains spoilers for The Bondsman. The Bondsman captivates audiences with a straightforward narrative filled with intense action and outrageous character deaths. Featuring Kevin Bacon, this series revolves around a protagonist who returns from hell, compelled to hunt demons in search of redemption. While the storyline may come across as predictable, the show is anything but dull, showcasing bizarre and often violent character demises that keep viewers on the edge of their seats.
Blending comedy and horror, The Bondsman adopts a deliberately campy aesthetic, amplifying its over-the-top action and violence. From the very first episode, viewers are thrust into a chaotic universe with a shocking opening scene. As the series progresses, the stakes become increasingly perilous, demonstrating a fearless approach to depicting violence and exaggerated death sequences.
The Demon Nearly Drowns Hub
The series effectively establishes that to rid a host of a demon, one must destroy the brain, resulting in the demon’s banishment to hell.
Marphos Drowns His Human Target
Episode 3: The Demon Drowns His Host in a Bathtub
Marphos, like other demons in The Bondsman, seeks a human host upon arrival in the mortal world. He targets a high school cheerleader and drowns her in her bathtub before claiming her body as his own. Although this scene is less graphic than others in the series, it illustrates Marphos’s association with water, one of the five elemental representations in the inverted pentagram.
Erdos Takes Over Deputy Sheriff Briggs’ Body
Briggs Seems Helpless Against the Overpowered Demon
As The Bondsman progresses, another demon named Erdos emerges, focusing on a local Deputy Sheriff. The Sheriff, upon entering his car, glimpses the demon in the rearview mirror but is quickly incapacitated when Erdos slashes his throat and takes control of his body.
Hub’s Mother Eventually Saves the Day
In a pivotal moment towards the end of episode 2, Hub’s mother joins the fight against demons, proving invaluable when she intervenes during a confrontation with Valacor, shooting the demon from a distance and assisting her son.
The First Demon Kills Hub’s Enemies Before He Can
The Demon’s Victims Are Found with Twisted Bodies
Valacor, the season’s initial demon, appears in the closing moments of episode 1, using its powers to gruesomely dispatch enemies by contorting their bodies into grotesque shapes. The aftermath of the murders shocks Lucky when he discovers the horrifying scene left behind.
Valacor Kills & Possesses The Priest
The Demon Burns the Priest’s Face Off
The episode kicks off with a local priest confronting a malevolent force within his church. Despite his attempts to repel the demon with holy water and scripture, he fails. In a horrifying turn, the demon burns him from within, melting half of his face while he collapses. Subsequently, the demon possesses him, turning him into a vessel for further destruction.
Lucky’s Men Slash His Throat
In a grim twist, the priest is overpowered by one of Lucky’s men, who slashes his throat. However, he soon finds himself alive again, unknowingly granted a second chance at life by the devil under alarming conditions—a foreshadowing of the bloodshed to come in Hub’s story.
In episode 4, Hub’s wife, Maryanne, mistakenly follows him to a store and encounters Erdos. Despite the danger, Maryanne attempts to protect Hub by taking action. However, her efforts result in injury when her axe becomes lodged in the Deputy Sheriff’s back, leading to a bloody encounter.
| The Bondsman Key Facts | |
| Created By | Grainger David |
| Rotten Tomatoes Critics’ Score | 79% |
| Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score | 80% |
| Streaming On | Amazon Prime Video |
| No. Of Episodes | 8 |
Though bloodied and shaken, Maryanne manages to survive the ordeal, grateful to have avoided disaster.
Slypharis Possesses Two Humans At Once
The Demon’s Hosts Face a Disturbing Doom
Episode 5 begins with a conflict between two men, but it escalates dramatically with the arrival of another demon, Slypharis. The demon attacks them by crushing their bodies with a vehicle, leading to one of the series’ most graphic scenes, showcasing the horrifying consequences of demonic possession.
The Bondsman Recreates An Iconic Ash Vs Evil Dead Trope
During a confrontation with one of Slypharis’s hosts, Hub resorts to using a shotgun to eliminate one of the demons. However, when he runs out of ammunition, he resorts to a chainsaw, reminiscent of iconic scenes from Ash vs Evil Dead. This homage, while less iconic, adds an element of delight for fans of horror-comedy.
Lilith Shows What She Is Capable Of
The Final Demon Uses Mind Control to Viciously Kill Several Men
The final demon introduced is Lilith, one of the Shackled Seven. Scarred by her experiences with Satan and God, she exhibits a deep resentment towards men. After possessing a host, she wreaks havoc at a local pub, using mind control to force the men to self-harm in a grotesque display of power, all while their wives are spellbound. This chilling turn highlights the unrelenting threat Lilith poses, as she indiscriminately slaughters men like Lucky, who find themselves ensnared by her dark abilities.