Billy_Crash
A man brings his wife and kids to their ancestral home in a superstitious village
As soon as the movie began, it was clear writer Rodrigo Guedes de Carvalho was going to exploit all the trappings of his culture. Roman Catholicism, possession, exorcism, village mentality versus city dweller mode of thinking, spiritualism, ghosts, family and superstition versus reality all come into play. The only problem is that we've seen these stories unfold in horrors repeatedly from a slew of other Western, as well as Asian, nations.He does one thing, however, that is wonderful. The stereotypical villages that tell the city folk they don't belong – or hate them outright – isn't necessarily prevalent. Thankfully, with that hackneyed element not in the picture, I was able to indulge.The acting was fairly strong, especially by Adriano Luz and Sara Carinhas, though Manuela Couto succumbed to be being far too melodramatic. The story maintained a solid pace with exceptional cinematography by Victor Estevão, capturing the atmosphere of the Monteiro homestead as beautifully as he did the lush countryside. Sadly, suspense and scares were sorely lacking and the end came as no shock.Tag team directors Tiago Guedes and Frederico Serra have definite talent, and I hope they pick a stronger tale for their next outing.
oscarroger
A great movie, with suspense all the time. A story or legend typically Portuguese we many believe and others claim to have seen something spooky roaming through their skin when he sees the typical environments of the mountain, dark and full of mysticism!Something different from the typical American movies, where the bloody wave and almost ridiculous scenes will take you to see the rest of the movie!In Bad Thing, the simplicity of the actors and the extraordinary representation of some actors little known in Portugal, are the delights of the old suspense, the stories are typical of mountain, gaming spiritualism typical still in Portuguese villages, of which many will laugh and others much respect ... ---- If you want to see a thriller until the end no doubt see BAD THING!
Misteriomag32
This movie had so much potential... I really don't know what to say, because on the first minutes I was so captivated, I thought that this was it!: Portuguese cinema took a giant leap, and who could have guessed, on the suspense/horror/supernatural genre! The photography was top notch I'd say, and the sound, the acting... all these technical elements brought to life a simply Portuguese rural town with a creepy, eerie atmosphere. Still, it seems that the people behind this project didn't go beyond that! The story seems interesting enough in the first minutes, but then it just keeps dragging on! No real scary scenes at all! And the ending? It was predictable (sorry, it was! Everything pointed out to that one character I won't mention here), and it just didn't justify the time wasted on the movie.Overall: technically good, but too dull and dead to even recommend someone to see it. I'm really sad, because I'm still waiting for the big jump of the Portuguese cinema... and this one was not it.Next time, try to focus more on the story.
kosmasp
This movie has very good intentions and the photography (camera work) that is done here is great. The acting is also very good and both those elements mixed together, they create a very good and spooky mood for the movie.But the pacing is too slow. Even for a movie that does feed on that fact, that the viewer should be getting time for the whole movie to unfold. But I do think that this sort of idea could've been made as short story/movie and it would have worked even better. Although if you liked the movie Unbreakable by M. Night Shyamalan, you will also enjoy this one! They're similar, not story-wise, but pacing-wise!
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