Bad Samaritan - Im Visier des Killers

"Bad Samaritan" (R, 1:51) is a thriller directed by actor-turned-producer Dean Devlin ("Geostorm"), written by Brandon Boyce ("Wicker Park") and starring television actor (and erstwhile Dr. Who) David Tennant. There's a bit of horror in here too, but this film is primarily an intricately plotted thrill ride.

The title character is named Sean Falco (Irish actor Robert Sheehan), a young man whose step-father brought him and his mother to the U.S. because of a job opportunity (for which Sean resents him). Sean is an aspiring photographer with a beautiful and intelligent college girlfriend named Riley (Jacqueline Byers) who knows nothing of Sean's real passion - stealing. Sean and his best friend, Derek (Carlito Olivero) work as valets at an expensive Italian restaurant... which is where they choose their marks. As one of them mans the valet stand, the other uses the vehicles, GPS devices and garage door openers of their unsuspecting customers to rob the patrons' homes, while they're just trying to have a nice meal.

One not-so-fine evening, after Derek has to abort his attempt to rob the home of one family enjoying a night out at the restaurant, it's Sean's turn. For his next victim, Sean chooses Cale Erendreich (Tennant), a man who seems very rich... and very mean. As Sean is searching Cale's home, he comes across a door with an unusually strong lock. He figures that a door secured that well, must have something especially valuable behind it. He uses Cale's keys to gain entry and finds Cale's computer - and a young woman (Kerry Condon), who is gagged, bound with straps and chains and sitting in a chair bolted to the floor.

Sean spends the rest of the movie trying to do right by Cale's captive. Sean tries his best to free her, but Derek tells him via cell phone that Cale has come outside to get his car. Conflicted but panicked, Sean promises the girl that he'll come back... and races back to the restaurant. This guy tries calling the police, breaking back into the house and any number of other things to save Cale's victim, but it's no small task going up against the highly intelligent Cale with his extraordinary attention to detail. This guy knows how to cover his tracks and seems to enjoy messing with the lives of anyone trying to stop his evil plans.

"Bad Samaritan" is an unexpectedly good thriller. Tennant and Sheehan are terrific in the lead roles. The rest of the actors are pretty good, but the overall quality of the movie may have been improved with a more talented cast. Regardless, this film's strength lies in its writing and directing. The plot has very few holes and plenty of twists and turns. The story is very well constructed and well executed, making the viewer sharply attentive, suitably tense and well rewarded with an entertaining cinematic experience. This film may fly under the radar of many Movie Fans, but it's well worth the effort to seek it out. "A-"

Over all not too shabby, definitely better than I expected. So yes its been done many times before, person (or in this case; people) break in to someones house for some ulterior motive, only to discover the home owner is either hiding something or is some sort of killer. But it throws a little extra into the formula, some works, the emphasis on the killer and his story was refreshing. But is it scary? Is it a horror movie? Because lately so called "horror" movies are indeed not scary at all. And as far as this film is concerned, I'm not sure what I want to say, because some of it was effective, and some of it wasn't. First of all, I like how they expanded on the typical story line they were telling, and without giving to much away, it creates this admittedly tense cat and mouse chaotic situation for all parties involved, so I liked how it just didn't stick 100% to the "Rear Window" and "Disturbia" formulas.

But was it scary? I'd say it was in places and was not in some, it was as simple as that for me. Some of the scenes/situations/jumps got me, and I got a little tense, but some other scenes just didn't do it for me, maybe because I'm so desensitized to brutal horror movies. The acting was also hit and miss, some actors did a fine job while others, were just... meh... And to be fair some of the good acting added to the intensity. I also didn't like some of the editing choices. I liked the color scheme of the film, the dark and deep colors, something you would expect from a James Wan or Hammer Films movies. I really want to say I liked it, because i definitely did like some of it, but some of it just didn't tickle my horror bone like it could have, but overall it was not too bad, much better than I expected.

For a B-grade film, this was surprisingly better than I expected. The acting was great by all cast members, the directing was on point, the writing was actually pretty good - without many plot issues one would normally expect, the cinematography perfect, the pacing was great, especially for the 107 min length, and the editing not too bad except for the flashbacks. My only critique was the terrible score, especially towards the last act. Had the score been more professional and consistent through out, the suspense would have been stellar instead of adequate. Overall an impressive film. A well deserved 8/10 from me.

Original script. Believable cast. They make it work easily & all in all it looks like what a thriller should look like! For once I'm not grumbling in disappointment over lack of continuity or missed opportunities. Several layers thick with multidimensional characters that behave unexpectantly individual and unique instead of plotted. A pleasant surprise, indeed. Perhaps I should have rated it a 9!?

Bad Samaritan is a film that I simply did not know was even being released until I looked on Fandango and checked what movies I could go see yesterday. And besides David Tennant, there's really no big name here at all and there wasn't a single bit of marketing that I saw, so there's that. Really, Bad Samaritan will likely be a film that comes and goes and never knows that it existed. However, I actually thought it was a pretty well made film. Granted, it starts to fall apart after the hour mark, but if you're just looking for a cheap thrill with some fun performances, creepy imagery, and good time at the theater, then look no further than Bad Samaritan. The film has no place making some of the third act decisions it does however, it never fully jumps the proverbial shark, and it's always entertaining.

7.3/10