Coisa Ruim

A well respected academic inherits a beautiful country home.He packs his wife,children and grandson and moves to the country area.One must say that the country has many hidden and disturbing secrets:it's a place where superstition runs rampant and the local priest still performs exorcisms."Coisa Ruim" is a big horror surprise from Portugal.This atmospheric chiller offers well-written and carefully nuanced script and strong performances from all involved.The tension rises very slowly creeping under your skin and there are some truly creepy moments.It's beautifully shot in a magnificently decaying old country home.Give this lovely and intelligent film a look.9 out of 10.

This movie had so much potential... I really don't know what to say, because on the first minutes I was so captivated, I thought that this was it!: Portuguese cinema took a giant leap, and who could have guessed, on the suspense/horror/supernatural genre! The photography was top notch I'd say, and the sound, the acting... all these technical elements brought to life a simply Portuguese rural town with a creepy, eerie atmosphere. Still, it seems that the people behind this project didn't go beyond that! The story seems interesting enough in the first minutes, but then it just keeps dragging on! No real scary scenes at all! And the ending? It was predictable (sorry, it was! Everything pointed out to that one character I won't mention here), and it just didn't justify the time wasted on the movie.

Overall: technically good, but too dull and dead to even recommend someone to see it. I'm really sad, because I'm still waiting for the big jump of the Portuguese cinema... and this one was not it.

Next time, try to focus more on the story.

A man brings his wife and kids to their ancestral home in a superstitious village…

As soon as the movie began, it was clear writer Rodrigo Guedes de Carvalho was going to exploit all the trappings of his culture. Roman Catholicism, possession, exorcism, village mentality versus city dweller mode of thinking, spiritualism, ghosts, family and superstition versus reality all come into play. The only problem is that we've seen these stories unfold in horrors repeatedly from a slew of other Western, as well as Asian, nations.

He does one thing, however, that is wonderful. The stereotypical villages that tell the city folk they don't belong – or hate them outright – isn't necessarily prevalent. Thankfully, with that hackneyed element not in the picture, I was able to indulge.

The acting was fairly strong, especially by Adriano Luz and Sara Carinhas, though Manuela Couto succumbed to be being far too melodramatic. The story maintained a solid pace with exceptional cinematography by Victor Estevão, capturing the atmosphere of the Monteiro homestead as beautifully as he did the lush countryside. Sadly, suspense and scares were sorely lacking and the end came as no shock.

Tag team directors Tiago Guedes and Frederico Serra have definite talent, and I hope they pick a stronger tale for their next outing.

A biology professor, his wife, their three kids and their grandson reaches a small village, totally lost in time in the middle of Portugal, with a few old inhabitants, like there are so many in Portugal. The village people take their myths, ancient legends and folklore very serious, but the couple are skeptical (especially the husband), highly intellectual and with very scientific thoughts and ideas, and they are no prepared at all to what they are going to face. That's when strange things begin to happen... It is an horror/mystery/suspense/spiritual movie, but the horror is only psychological, and all the fear that you can feel during the movie comes from your perception and understanding of the story, and not from what you are eyes are watching. There is Death, and there is Rape, but you don't see those images, you just know it happened, and the story goes on, in a crescendo throughout the movie, until it reaches the final climax. This suits perfectly... if there were some physical violence or gore, the movie would loose its personality. The story follow its line from the beginning until the end. growing up in fear... Really, I don't remember ever seeing something like this! The stories are all based on the Portuguese myths and folklore, not on some external influences. There are beautiful landscapes, an old Portuguese village which suits as a perfect background for an horror movie, very well written script, good performances of the characters, good directing, perfect soundtrack. And there is a strong feeling throughout all the movie... this is really a masterpiece, made with the usual financial difficulties of the Portuguese cinema. But this one came out to see the light of the day, and it is the best ever made in Portugal, and one of the best I've ever seen in the genre in all cinema history. If you are just into "American Horror Blockbusters", full of special effects, screams, blood and gore, and physical violence, this is probably not your movie.

A great movie, with suspense all the time. A story or legend typically Portuguese we many believe and others claim to have seen something spooky roaming through their skin when he sees the typical environments of the mountain, dark and full of mysticism!

Something different from the typical American movies, where the bloody wave and almost ridiculous scenes will take you to see the rest of the movie!

In Bad Thing, the simplicity of the actors and the extraordinary representation of some actors little known in Portugal, are the delights of the old suspense, the stories are typical of mountain, gaming spiritualism typical still in Portuguese villages, of which many will laugh and others much respect ... ---- If you want to see a thriller until the end no doubt see BAD THING!