“Bad Samaritan – In the Killer’s Sights” is in many ways a classic psychological thriller, one that thrives on suspense and its charismatic villain. The latter is played by David Tennant, whom many of you may know from successful series such as ‘Broadchurch’ or ‘Doctor Who’ and of course as the annoying Barty Crouch Jr. from ‘Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire’. In the FILMSTARTS review (3 out of 5 stars), author Markus Fiedler names the Scottish mime as the film’s undisputed main attraction.
“Bad Samaritan – In the Killer’s Sights” will be broadcast commercial-free on 3SAT today, September 29, 2023 at 10:25 PM. If the date doesn’t suit you, you can easily purchase the film as a Blu-ray, DVD or paid video-on-demand:
Besides David Tennant, there are some other popular actors waiting for you. These include Kerry Condon, who recently starred in “The Banshees Of Inisherin” and “Better Call Saul,” Robert Sheehan of Netflix’s “The Umbrella Society,” Carlito Olivero (“Escape Room 2: No Way Out”), Jacqueline Byers (“ The Devil’s Light”) and Lisa Brenner (“The Deal”) are on the cast list.
“Bad Samaritan” on 3SAT: that’s the story
Sean (Robert Sheehan) and his friend Derek (Carlito Olivero) work as parking attendants for the cars of wealthy guests at an upscale restaurant. The duo earn extra money by driving the car to the owner’s currently vacant house – the home address is usually stored in the navigation system – and stealing some valuables there.
When Sean meets the arrogant Cale (David Tennant) one evening, he spontaneously decides to rob him too. However, when he arrives at his house, he unexpectedly encounters a young woman (Kerry Condon) who is apparently being held captive and tortured in the basement.
In panic, Sean initially runs away. But driven by a guilty conscience, he later anonymously alerted the police. Since the officers can’t do anything, Sean and Derek try to help the victim on their own. What they don’t know is that the psychopathic Cale has known about it for a long time and is now doing everything he can to systematically destroy their lives…
Some things are reminiscent of Alfred Hitchcock
Dean Devlin directed the film, which was first released in 2018. In the 1990s, he was something of Roland Emmerich’s right-hand man as co-writer and producer of blockbusters such as “Universal Soldier”, “Stargate”, “Independence Day” and “Godzilla”. After his debut in the form of the disaster hit ‘Geostorm’ with Gerard Butler, ‘Bad Samaritan’ was the New Yorker’s second directorial effort.
In terms of dimensions, the thriller is of course a much smaller, but certainly no less intense affair than the big-budget films that Devlin made with Emmerich. What’s interesting is that it seems to be inspired by the work of the legendary Alfred Hitchcock in both story structure and resolution.
A lonely hero who no one believes and an exciting cat-and-mouse game between him and the villain at the center of the story are also reminiscent of many of the works of the thriller master. ‘Bad Samaritan’ is certainly not a film of the century, nor is it a great example of originality. But he’s still handsome. Tonight you have the chance to do that.
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