• Pop Culture
    • Movies
    • Television
    • Comic Books
    • Video Games
    • Toys & Collectibles
  • Features
    • News
    • Reviews
    • Articles and Opinions
    • Interviews
    • Exclusives
    • FMTV on YouTube
  • About
    • About Flickering Myth
    • Write for Flickering Myth
    • Advertise on Flickering Myth
  • Socials
    • Facebook
    • X
    • Instagram
    • Flipboard
    • Bluesky
    • Linktree
  • Terms
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy Policy

Flickering Myth

Geek Culture | Movies, TV, Comic Books & Video Games

  • News
  • Reviews
  • Articles & Opinions
  • The Baby in the Basket
  • Death Among the Pines

Movie Review – Bad Samaritan (2018)

August 22, 2018 by Matthew Lee

Bad Samaritan, 2018.

Directed by Dean Devlin.
Starring David Tennant, Kerry Condon, Robert Sheehan, Jacqueline Byers, Lisa Brenner, and Hannah Barefoot.

SYNOPSIS:

Two valet attendants have developed a clever scam – as wealthy patrons enjoy their meals, one of them drives to the patron’s home to burgle their property while the other one is on guard duty. This has worked for them for so far until they cross the wrong customer.

Sean (Robert Sheehan) is a lazy faux-photographer working part-time as a valet attendant with his partner-in-crime Derek (Carlito Olivero). They are looking for that big score. An arrogant, vitriolic trust-fund douchebag called Cale (brilliantly portrayed by David Tennant) looks to be the perfect target. Sean takes Cale’s car and drives to his expensive real estate. It’s perfect until he discovers a beaten woman bound to a chair. Sean is faced with a dilemma: does he report the woman to the police and risk jail time, or does he walk away? What then unravels is a tense, if contrived, game of cat and mouse.

Make no mistake about this, Bad Samaritan is a smart, yet trashy, horror-thriller. It’s a wholly disposable and utterly flawed story. Sean’s moral choices lack character conviction, becoming the good-anti-hero in a too short a period of time.

More head-scratchingly implausible factors derive from Cale’s God-like planning, and his quasi-sci-fi technology to aid him. As Cale grows to know that Sean knows about the woman, and about Cale’s psychotic private life, Cale grows his seemingly telepathic powers as he slowly destroys Sean’s life. He appears to be able to do this flawlessly.

Yes, it’s a daft thriller. But what really sells it is David Tennant’s performance. It’s clear that Tennant is loving the character is portraying. The game of cat and mouse between the two is sold on Tennant’s performance. Tennant takes this motivation, and this character as the sociopathic smartest-gun-in-the-room syndrome, and runs with it! Smarmy, cold, arrogant, vulnerable – Tennant gives us a full-fledged character, all with a loud wink to the audience.

Sheehan plays his straight, with one wondering if he’s in on it as well? Fans of the British TV show Misfits will know that this actor oozes charm and has a great on-screen presence.

Where this film succeeds is the on-the-edge pacing, as every bad decision made by our guideless protagonist Sean escalates to death, destruction, and wreckage beyond belief. Cars are wrecked. Rooms are blown-up. Nude photos of Sean’s girlfriend are shared among her classmates. And that’s just for starters!

To pull this film apart would be a disservice to your viewing experience. Even with the flaws highlighted at the beginning of this review, you will overlook them and enjoy this trashy, pulpy thriller. Enjoy the ride!

Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★

Matthew Lee

Filed Under: Matthew Lee, Movies, Reviews Tagged With: Bad Samaritan, David Tennant, Dean Devlin, Hannah Barefoot, Jacqueline Byers, Kerry Condon, Lisa Brenner, Robert Sheehan

WATCH OUR NEW FILM FOR FREE ON TUBI

FMTV – Watch Our Latest Video Here

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:

The Essential Andrzej Zulawski Films

Is AI About to Make Creatives Irrelevant?

Cinema of Violence: 10 Great Hong Kong Movies of the 1980s

They Don’t Make ‘Em like Grosse Pointe Blank Anymore

The Essential Cannon Films Scores

Ten Great Comeback Performances

10 International Horror Movies You Need To See

15 Movies To Watch On Tubi UK

Back to the Future at 40: The Story Behind the Pop Culture Touchstone

90s Guilty Pleasure Thrillers So Bad They’re Actually Good

Top Stories:

Movie Review – Modern Whore (2025)

They Don’t Make ‘Em like Grosse Pointe Blank Anymore

10 Essential Italian Horror Movies of the 1980s

Primal Fear at 30: The Story Behind the Brilliant Psychological Thriller

10 Adaptations That Completely Missed the Mark

9 Great Time-Loop Movies You May Have Missed

Movie Review – The Super Mario Galaxy Movie (2026)

Movie Review – The Drama (2026)

4K Ultra HD Review – Blood From the Mummy’s Tomb (1971)

10 Essential Style Over Substance Movies

FLICKERING MYTH FILMS

 

FEATURED POSTS:

Eight Essential Maika Monroe Performances

7 Great Body Switch Movies You Might Have Missed

Revisiting the Star Wars Prequel Trilogy

7 Chilling Killer Kid Movies You Need To See

  • Pop Culture
    • Movies
    • Television
    • Comic Books
    • Video Games
    • Toys & Collectibles
  • Features
    • News
    • Reviews
    • Articles and Opinions
    • Interviews
    • Exclusives
    • FMTV on YouTube
  • About
    • About Flickering Myth
    • Write for Flickering Myth
    • Advertise on Flickering Myth
  • Socials
    • Facebook
    • X
    • Instagram
    • Flipboard
    • Bluesky
    • Linktree
  • Terms
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy Policy

© Flickering Myth Limited. All rights reserved. The reproduction, modification, distribution, or republication of the content without permission is strictly prohibited. Movie titles, images, etc. are registered trademarks / copyright their respective rights holders. Read our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. If you can read this, you don't need glasses.


 

Flickering MythLogo Header Menu
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Articles and Opinions
  • The Baby in the Basket
  • Death Among the Pines
  • About Flickering Myth
  • Write for Flickering Myth