Bad Turn Worse (We Gotta Get Out of This Place) – Overview/ Review (with Spoilers)
Two college-bound teens get involved with stealing from a local criminal and have to deal with not only his pursuit of revenge but one more person.
Trigger Warning(s): Situations Which Look Like They May Lead To Rape
Characters & Story
Bobby (Jeremy Allen White) and Sue (Mackenzie Davis) are two college-bound Texas teens living in a town in which a cotton gin is one of the main economic features, as well as whatever organized crime is going on. Something Bobby and Sue get dragged into thanks to Sue’s boyfriend, Billy Joe, B.J. (Logan Huffman), stealing from a local crime lord named Giff (Mark Pellegrino).
Praise
Perhaps the biggest standout of the film is Pellegrino because he puts his personal spin on what can easily be seen as a generic villain. Though, across the board, you have to praise how a lot of elements, including the story, of the film are jazzed up a bit to the point that, while it may not escape feeling comparable, at the very least, the twists and turns it employs keeps it from being considered boring.
Criticism
But with that said, I wouldn’t say anything strongly stands out. Yes, Giff makes a decent villain, and there are twists and turns to help the film stand out. However, many of them don’t have a notable payoff. They are decent ideas to change up a familiar story that never get the follow-through required to turn a slightly above-average film into something undeniably good. Heck, even the ending is a slight twist, but it doesn’t go for the knockout punch to perhaps make up for how average most of the film is.
Overall
TV Viewing
Bad Turn Worse is likable but doesn’t contain anything that demands you to see the film. It simply makes for a decent way to kill time and doesn’t do much for any of the actors’ careers. Hence the TV Viewing label for, after delaying seeing this a few times, I honestly don’t feel like I was missing anything.
