Bad Samaritan review: From the producer of most of Roland Emmerich’s disaster movies comes this horror/ thriller about a pair of burglars who stumble upon a woman being held captive in a home they intended to rob.
Bad Samaritan review by Luke Ryan Baldock.
Bad Samaritan review
Dean Devlin made his name producing the disaster and/or disastrous films of Roland Emmerich. With Independence Day and Godzilla under his belt, Devlin didn’t return for the likes of The Day After Tomorrow or 2012, suggesting he was leaving those big budget films behind. This made it all the more surprising when he entered the directorial ring himself with Geostorm, which was such delightful nonsense that it may have been satire. For his second cinematic feature, Devlin goes in the complete opposite direction for a sinister game of cat and mouse in a stripped back thriller.
Perhaps Devlin felt more comfortable with tackling huge storms and special effects as opposed to human characters, which may also be why even the characters are kept fairly simple. Robert Sheehan stars as a wannabe photographer, Sean Falco, who doesn’t mind burgling rich houses to help him out. Sheehan is perfect in the role, using his likability to paint one broad stroke over his moral shortcomings. His humour and quick-fire delivery are what made him such a favourite on TV’s Misfits, and it’s all on show here. Of course, he only burgles jerks or the rich, which makes David Tenant’s Cale Ehrenreich, a perfect mark. Unfortunately for Sean, Cale is more than just a snooty ass.
Sean finds that Cale is keeping a woman (Kerry Condon), hostage. After bailing, Sean tells the police, but wouldn’t you just know it? Cale is a few steps ahead. The enjoyment and intensity come from the escalating cat and mouse shenanigans between the two leads. Tenant is the real reason to see this film. He utilises his creepy intensity in ways that channel his performance from Jessica Jones. Tenant may not be the most physically intimidating actor out there, but when it comes to shooting glances he’s an expert marksman.
Bad Samaritan review
Sheehan and Tenant do all they can to elevate the material, and Devlin’s directing style is surprisingly well suited to a more claustrophobic thriller. With that said, Brandon Boyce’s screenplay is still one of disappointing predictability. It rarely takes a dark detour, and when it does it fails to capitalise. Sean’s morality is never in doubt, making him dull and vapid underneath Sheehan’s charisma. At the same time, Cale is almost too sinister, and we never get a sense of who he is away from this particular story. It’s an important point that needs to be made since his charm means he has women on call and can talk circles around the police. How does he fit into society on a day when burglars aren’t entering his abode?
With lesser talent behind the camera and in the lead roles, this could have been an awful film – one of cliche and daftness. As it stands, we get a slightly podgy, but very entertaining film where the effort and enjoyment of the leads become infectious. A final act substitution of camp for suspense may garner sighs and tuts from some, but if you’re going to stumble on the landing, you may as well make it memorable.
Bad Samaritan review by Luke Ryan Baldock, August 2018.
Bad Samaritan screened at Arrow Video Frightfest 2018 and is also released in select UK cinemas from 24th August 2018.
