Review of Bad Kids Go to Hell (2012) by Chris J — 26 May 2013

A cynical/dark comedy version of "The Breakfast Club" that never really defines itself. I am not sure what they were aiming for here a dark comedy, a social commentary, or a horror film. If that was the case it wasn't scary nor was it funny. The plot is completely disorganized, filled with hard to follow flashbacks, loaded with stereotypical characters, & filled with many 80's references. In fact the flashbacks are so convoluted that they are basically another plot in of itself. The directors had a mediocre script that produced one of the worst films I have ever seen. The film is too smart for itself & outdoes itself at the end of the movie. Judd Nelson's cameo was so flat, that I did not even realize he was even in this movie until I read reviews on Red Box.

If you are going to do a remake of a 1980's classic teen drama, then you better bring at least your B game or maybe even your A game. Do not bring your D game & pass this off as a good movie. People are smarter than that. I will give you the ending, because you will never understand the plot anyway. The whole thing was basically an experiment that could be turned into a book or movie to make money by Judd Nelson's character & the character Veronica. The rest you can't even figure out. There were aspects of the ending that I liked, but it did not fit the script. Please do not lecture me about society when you have a plot that no one in their right mind can even understand. Were the parents of these rich brats in on it? Who cares. The only redeeming quality this film had was the performance of Augie Duke as Veronica. She was really good, otherwise I would have given this zero stars. The other actors had talent but it was wasted here. The cast was totally miscast in this trainwreck. Duke definitely has a future in Hollywood. You know its going to be bad when the high point of the film is the first 10 minutes. I hope Phase 4 Films has more to offer than this material.