Bad Turn Worse 2014

Mike D'Angelo, AV Club: Had the film not been so open about its ambition, maybe its mediocrity wouldn't seem quite so galling. Read more

Drew Hunt, Chicago Reader: This cowboy noir works fine as a genre riff, but screenwriter Dutch Southern draws so liberally on the work of Jim Thompson, Cormac McCarthy, and the Coen brothers that he ought to take them all out for drinks. Read more

Joe McGovern, Entertainment Weekly: Directors Zeke and Simon Hawkins add air-quote references to Jim Thompson, Steven Soderbergh, and the Coen brothers but are too proud of the movie's twists to make them truly snap. Read more

David Rooney, Hollywood Reporter: Lean, mean and highly watchable -- a genre exercise that introduces a promising directing team who already show considerable command of their craft. Read more

Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times: "Bad Turn Worse" simply peters out by the night of the big heist, never achieving more than being imitative of small-town noir instead of getting inside it. Read more

Stephen Holden, New York Times: A juicy neo-noir like "Bad Turn Worse" doesn't have to make total sense to grab you. All it has to do is spit like a snake enough times to show that it means business. Read more

Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com: Southern does a nice job balancing out the super-obvious plot twists with the ones you don't see coming, and even when the characters more cannily constructed than realistic, the Hawkins brothers and the cast play it pretty straight. Read more

Bruce Demara, Toronto Star: Bad Turn Worse is a taut noir tale, bolstered by a trio of excellent lead performances and a well-plotted script. Read more

Tom Huddleston, Time Out: With solid performances from all three leads and lovely twilight photography, the stage is set for a heartfelt coming-of-age drama - but the dire script has other ideas. Read more

Alan Scherstuhl, Village Voice: For all its familiarity and rote nastiness, the film's sharply crafted and quite promising. Read more