In "Bad Things", Ruthie has been left "The Comley Hotel" by her grandmother. Her grandmother's death has brought her back in contact with her mother, who just wants her to just sell the hotel. She's not so sure, but she travels to the hotel with her girlfriend Cal (who thinks Ruthie should keep the hotel and run it), their friend Maddie, and Fran, who seems to have an odd relationship with the other three women (although on the other hand, is absolutely gorgeous). The hotel is closed, and there are rumors that it is haunted by the ghosts of guests who have died there. And sure enough, once the women arrive, they start to see things that may or may not be real and begin to behave strangely...
The pitch for "Bad Things" is clearly "The Shining... but with lesbians." Writer/director Stewart Thorndike doesn't hide this, and the influences are clear -- she makes the hotel an important character in the film, duplicates some of Kubrick's tracking shots, and recreates/updates some of the classic images from the original film. And it's pretty effective and creepy, to be honest. But it's not at all a remake, so while the familiarity sets a mood, "Bad Things" moves in a quite a different direction. And the tension starts early on and doesn't really let up until the end. None of the characters are really "likeable" and the one that is closest to being likeable is the one that the other three treat the worst. As an aside, some viewers may be divided by the characters and how they behave. A lot of movies with LGBQT characters make sure they are all appealing, but not "Bad Things.") I'm not sure it truly "nails" the ending, but it certainly will generate plenty of conversations.
Technically, you really can't fault anything. Acting is uniformly excellent among the small cast, and the direction -- as noted above -- is solid and clever.
If you want a fun, creepy film that will get under your skin a bit, check it out.
