Bad Turn Worse

Plot

After B. J. steals $20,000, he surprises his best friend, Bobby, and girlfriend, Sue, with an impromptu plan to party together one last time before Bobby and Sue leave rural Texas for college. B. J. later confides in Bobby that he stole he money from Giff, a local mobster who employs them. Giff immediately suspects his Mexican security guard, and Bobby and B. J. arrive at work as Giff savagely beats the man. Concerned that Giff will kill the worker, Bobby confesses to stealing the money, though it does not stop Giff from killing the man. As they dispose of the body for Giff, Bobby expresses regret that the man died, and B. J. berates him for getting them involved. When they can't repay him, Giff forces them to agree to rob a cotton mill owned by Big Red, an infamous mob boss who uses it to launder his funds. Over Bobby's objection, B. J. reveals that Sue was also involved in spending Giff's money, and she is forced to participate in the robbery, too.

When B. J. learns that Bobby and Sue are having an affair and plan to go to the police, he tells Giff about both situations. At the police station, the Sheriff obliquely warns Bobby to fulfill his obligations. Bobby and Sue discuss fleeing the town together, but Giff threatens to rape Sue if either one backs out. Unable to think of any escape, Bobby and Sue commit to the robbery. B. J. visits both Bobby and Sue, harassing them and leaving them wondering how much he knows about their affair. On the night of the robbery, Bobby and Sue enter Big Red's business as B. J. takes lookout duty. They find that the safe is empty and the workers have been brutally murdered. Confused, they return to B. J., only to find that he and Giff have decided to frame them for the crime.

B. J. initially does not believe that Giff murdered the workers, and Giff shoots B. J. when he protests. Before he can kill Sue and Bobby, Sue tells him that she has contacted Big Red, who she says is on his way as they speak. Convinced that she is bluffing, Giff attempts to kill the two, who flee further into the cotton mill. After an extended chase, Giff corners the two on rafters. Giff taunts Bobby and says that he is actually doing him a favor, as it will save him the pain and humiliation of being dumped by Sue as she finds a more ambitious and sophisticated lover at college. Bobby rushes Giff, and both he and Giff fall many feet to the ground. At the same time, Big Red arrives. Red allows Sue and the wounded Bobby to leave, and the two proclaim their love for each other. When Giff refuses to reveal the location of Red's missing cash, Red kills him.

Cast

Release

Bad Turn Worse premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 7, 2013. Starz Digital Media gave it a video on demand and limited theatrical release on November 14, 2014. It was released on DVD on January 14, 2015.

Reception

Rotten Tomatoes, a review aggregator, reports that 82% of 38 surveyed critics gave the film a positive review; the average rating is 6.5/10. The site's consensus reads: "It wears its influences on its sleeve, but Bad Turn Worse still boasts more than enough pulpy thrills to justify its place at the table." Metacritic rated it 62/100 based on 17 reviews. David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter wrote, "A searing sense of place and striking visuals distinguish this Texas-set neo-noir." Stephen Holden of The New York Times wrote, "If the atmosphere of pervasive evil is wildly exaggerated, it gives the film a steady charge of adrenaline, and you wonder how far it will dare to go." Robert Abele of the Los Angeles Times called the film "imitative of small-town noir without getting inside it". Joe McGovern of Entertainment Weekly rated it C and wrote that it is too derivative of its inspirations.