Bad Samaritan
Electric Entertainment | Release Date: May 4, 2018 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
42
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 20 Critic Reviews
Positive:
6
Mixed:
7
Negative:
7
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
ObserverRex ReedMay 8, 2018
A well-directed thriller with knuckle-chewing suspense. A cast of unknowns give some first-rate performances, doing everything right to milk the throb of panic and anxiety from “what would I do?” situations. Terror builds from start to finish. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comSimon AbramsMay 4, 2018
The spectacularly dumb, and weirdly entertaining bad-taste thriller Bad Samaritan is the kind of movie that many will assume can only be enjoyed ironically, or just with some sort of emotional detachment. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleG. Allen JohnsonMay 2, 2018
Sometimes the movie is a little too slick. Some of the characters, such as Sean’s girlfriend (Jacqueline Byers) and the FBI agents who begin to believe Sean’s story, are underdeveloped. But Tennant, excellent as a creep, and Sheehan, who is appealing in his helplessness, provide the necessary depth. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesKatie WalshMay 2, 2018
The filmmaking itself is suspenseful, classic horror filmmaking, with plenty of jump scares and ominous camera movements. But where the film succeeds most is in its realistic use of technology. Read full review
63
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliMay 10, 2018
This is yet another chapter in “When Smart Movies Turn Dumb.” Read full review
63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Brad WheelerMay 3, 2018
A few plot contrivances aside, the unspectacular Bad Samaritan is tense and disturbing enough, and worth its weight in popcorn. Read full review
60
EmpireDavid HughesAug 27, 2018
Dean Devlin finally steps out from Roland Emmerich’s shadow with a tight, twisty little thriller. Add a fourth star to the rating if David Tennant going full Nicolas Cage sounds like your kind of thing. Read full review
60
VarietyPeter DebrugeMay 2, 2018
It’s all thoroughly unpleasant, but then, that’s what audiences for this kind of movie want from the experience, so consider it a success of sorts. Read full review
58
The A.V. ClubMike D'AngeloMay 2, 2018
This comparatively low-budget effort represents a marked improvement from Devlin’s debut theatrical feature, Geostorm, which was among last year’s very worst films. He’s graduated from painful tedium to an acceptable means of killing two hours. One step at a time. Read full review
51
TheWrapWilliam BibbianiMay 4, 2018
A few sharp moments can’t compensate for a film that feels half-developed, and only half-heartedly told. Like its protagonist, Bad Samaritan isn’t quite as bad as it could have been, but it’s not good either. Read full review
50
New York PostSara StewartMay 3, 2018
Bad Samaritan plays like an unambitious episode of “Black Mirror,” low on techno-savvy but enhanced by the always-compelling David Tennant and Robert Sheehan, an Irish actor best known for his role on the British series “Misfits.” Read full review
40
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzMay 3, 2018
Bad Samaritan is a horrible little movie with two things going for it: one wigged-out performance and one genuinely terrific line that's so great, you want to be able to say that it saves the film. Read full review
40
Austin ChronicleRichard WhittakerMay 2, 2018
Working from a script that lacks the visceral ingenuity of a "Don't Breathe," Devlin's Nineties crowd-pleasing instincts end up holding him back. Read full review
38
Movie NationRoger MooreMay 3, 2018
Great villains make good thrillers, Hitchcock said. But he had the good sense to cast empathetic and talented movie stars as his heroes and heroines, too. Read full review
37
Rolling StonePeter TraversMay 4, 2018
Mostly, it's a collection of spare suspense parts that someone ransacked at the movie dump and is trying to resell as fresh product. Good luck with that. Read full review
30
The New York TimesGlenn KennyMay 2, 2018
The Bad Samaritan director, Dean Devlin, handles the proceedings like Adrian Lyne (who directed “Fatal Attraction”) on HGH supplements (and divested of over a third of Mr. Lyne’s visual elegance, such as it is). Read full review
30
Village VoiceApril WolfeMay 2, 2018
There’s frightfully little atmosphere to this film — anything from creepy sound design to evocative cinematography — rendering the flaws in the story all too visible. Read full review
30
The Hollywood ReporterKeith UhlichMay 2, 2018
Tennant is awful, by which I mean wonderful, by which I mean truly terrible, yet in a legitimately magnificent way…I think. This is a you-can’t-kill-THAT-performance! par excellence, beginning at peak nutball and staying breathlessly atop the trash heap. Read full review
20
The GuardianPeter BradshawAug 24, 2018
Given the nasty taste in the mouth that the film leaves, it seems almost besides the point to worry about plot holes. Read full review
20
The GuardianPeter BradshawAug 24, 2018
Given the nasty taste in the mouth that the film leaves, it seems almost besides the point to worry about plot holes. Read full review
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