''Stray Bullets'' is a 2016 American thriller film written, directed, edited, and composed by Jack Fessenden. Fessenden also produced it with his parents,

Larry Fessenden Laurence T. Fessenden (born March 23, 1963) is an American actor, producer, writer, director, film editor, and cinematographer. He is the founder of the New York based independent production outfit Glass Eye Pix. His writer/director credits inclu ...

and Beck Underwood. The film stars Jack Fessenden and Asa Spurlock as two teenagers who encounter, and are kidnapped by, mobsters played by

James LeGros James Le Gros () (born April 27, 1962) is an American actor. He was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male for his role in '' Living in Oblivion''. Career Le Gros starred in Gus Van Sant's film '' Drugstore Cowboy ...

, Larry Fessenden, and John Speredakos. It premiered at the

Oldenburg International Film Festival The Oldenburg International Film Festival, sometimes called the ''European Sundance'', has covered the international film scene in all aspects since 1994. It is held in Oldenburg (city), Oldenburg, Germany. History Films such as Park Chan-wook� ...

on September 16, 2016, and was released in the US on February 10, 2017.

Premise

Two bored teenagers are taken hostage by mobsters fleeing a botched job and a hitman.

Cast

* Asa Spurlock as Ash * Jack Fessenden as Connor *

as Cody * John Speredakos as Dutch *

as Charlie * Robert Burke Warren as J. T. * Erik Kraus as Paul * Roger Peltzman as Kauffman *

Kevin Corrigan Kevin Corrigan (born March 27, 1969) is an American character actor. He has appeared mostly in independent films and television since the 1990s, including as Uncle Eddie on the sitcom '' Grounded for Life'' (2001–2005). His film appearances i ...

as Nick * Cally Mansfield as Emma * Fenner Micheline as Sam * Steve Heller as Richie

Production

Shooting began when Jack Fessenden was 15 years old and completed when he was 16, taking 16 days.

Release

''Stray Bullets'' premiered at the

on September 16, 2016.

Screen Media Films Screen Media Ventures, LLC was an American-Canadian distribution company founded in 2001 and owned by Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment since 2017 alongside its subsidiary Popcornflix. In 2008, Screen Media selected The Creative Coalition ...

gave it a limited release and via video on demand on February 10, 2017.

Reception

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, a

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...

, reports that 75% of eight surveyed critics gave the film a positive review; the average rating is 6.2/10.

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

rated it 55/100 based on five reviews. Dennis Harvey of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' wrote that it "feels a couple story beats short of a satisfying whole, utit's admirably well-crafted within its mostly savvy limitations". Harvey criticized the film for not being fleshed out enough beyond its beginnings as a short film but said this "feels like more of a minor letdown than a major failing" due to the technical proficiency, praising Jack Fessenden's potential as a director. Neil Young of ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'' called it "a strikingly impressive calling-card", though he said Jack Fessenden's acting is weaker than his directing and musicianship. Writing in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', Ken Jaworowski said that the film feels padded to feature length and has a cheesy ending. He concluded that Fessenden has "more than a little raw skill" and should be encouraged despite the film's shortcomings. Noel Murray of the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' wrote, "there's a confidence and energy to ''Stray Bullets'' that compensates for the rather rudimentary, over-familiar story".

References

External links

* * {{Official website, http://glasseyepix.com/project/stray-bullets/ 2016 films 2016 crime thriller films 2016 independent films 2010s English-language films American independent films American crime thriller films 2010s American films English-language independent films English-language crime thriller films