"Gatlopp" a low-budget "Jumanji" that works on its own terms


Gatlopp: Hell of a Game (2022)

A "Jumanji" riff with a divorced thirtysomething and his longtime drinking buddies, “Gatlopp: Hell of a Game” shows its budget but no lack of enthusiasm or creativity. It’s an itty-bitty goof from director Alberto Belli and writer Jim Mahoney (who also stars), and it would make a fun game-movie night alongside genre indies “Beyond the Gates” and “Dave Made a Maze.” It also just works on its own terms.


In this amusing, likably performed, and resourcefully made L.A.-set lark, a group of four old friends in their thirties reunite after one of them, Paul (Jim Mahoney), is in the midst of a divorce with Alice (Shelley Hennig). Happy-go-lucky pothead Cliff (Jon Bass) wants to be there for Paul, so he invites over their other two pals, film producer Samantha (Emmy Raver-Lampman) and actor Troy (Sarunas J. Jackson), who used to date. The plan is to catch up and patch up things from the past while getting drunk and playing a game. In this case, it’s a rare drinking game called “Gatlopp” (Swedish for “The Gauntlet”), a board game that just happens to be cursed and forces them to play for eternity in Hell.


Opening like a schlocky horror movie, “Gatlopp: Hell of a Game” quickly switches gears into a post-“mumblecore” movie. Without an origin story of the game itself, you really just have to go with it. If anything, the game of “Gatlopp” is more of a means to an end, a way to get these characters to examine their own lives and their friendships. Each character has a regret, and while they’re easy to see through, this is a slight story with emotional stakes. Otherwise, the friends do find themselves in a body-switching scenario and get stuck in a jazzercise routine, and it’s all modestly done. All five principal actors are game, but Emmy Raver-Lampman does give it everything she has as Samantha. Sure, “Gatlopp: Hell of a Game” has budgetary limitations—and its title situation is out of control (is it “Gatlopp,” “GATLOPP,” “Gatlopp: Hell of a Game,” or what?)—but it’s still worth checking out on a Friday night with friends and beer, minus the board game. 


Grade: B -


XYZ Films is releasing “GATLOPP” (80 min.) on demand and on digital on June 16, 2022.

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