# Bad Samaritan (film)
**Bad Samaritan** is a 2018 American psychological thriller directed by [Dean Devlin](https://www.edgepedia.org/dean-devlin), written by Brandon Boyce, and starring [David Tennant](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-tennant) and [Robert Sheehan](https://www.edgepedia.org/robert-sheehan). It follows two restaurant valets in Portland, Oregon who use their customers' cars as cover for burgling their homes, and who discover a woman held captive in the house of one customer, the wealthy Cale Erendreich (Tennant).[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/bad_samaritan) • [2](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/aug/24/bad-samaritan-review-david-tennant)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director / writer | Dean Devlin; screenplay by Brandon Boyce[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/bad_samaritan) |
| Cast | David Tennant (Cale Erendreich), Robert Sheehan (Sean Falco), Carlito Olivero (Derek Sandoval), Kerry Condon (Katie), Jacqueline Byers (Riley Seabrook)[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/bad_samaritan) |
| US release | May 4, 2018, wide; opening $1,726,868 in 2,007 theaters[3](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt3203528/) • [4](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Bad-Samaritan-%282018%29) |
| Box office | $3,435,047 domestic, $1,188,789 international, $4,623,836 worldwide[3](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt3203528/) |
| Ratings | R (violence, language throughout, some drug use, brief nudity); 54% Tomatometer on 74 reviews, 65% Popcornmeter[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/bad_samaritan) • [4](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Bad-Samaritan-%282018%29) |
| Production | Independently financed by Electric Entertainment; Legion M invested promotion in exchange for a stake in the P&A waterfall[5](https://legionm.com/bad-samaritan) |
| Runtime | 1h 47m per Rotten Tomatoes; 110 minutes per Box Office Mojo and The Numbers[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/bad_samaritan) • [3](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt3203528/) |
## Spoilers
### Plot and premise
Sean Falco (Robert Sheehan) and his friend Derek Sandoval (Carlito Olivero) work as valet parkers at a high-end restaurant in [Portland, Oregon](https://www.edgepedia.org/portland-oregon), and run a burglary scam on the side: using a car's satnav history they work out the owner's address, giving them time to rob the house and return the car before the diner leaves.[2](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/aug/24/bad-samaritan-review-david-tennant) • [6](https://filmthreat.com/interviews/bad-samaritan-director-sci-fi-icon-dean-devlin/) One night an obnoxious rich customer, Cale Erendreich (David Tennant), hands over the keys to his Maserati, and Sean breaks in to find a young woman ([Kerry Condon](https://www.edgepedia.org/kerry-condon)) bloodied and chained up.[2](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/aug/24/bad-samaritan-review-david-tennant) • [7](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/bad-samaritan/) Afraid of going to prison, Sean leaves and calls the police, who find nothing when they investigate; the rest of the film follows the cat-and-mouse game as Cale hunts Sean and Sean tries to rescue the woman he left behind.[7](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/bad-samaritan/) • [1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/bad_samaritan)
The title plays on the parable of the good Samaritan: the thief is a flawed man who nonetheless extends himself, at risk of his own life, to help someone in jeopardy.[8](https://www.shockya.com/news/2018/05/03/174749/)
## Production and financing
**An independent film.** Devlin, best known as a producer of *Independence Day* and *Godzilla* (1998) and as director of *Geostorm*, financed the film himself through his company Electric Entertainment after two unhappy studio experiences, saying he needed to make a movie properly or might never direct again.[9](https://cinemovie.tv/index.php/interviews/bad-samaritan-director-dean-devlin-talks-david-tennant-and-why-he-over-studio-films) • [10](https://lrmonline.com/news/bad-samaritan-interview-discussing-the-dark-thriller-with-director-dean-devlin-and-screenwriter-brandon-boyce/) Electric had operated sound stages, prop and costume warehouses, and camera and lighting equipment in Portland since 2007, built up during its television series *Leverage* and *The Librarians*, which let the film look more expensive than its budget.[10](https://lrmonline.com/news/bad-samaritan-interview-discussing-the-dark-thriller-with-director-dean-devlin-and-screenwriter-brandon-boyce/) Devlin called it Electric's first feature film release in this vein, and the company's CFO Jeff Gonzalez described it as Electric's first wide theatrical release.[6](https://filmthreat.com/interviews/bad-samaritan-director-sci-fi-icon-dean-devlin/) • [11](https://www.screendaily.com/news/electric-entertainment-global-pictures-partner-on-us-release-of-bad-samaritan/5128161.article)
The fan-owned company Legion M partnered on the release under an "in-kind" investment, promoting the film in exchange for a stake in the P&A (prints and advertising) waterfall, and organized opening-weekend screenings; the film toured science-fiction conventions across the United States before the wide release.[5](https://legionm.com/bad-samaritan) • [12](https://wefunder.com/updates/91431-legion-m-announces-new-feature-film-with-dean-devlin-and-david-tennant) • [11](https://www.screendaily.com/news/electric-entertainment-global-pictures-partner-on-us-release-of-bad-samaritan/5128161.article) Global Pictures Media served as exclusive media agency and helped finance the US release.[11](https://www.screendaily.com/news/electric-entertainment-global-pictures-partner-on-us-release-of-bad-samaritan/5128161.article)
