A Late Night Review on Bad Samaritan

Hi everyone! So this weeks Late Night Watch is none other than suspenseful thriller Bad Samaritan.

 

I know: even the poster looks intense. I got this movie recommendation from Tik Tok, an app that I spend a crazy amount of time on. Plot looked interesting so I decided to give it a go. Before we get into what happens, this is the general plot of the film:

"A young valet breaks into a man's home and discovers a terrified woman who's chained and gagged. After notifying the police, he soon becomes the target of the psychopath's wrath as he tries to rescue the victim that he left behind."

Now this film stars actors such as David Tennant, who plays the aforementioned psychopath, Cale, Robert Sheenan who stars as the protagonist, Sean, and Kerry Condon who stars as Katie, the woman chained up by Tennant's character. It was written by screenwriter Brandon Boyce and directed by Dean Devlin. 

Reading the log line before watching, I had a pretty good idea of what to expect when the film first started but boy was the tension still extremely high. I was anxiously waiting to see if the protagonist would escape the house before the killer returned. Bad Samaritan does a good job of building tension throughout the film. There were numerous times I was on the edge of my seat, anxious to see what would happen. One of the strongest aspects of this film is it's ability to create these high stake scenes for the character to get into. It tells a unique story that was captivating and interesting to watch. The protagonist is likeable and you truly want him to succeed in helping free the girl. For someone who is initially a thief who leaves the chained up woman behind, his character arc following is a positive one. He becomes extremely selfless and does all he can to save her from Cale. The audience feels his frustration as each police officer fails to take his claims seriously. Cale, on the other hand, is terrifying. His expressions are sinister and his cold nature is frightening. He is somehow always 5 steps ahead of Sean which creates some scary situations and is a strong point in the film. 

**SPOILER ALERTS AHEAD**  

 

One of my qualms with the film is it does leave numerous plot lines unresolved. Sean's girlfriend, Riley, is almost beat to death and pushed down a flight of stairs by Cale. At the hospital, we see her angry at Sean, believing he did it or caused it, and tells him to leave. We never see or hear from her again. Sean's parents are also never seen or heard from again, despite Cale getting them fired from their jobs and forcing them into hiding. While the ending still made sense and some films intentionally leave these unresolved, I prefer films that tie up most loose ends. With a film like this that has only a few separate plot lines, I think wrapping up at the very least the girlfriend plot line would have left a lot less questions. 

 

**END SPOILERS** 

 

Overall, Bad Samaritan is an intense, yet entertaining thriller to watch on a free night. It keeps you on the edge of your seat the whole time and makes the almost two hour film go by very fast. It is not super philosophical or deep, however it does a good job of keeping it's audience entertained. If you're a fan of the thriller genre, then this is the perfect movie to add to your late night watch list.You'll be captivated by the story line, rooting for the main character, and in the end, understand what makes the villain such a Bad Samaritan.