A Weekend Getaway Gets Gory In New BAD THINGS Trailer

Stewart Thorndike's sophomore slasher answers the age-old question: what if THE SHINING was queer?!

By Amber T · @hornbloodfire · July 31, 2023, 2:05 PM EDT
BAD THINGS - Still 1
Gayle Rankin in Stewart Thorndike’s BAD THINGS. Courtesy of Shudder.

Earlier this month, we bought you an exclusive look at Bad Things, the sophomore feature from Lyle director Stewart Thorndike - and today, the good folks over at Shudder have blessed us with a brand new trailer for the upcoming feminist slasher.

Starring Gayle Rankin (Glow), Annabelle Dexter-Jones (Under the Silver Lake), Barbie's Hari Nef and certified '80s icon Molly Ringwald, Bad Things has been described by director Thorndike as "the second film in a trilogy about the power of motherhood" and a film in which instead of seeing bad things being done to women, "we see women doing bad things." Yay! If you weren't already sold, here's the full plot synopsis:

When a group of friends escape the city to spend the weekend in an abandoned hotel, a pervading eerie energy begins to illuminate the cracks in their little family unit. Ruthie Nodd (Rankin) inherits the hotel from her grandmother and with bad childhood memories threatening to burst to the surface, Ruthie wants to sell the hotel and never return. But her partner Cal (Nef) drags her there in the hopes of returning it to its former glory. They are joined by their amiable friend Maddie (Rad Pereira) and mysterious grifter Fran (Dexter-Jones), whose unhinged seduction threatens to drive a wedge between the couple. As the friends dance, cook, flirt, and fight up and down the halls of the hotel, they begin to find themselves indelibly entwined in the hotel’s seductive embrace and start doing bad things to each other.

Since premiering at Tribeca last month, Bad Things has been racking up rave reviews across the festival scene, with critics praising the film's take on the 'feminine rage' subgenre, whilst subverting our favorite memories of Kubrick's horror classic The Shining.

Bad Things hits Shudder and AMC+ on August 18, just in time to add to your summer holiday hotel watchlist. Don't miss it!