Bad Things

Watching this movie is like watching a car fire across the street. The only reason you keep watching is to see how bad it really is. You might hope it could become "so bad it's good", but no... it's just bad, but shows signs of possibly having had potential and that only makes it worse. I watched all the way to the end, unfortunately.

It feels like another film maker could have made a decent version of this film. There's some promising moments. (e.g. A super interesting "haunted" scene with a bunch of customers who probably aren't real.) However, the moments that are interesting only add to the disappointment of how bad the film ends up being, as a whole.

There are interesting characters here, none of whom are likeable because they are so terrible to each other, but that could have used somehow. Instead It's all just squandered opportunities.

I would have rated it a 1 except that a couple of the performers do a decent job. So, I'll give them points even though they can't save the script. (In the end I just felt embarrassed for them, having to have been in such a bad movie.) I'm sure the people playing the main character's trans/lesbian love interests could do well in other films. I'll actually look them up. I'd bet they are in better movies where their performances aren't wasted by bad writing/direction.

Better directing and writing could have resulted in a good movie, but in the end, this film just sucks. Its momentary glimmers of potential and its brief scenes generating interest, only makes its ultimate emptiness and disappointment more frustrating.

The actors in this movie made you believe in their characters. Their actions, reactions, and incidental chatter sounded like people really talk.

Unfortunately that's the only nice thing I can say about this movie. The setting and setup is great... if Stephen King hadn't thought of it half a century ago. The direction is uneven, sprinkling a few interesting scenes into an hour-and-a-half of ennui. And the writing.... Four characters that I cared nothing about, trying to survive, or not, whatever. This movie-other than the actors-came across like the product of a high school English assignment from an ineffective teacher: "Write a new ending for 'The Shining.' And remember, if less is more, then nothing must be everything!"

I give it 2 stars because it wasn't boring, precisely. It simply made no sense and wasn't scary in the least...that is, unless you count how frighteningly ugly and stupid the characters were. These people are friends?? I don't believe it. I was completely unable to suspend my disbelief and was acutely aware of the films shortcomings every moment.

Incredibly unlikeable characters (despite minimal development), a meandering and pointless plot that fleshed out exactly nothing, and an utter lack of logical support leave the film a nonsensical mishmash.

I'd seen the directors first offering, Lyle. A better film, though not good, it and Bad Things leaves me wondering if Thorndike is deliberately and actively trying to depict lesbians as unhinged, abusive, and dull-witted wastes-of-breath? And to ruin film?

Hey considering they likely didn't spend 8 billion dollars producing this movie it is pretty good. Is it scary? Hey I'm very hard to scare so don't ask me.... but for the average viewer I would say it might have moments. If you are a fan of or familiar with The Shining, you could easily find this very similar. In fact I am certain there was some intent to make several tributes in this film. For me personally it felt like the goal was to root for the "monster". Each character seemed to be drawn as unlikable and you may wonder why are they friends? If you like a movie that is not real obvious about what is going on, this one can make you wonder..... I would not watch it again but it was worth one viewing.

Bad Things (2023) is a movie that was recently added to Shudder. The storyline follows a group of friends who are being supportive to a friend who recently inherited a hotel and hopes to either run it or sell it with her mom. It quickly becomes apparent that something isn't right and they believe it's someone not something causing their concern. Is the hotel haunted, is someone messing with them, or is it both?

This movie is written and directed by Stewart Thorndike (Lyle) and stars Gayle Rankin (Men), Hari Nef (Barbie), Annabelle Dexter-Jones (Ravage), Rad Pereira (Betty), Jared Abrahamson (Fear the Walking Dead) and Molly Ringwald (Sixteen Candles).

This had some unique elements and reminded me of a poor man's The Shining...like if it took place in the Poconos. The acting was actually pretty solid. There's some mental state subplots that were interesting. The characters are pretty unique too. Unfortunately, there was little to no horror elements until the very ending...then the last 15 minutes was impressive. The twists at the end actually surprised me that it was worthwhile with such a poor setup. There's some cool kills at the very, very end...but other than that this is fairly stale. I would score this a 4.5-5/10 and recommend seeing it once only for horror enthusiasts.