You’d be forgiven for thinking that the setting for BAD THINGS, Stewart Thorndike’s LGBTQIA+ psychological horror thriller, seems familiar at first glance. A group of friends staying at a spooky resort during a snowy getaway is textbook territory at this point, reminiscent of classics such as The Shining all the way to the 2015 video game Until Dawn. That Thorndike and company have come through with a strong vision of a commonplace setup makes BAD THINGS a worthy destination.

Ruthie (Gayle Rankin) has inherited a family hotel and isn’t sure what she wants to do with it. She has never cared for the place and would rather sell it, citing a childhood incident in which her mother accidentally left her there alone for three days. As you can imagine, she still has serious mommy issues that she deals with privately. It’s worth mentioning that this is the second film in Thorndike’s thematic trilogy about motherhood, preceded by the 2014 feature Lyle.

Meanwhile, her girlfriend Cal (Hari Nef) sees potential in the property and suggests they renovate and run the hotel. They decide to spend a weekend there with Maddie (Rad Pereira) and Fran (Annabelle Dexter-Jones), the latter of whom Maddie invited along (much to the disappointment of Ruthie and Cal). As they spend more time with one another, we learn that there’s a sort of love rectangle amongst them, which causes them to butt heads. The ensemble cast share great chemistry and naturally sell the messy friend group dynamic thanks to their individualistic personalities.

In addition to this drama, the hotel may or may not be haunted, with five deaths recorded since it opened. At first, Fran appears particularly perceptible to these ghostly sightings, but the problem is nobody seems to believe her as she’s the outsider of the friend group. What starts as something akin to a retro spookshow soon dips its toes into the zone of an 80’s slasher, making us wonder if one of the four is behind everything or if supernatural forces are actually at play.

Referring to a film’s location as a character in itself may be cliché, but it’s apt in this case. The hotel is almost liminal in design, with long pink pastel hallways and a cold, uninviting exterior. BAD THINGS sports a uniquely moody presentation that allows it to weave in and out of subgenres with ease. It’s dreamy and nostalgic, lulling you into the sense that anything can happen, good or bad. Jason Falkner’s piano-driven score is a highlight, beautifully complementing the soft, muted cinematography by Grant Greenberg.

It all builds to a tragically satisfying finale, flexing its genre influences. Though I liked the character work here, there are a few questionable choices made in the third act. Then again, these are made with enough confidence that I didn’t feel yanked out of the immersive atmosphere created by the cast and crew. And at just 83 minutes, it isn’t asking too much of the viewer other than tuning into the wavelength of a fresh, contemporary chiller with some decidedly old-school sensibilities.

BAD THINGS had its world premiere at Tribeca Film Festival on June 9th, 2023. It will be premiering on Shudder and AMC+ on August 18th.

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Tom Milligan

Owner at Critical Milligan

Tom Milligan graduated from Pace University with a degree in Film and Screen Studies. He has written for a handful of entertainment websites, including ComicsVerse, and runs his own blog titled “Critical Milligan.” He loves foreign language films, video games, and Carly Rae Jepsen.

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