Review of Bad Samaritan (2018) by Matthew L — 05 May 2018

Simply put, Bad Samaritan is the most watchable trash you're likely to see this year. It hurts a little bit to think of how truly good the movie could have been given a little more care on a number of aspects.

The movie is a crime thriller/horror movie that is at its best when taking on the horror genre. So many of the set pieces, although nearly too overt, provide some much needed suspense in a movie that walks the line of believability from its first moment.

The dialogue in the movie is frequently so far from realistic that it is hard to overlook. Some of the exchanges, most notably one between the driver of a vehicle and their valet, are so absurdly written and acted that I audibly laughed at least three times throughout the movie during very serious conversations.

However, with that said, the movie truly does work. I was certain by about 20 minutes in that I would be writing my most scathing review of the year, but many merits arise throughout the film. Above all, David Tennant is one of the more terrifying villains you'll see this year.

His acting is committed from start to finish and he truly embodies evil. This pure evil begins to paint the movie out to be quite nihilistic. As with its villain, the film has very little regard for human life or really any saving grace.

The movie is actually better for it. Most of the time when you decide to make a script as nihilistic as this, it requires reasoning. Though you may have to strain for the reasoning, the movie does have something to say about the effects of trauma.

It could have done a little more to make a point of how childhood trauma affected the villain, but a breadcrumb here and there helps the movie to serve some purpose. Your anti-hero protagonist (he's a thief trying to do the right thing) is played by a very dopey Robert Sheehan, and while not very convincing in the film's opening stretch, his character becomes a truly likable one.

The script could have used a few more drafts, and several scenes of dialogue should've been recognized as absurd by the film's editor, but when the suspenseful moments come, Bad Samaritan supplies edge of your seat suspense.

Never have I seen a movie where each moment of horror is so predictable, but works so well. If you think something is about to happen, it usually does, but the filmmaking in those moments is so assured that the predictability somehow becomes a strength.

If you are willing to manage expectations going into the film, you will be thoroughly entertained and may find yourself quite thrilled!