''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 performance in ''Living in Oblivion''. Career James Le Gros appeared as Rick in Gus Van Sant's 198 ...

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

Oldenburg International Film Festival The Oldenburg International Film Festival has covered the international movie scene in all aspects since 1994. It is situated in Oldenburg, Germany. Its open-minded approach leads to a mixture of movie premieres and original independent production ...

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 ) 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 include suppo ...

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

Reception

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, a

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

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

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

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'' 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 Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly large ...

'' 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'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', 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'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...

'' 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