REVIEW — “Normal”

Director Ben Wheatley (Free Fire, High Rise) delivers another fast-paced fire fight with Normal. The kinetic neo-Western stars Bob Odenkirk as Sheriff Ulysses, a laid-back substitute sheriff with a troubled past who moves to the small, sleepy town of Normal, Minnesota for a quieter life.

His provisional posting to the quaint Midwestern American town was meant to be a welcome respite from both his marital woes and recent moral injuries in the line of duty. Ulysses expects to deal with nothing more than low-stakes quarrels, small problems and shenanigans. However, the municipality’s tranquil pace is interrupted after a botched bank robbery inadvertently reveals that the town is anything but its namesake. As Ulysses investigates, he soon uncovers Normal’s sinister secrets, putting him on the wrong side of his department, the Mayor (Henry Winkler) and most of the town’s “friendly” neighbors.

To survive a chaotic night of carnage on a twisted Main Street, USA, Ulysses is forced to team up with a rag-tag group of outsiders as the unassuming townsfolk turn on him in order to protect their deep, dark secret. Emphasis on the dark. While the film’s dimly-lit action is hard to make out at times, Normal’s brave and bombastic script is chock-full of brutal kills, splattering blood, exploding bodies and dark humor.

The film also isn’t afraid to dispatch lead characters in jaw-droppingly brutal fashion. Such unexpectedly gruesome deaths come fast and furious, upping the laugh factor and causing Ulysses to think on his feet in his fight for survival. Normal is the latest collaboration between Bob Odenkirk, Derek Kolstad and producer Marc Provissiero, who previously teamed up on the rock ‘em, sock ‘em Nobody films.

Written by John Wick creator Kolstad and based on a story by Odenkirk, Normal has a very Fargo vibe to it. Odenkirk himself appeared as a more inept version of this sheriff character in the first season of the acclaimed FX series, and this film reminds of the season two, sixth episode, “Rhinoceros,” in which a quiet Minnesota town’s precinct comes under fire by a band of witness-targeting criminals.

While the script heavily foreshadows the villainous turns and shifting alliances of its ambitiously corrupt supporting characters, it is saved by quirky dialogue, over-the-top kills and explosive action. Also starring Jess McLeod, Ryan Allen, Billy MacLellan, Reena Jolly, Brendan Fletcher, Peter Shinkoda and Lena Headey, Normal is a brutal black comedy that isn’t afraid to pack a deadly punch. 3/5

Rated R with a running time of 90 minutes, Normal opens only in theaters on April 17, 2026.