The Bad Man (2018)-Scott Schirmer is back with one of the best horror movies of the year!-Fitz of Horror Review

Written by Bryan Fitzgerald (Fitz of Horror) October 16, 2018

Synopsis-Mary and PJ are kidnapped and tortured by a sadistic clown bent on transforming them into a ‘doll’ and a ‘dog’ — servile sex slaves that will be sold to the highest bidders. When PJ goes mad, Mary becomes the couple’s only hope of survival. But can she find a way out before auction day arrives?

If you are familiar with Scott Schirmer‘s body of work (Found, Harvest Lake, Plank Face) then you know that you are in for something that will push the envelope of good taste and be something mind blowingly original. The Bad Man, I believe is Schirmer’s greatest achievement to date and that’s saying a lot given how much I love Found.

With a stellar cast that includes amazing performances from Ellie Church (Space Babes from Outer Space, Amazon Hot Box), Arthur Cullipher (Director of Headless), Jason Crowe (Harvest Lake, Volumes of Blood) and introducing Dave Parker (a Youtube movie reviewer for Screaming Toilet), The Bad Man is a completely twisted and very well done horror film that is easily one of the best of the year.

The film begins with Mary (Church) and PJ (Crowe) as they arrive at the bed and breakfast of a recently deceased family member. As they begin to enjoy each others company a seemingly friendly stranger and traveling clown by trade, Lawrence (Cullipher) comes looking for room and board. Instantly wanting to turn him away Lawrence reveals he has stayed there before and this gives Mary a small degree of comfort with the stranger and decides to let him stay for the night.

When the couple discovers Lawrence isn’t someone they want staying with them, it’s too late. From this point on in the film, Cullipher delivers a “bad guy” performance that is reminiscent of Negan from The Walking Dead or Papa Corn from Circus of the Dead. His absolute control over the couple is very real feeling therefore making it quite scary. With the help of his gas mask wearing ripped “Henchman” (Parker), Lawrence sets out to break the couples will by turning them into a Dog servant and a Doll servant, exercising such sadistic control that the couple has no choice but to play along to stay alive.

The ultimate goal is to turn them into subservient sex slaves that will ultimately be “trained” and then taken to auction where they will be sold to the highest demented bidder. The pure hell that the couple is put through is a thing of future cinematic legend and done terrifyingly well by all involved.

By no means is this film straight forward. It takes several twists and turns while getting to its unpredictable ultimate finale but given the premise of the film, is decidedly free of gratuitous nudity to convey the obvious plot point. Schirmer  takes an almost dramatic approach to telling the story of the Bad Man and his sympathetic victims. That being said, this film definitely is heavy on the sexual “dehumanization” of the central characters to the point of utmost sympathy but Schirmer manages to spin a tale of broken redemption that will stick with you long after viewing.

I had high expectations going in but was pleasantly surprised that my expectations were exceeded by a work of pure originality and expert story telling that kept me absolutely glued to the TV for the entire 106 minute run time.

Head over to Scottschirmer.com for this and other films in his collection worthy library, you’ll be glad you did!

Scott Schirmer is an independent filmmaker based in Bloomington, Indiana. He is a commercial video producer and editor, as well as the writer and director of several films. His first feature-length film, Found, premiered at Elvira’s Horror Hunt in September 2012, where it won Best Feature, Best Director, and Best Actor. Found went on to win 39 awards at 49 festivals worldwide, including Best Picture at The Phoenix Film Festival, The New York City Horror Film Festival, and A Night of Horror Film Festival in Sydney, Australia. It was also an official selection of the 31st Annual Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival and Toronto After Dark.  

In 2015, Scott followed up Found by producing and editing two films with his partners at Forbidden Films LLC — the gore-filled Found spin-off Headless and the clown terror film The Legend of Wasco for Viva Pictures. Scott then formed Bandit Motion Pictures LLC with Brian K. Williams and in 2016 directed the erotic and atmospheric Harvest Lake and the primally charged Plank Face. In 2017, Scott co-produced Williams’ out-of-this-world sex comedy, Space Babes from Outer Space. Scott is currently in production on his fourth feature directorial effort, The Bad Man, while also co-producing Smut: The Movie at Forbidden Films.

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