Bad Things (2023) spoiler free review
“I do bad things sometimes. Well, who doesn’t”. Bad Things is a 2023 horror triller directed by Stewart Thorndike, produced by Lizzie Shapiro and Lexi Tannenholtz, and written by Stewart Thorndike. It had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on June 9, 2023, and it’s scheduled to be released in Shudder on August 18, 2023.
A group of friends go to a hotel for a weekend getaway and soon discover that women do bad things here.
Film synopsis
The cast includes Gayle Rankin as Ruthie Nodd (“Glow”), Hari Nef as Cal (“Barbie”), Annabelle Dexter-Jones as Fran (“Succession”), Rad Pereira as Maddie (“Betty”), Jared Abrahamson as Brian (“Ramy”) and Molly Ringwald as Mrs. Auerbach (“The Breakfast Club”).
My opinion
During the winter a group of friends, Ruthie, Cal, Fran, and Maddie, arrives to a resort that Ruthie inherited from her grandmother. What’s supposed to be a girls getaway weekend quickly turns into a intense and emotional battle. Bad Things can be seen as the queer version of The Shining (1980). With ghost that appear out of nowhere, two joggers that show up when least expected, a fixation with a specific room, and a closed hotel in the middle of winter the resemblance to the 80s classic is evident.
Just like many friends groups, this one holds a lot of internal issues with each other that will be amplified by their stay at the resort. This confrontation causes ruptures in both romantic relationships and friendship, similar to the A24 comedy horror Bodies Bodies Bodies (2022) but without the comedy aspect. Ruthie’s relationship with her mother aggravates the situation making her spiral into insanity. The performances of Gayle Rankin, Hari Nef, and Rad Pereira are excepcional and convincing, their characters are an awful group of friend that can be loved or hated. But, supported by their acting they’re exactly what they needed to be.
Unfortunately, the film turns into a way too slow burn thriller sowing the feeling of wanting to fast forward and see once and for all what is going to happen. The curiosity that evoques from the begging with the cinematography is what will pause that feelings. The ending can turn predictable, and while is not as good as it could have been, Bad Things is a film worth checking out.
This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the movie being covered here wouldn’t exist.