If there was any lingering doubt regarding Bob Odenkirks late-career reinvention as a legit everyman action star, Normal handily seals the deal. Having proved himself up to the task after Nobody and Nobody 2, he wildly ups the ante with an unapologetically over-the-top small-town crime thriller.

Directed by genre-hopping Ben Wheatley and written by John Wick creator Derek Kolstad from a story hatched by Kolstad and Odenkirk, the subversive Western is a take-no-prisoners gore fest that peppers all the visceral carnage with an equal sprinkling of dry wit. Given that it shares so much of its DNA with those Nobody movies (also penned by Kolstad), it would be understandable if some might think its actually Nobody 3, which wouldnt necessarily work against it. Given the energetic reception that greeted the movies world premiere as part of TIFFs genre-heavy Midnight Madness section, the indie production should be able to corral U.S. distribution with little difficulty. Amazon MGM Studios has the film for Canada. As a recent arrival to the quaint town of Normal, Minnesota (population 1890, at least before the bloodbath begins), Odenkirks Sheriff Ulysses is more than okay with his temporary placement in the half-abandoned municipality, especially since he seems to be escaping some trauma from his recent past. My goal is to leave this town just the way I found it, he maintains, as he leaves yet another unanswered phone message for his estranged wife.

But that proves more easily said than done when Ulysses starts to notice a few cracks in Normals genteel exterior. Maybe its that overabundance of firearms on display in all the local establishments, or the suspicious death of his predecessor, Sheriff Gunderson, or the towns oddball Mayor Kibner (Henry Winkler). Or maybe its that spirit animal of a mysterious mammoth moose that keeps popping up.

Those suspicions are confirmed when, responding to a botched bank heist in progress, Ulysses discovers everybodys keen on shooting the sheriff, including his two deputies (Ryan Allen and Billy McLellan).

Left with no one to ally himself with except the two failed robbers (Rena Jolly and Brendan Fletcher), Ulysses opts to fight back, whining, Im tired of running away from every goddamn thing! In the middle of unleashing an insane amount of violence, they make the discovery that the bank vault is hiding a substantial stash of gold bars belonging to the incoming Japanese Yakuza, which had been using Normal to hide a portion of their illicit profits in return for a percentage divided among the struggling townspeople. What starts out as a geographic and comedically thematic companion piece to the Coen Brothers Fargo decisively shifts gears into Tarantino-worthy grindhouse excess and never looks back. Theres an inventive, Rube Goldberg precision to the barrage of violence that keeps things involving, especially when the Yakuza arrives on the scene.

Handling it all with a detached, shrugging sense of doom, Odenkirk proves the right man for the job at hand in both of the films two tonally separate halves, and hes supported by a colorful cast including Lena Headey as the towns enigmatic barkeep and McLellan as one of those two deputies, whose squeaky stiff leather jacket keeps announcing his arrival.

The wintry Winnipeg, Manitoba, backdrops provide some stark contrast for all the spilled bits of red, effectively captured by cinematographer Armando Salas (Ozark) in hues of blue and amber, while British director Wheatley marks a welcome return to his earlier works in particular 2016s Free Fire, which took home TIFFs Midnight Madness Peoples Choice Award that year.

Even though Wheatleys previous film was the considerably less enthusiastically received sequel Meg 2: The Trench, one cant help wondering what tantalizing possibilities a Meg vs. Ulysses match-up might hold.