Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘Bad Things’

8/21/2023

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Gayle Rankin as Ruthie Nodd in Stewart Thorndike's BAD THINGS. Photo Courtesy of Shudder. A Shudder Release.

This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the movie being covered here wouldn’t exist.

One particular belief that everyone shares in, is that bad and ugly moments and tough times, are simply a part of the human condition… and they serve a purpose. For the wicked of the world, they’re nothing more than a reminder that karma is a thing, and hopefully bad people learn that when dark times descend upon them. But for the just of the world, those with good hearts... bad times are nothing more than a lesson, or a challenge. Something designed to teach us something about ourselves and help us to grow if we are willing to see the lesson in front of us and well… there’s some merit to that line of thinking, since we can indeed grow from dark days and karma is indeed satisfying to see come into play. But while that does bring us a strange sense of comfort when comes to bad times… that really isn’t how they work.

For they are not some sort of universal surprise, or some sort of pre-ordained lesson. There tends to be a rhyme and a reason to the tough things that come our way. For our world is grounded in causality and anything that is a genuine surprise extends beyond that. But what we really don’t consider regarding tough times, is the sheer fact that a lot of what we lament and need to learn from… is of our own volition. For bad behaviors on our part can impart and attract problems and tough times, and not taking the time to face our traumas and our pain can bring sour days our way as well. Which means more often than not, we are in charge of what bad things are present in our lives, and thankfully, we tend to learn that reality later in life when we begin to recognize causality and how it really works. But while a vast majority of folks embrace this as they age, not everyone does and that does tend to leave us wondering… what will become of them.

Because if they’re unwilling to let go of that which plagues them and creates their difficult days… it is only a matter of time before their behavior overwhelms them and puts them in a scary spot, and well… one fine place to ponder upon that is through fiction. That safe space where anything can happen, and it just so happens that a new horror feature on Shudder explores those possibilities. A feat that Bad Things accomplishes by introducing us to a woman named Ruthie, and her girlfriend Cal, and her friend Maddie, and Ruthie’s former lover, Fran. And when we catch up with them here, they’ve all gathered at a remote hotel that has been left to Ruthie, to have a good time and reconnect, and to help Ruthie decide as to whether or not to sell the place. But it doesn’t take long for these four ladies to come to understand that this isolated stay will bring forth bad times and great trouble. For there is something sinister lurking within the walls of this ancient hotel.

Which is at first glance, a plot that seems grounded more so in classic ghost story tropes and homages to The Shining over a story about the horrors of the human psyche and how our inability to set our lives right can bring about pain and suffering, and there’s a lot of merit to that line of thinking. After all, there are apparitions to be found in this story that appear at random and offer nothing but creepy moments. Not to mention, there are a lot of visuals here that are supremely Kubrick in nature. To the point where even this classic and abandoned hotel, one filled with four people in winter no less, resembles the Overlook Hotel with its unique color designs. But as this story continues along, and we settle into the hotel alongside these friends, does it become clear that what truly haunts this hotel, are the ghosts we lock away in our psyche.

Because the vast majority of the characters here, harbor a lot of negative traits and have taken part in some supremely negative acts that have brought pain to one another and to themselves. Not to mention, Ruthie has a lot of skeletons in her closet, enough to fill the hotel itself and well… the longer these four women are together, the more the lesson at hand becomes clear. For they begin to impart ugliness upon one another, and their worst traits are made apparent in the silence. For they haven’t dealt with their pain or their trauma, they’ve just forged ahead and either taken it out on upon each other or put it out into the world to invite the darkness, and bad times and bad things, and that leads to a harrowing finale. One that shocks and stuns and truly helps us to understand that if left unchecked and truly encouraged, bad things would flow and bring about great suffering and pain.

All of which brings forth, a supremely bleak horror film. One that does an incredible deep dive into the subject matter. For it holds nothing back in its examination and that leads to a supremely uncomfortable story, one that features characters that can be supremely sour in nature and moments that don’t offer hope for growth, just more ugliness and more fury, and while some may lament that, it is in fact… a stroke of genius. For a film eager to explore the darkest recesses of who we are and how we bring trouble upon ourselves, cannot hold anything back in its exploration, and it must put the worst parts of us on display. Not to punish, but to really help us to understand the power of causality and how we truly carve out our own fate, and that subtext, and the powerful visuals and moments that accompany it, makes this a necessary watch. To remind us to stay the course when we’re trying to heal, so we don’t let the ugly stuff take over, and to help those who haven’t learned about the consequences of our actions, start the healing process.

Watch ‘Bad Things’

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