**Casting and shoot.** Electric announced David Tennant's casting on August 25, 2016.[13](https://www.screendaily.com/production/david-tennant-joins-electrics-bad-samaritan/5108800.article) Devlin, a [Doctor Who](https://www.edgepedia.org/doctor-who) fan, had wanted to work with Tennant on his last several pictures but said studios told him the actor was "not a movie star"; Tennant said he read books on psychopaths to prepare for a character he described as tactical, calculating, and without guilt or remorse.[14](https://horrorbuzz.com/bad-samaritan-director-dean-devlin-pushes-for-originality/) • [15](https://www.starburstmagazine.com/features/david-tennant-dean-devlin-brandon-boyce-bad-samartian/) The film was shot largely at night in Portland, where Devlin lives, through five snowstorms; the horse imagery in Cale's backstory was created entirely with digital effects because the budget could not afford live horses.[15](https://www.starburstmagazine.com/features/david-tennant-dean-devlin-brandon-boyce-bad-samartian/)
## Release and box office
The earliest release was Russia/CIS on April 19, 2018, where it was released as ЛОГОВО МОНСТРА; the US wide release followed on May 4, 2018, opening to $1,726,868 and reaching a domestic total of $3,435,047, about 74 percent of the $4,623,836 worldwide gross.[3](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt3203528/) • [4](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Bad-Samaritan-%282018%29) Other territories included the Netherlands ($419,946), Mexico ($173,453), and the United Kingdom, where it opened August 24, 2018 to $9,327.[3](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt3203528/) [Home video](https://www.edgepedia.org/home-video) came on August 3, 2018 from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.[4](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Bad-Samaritan-%282018%29)
## Critical reception
On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds a 54% Tomatometer from 74 reviews and a 65% Popcornmeter audience score; the critics consensus credits "a stellar central performance by David Tennant" while noting iffy direction and a disappointingly mundane story.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/bad_samaritan) Metacritic assigned a Metascore of 42 from 20 critics, labeled mixed or average, against a user score of 6.3.[7](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/bad-samaritan/)
Reviews divided sharply over the same qualities. Empire gave 3/5, calling it a "tight, twisty little thriller" in which Devlin steps out of [Roland Emmerich](https://www.edgepedia.org/roland-emmerich)'s shadow, while [The Times](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-times) (UK) gave 2/5, judging the thrills to lunge closer to torture porn.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/bad_samaritan) Peter Bradshaw in The Guardian gave 1/5, calling it "fantastically charmless and unpleasant" and criticizing its treatment of women, particularly the near-irrelevance of Sean's girlfriend Riley after her assault.[2](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/aug/24/bad-samaritan-review-david-tennant) The Winnipeg Free Press found the plotting implausible and the characterization shallow, while crediting Tennant with a scowling, high-strung performance.[16](https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/arts-and-life/entertainment/movies/2018/05/04/cheap-thriller-is-in-way-over-its-head) Roger Ebert's reviewer Simon Abrams called it a "spectacularly dumb, weirdly entertaining bad-taste thriller".[17](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/bad-samaritan-2018)
## References
1. [Bad Samaritan, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/bad_samaritan)
2. [Bad Samaritan – second-rate thriller beset by the stench of misogyny, The Guardian (Peter Bradshaw, 2018)](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/aug/24/bad-samaritan-review-david-tennant)
3. [Bad Samaritan (2018), Box Office Mojo](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt3203528/)
4. [Bad Samaritan (2018), The Numbers](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Bad-Samaritan-%282018%29)
5. [Bad Samaritan Project Page, Legion M](https://legionm.com/bad-samaritan)
6. [Bad Samaritan Director & Sci-Fi Icon Dean Devlin, Film Threat (2018)](https://filmthreat.com/interviews/bad-samaritan-director-sci-fi-icon-dean-devlin/)
7. [Bad Samaritan Reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/bad-samaritan/)
8. [Bad Samaritan Movie Review, ShockYa (Harvey Karten, 2018)](https://www.shockya.com/news/2018/05/03/174749/)
9. [Bad Samaritan Director Dean Devlin Talks David Tennant, CineMovie (2018)](https://cinemovie.tv/index.php/interviews/bad-samaritan-director-dean-devlin-talks-david-tennant-and-why-he-over-studio-films)
10. [Bad Samaritan Interview, LRM Online (2018)](https://lrmonline.com/news/bad-samaritan-interview-discussing-the-dark-thriller-with-director-dean-devlin-and-screenwriter-brandon-boyce/)
11. [Electric Entertainment, Global Pictures partner on US release of Bad Samaritan, Screen Daily (2018)](https://www.screendaily.com/news/electric-entertainment-global-pictures-partner-on-us-release-of-bad-samaritan/5128161.article)
12. [Legion M Announces New Feature Film with Dean Devlin and David Tennant, Wefunder (2018)](https://wefunder.com/updates/91431-legion-m-announces-new-feature-film-with-dean-devlin-and-david-tennant)
13. [David Tennant joins Electric's Bad Samaritan, Screen Daily (2016)](https://www.screendaily.com/production/david-tennant-joins-electrics-bad-samaritan/5108800.article)
14. [Bad Samaritan Director Dean Devlin Pushes For Originality, HorrorBuzz (2018)](https://horrorbuzz.com/bad-samaritan-director-dean-devlin-pushes-for-originality/)
15. [David Tennant / Dean Devlin / Brandon Boyce, STARBURST Magazine](https://www.starburstmagazine.com/features/david-tennant-dean-devlin-brandon-boyce-bad-samartian/)
16. [Cheap thriller is in way over its head, Winnipeg Free Press (2018)](https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/arts-and-life/entertainment/movies/2018/05/04/cheap-thriller-is-in-way-over-its-head)
17. [Bad Samaritan movie review, RogerEbert.com (Simon Abrams, 2018)](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/bad-samaritan-2018)
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