When watching a movie, ask yourself if the movie would be better with more money or no amount of money would make a difference. “Bad Voodoo” (2026) is the prior, and if you have a taste for merciless horror, cultlike behavior, revenge and acting that is often so outré that it is fabulous without being campy and as a serious as a heart attack, this movie is for you. Special bonus points if you love Massachusetts actors’ accents and attitudes. Do not watch the trailer because it gives away a lot of twists. When four fugitives escape and invade Abigail’s house, it is not bad luck, but everything is going according to plan.
Abigail “Abby” Bellamy (Cristina Moody) is originally shown at a support group that feels very “Midsommar” (2019) without the Swedes and drugs. Over five years ago, her husband, John, was giving their daughters, Amelia (Annaliese Curry) and Rebecca (Isabelle Leone), a ride when there was a car accident, and their children died. After waking up from a coma, her husband left her. Marcus (Scott Sederquist), a beat cop, keeps a close eye on her even though Abby keeps rejecting him. So, when the four escapees come, she is at a disadvantage. It is possible that audio leveling issues made some moments not land so Moody’s performance could be inconsistent but was riveting and interesting. She is onscreen for most of “Bad Voodoo,” and she really understood the assignment. It felt as if first time feature codirectors Andrew Adler and Andre Hepburn, who is also cowriter, gave her an instruction about how to play Abby, and she nailed it. Some scenes are rewindable worthy as Abby lies with ease, commits heinous acts and never gives away her hand. She must be great at playing poker and chews the scenery at a drop of a hat.
The four escapees are a team who have the typical heist plans of one last big hit then retiring, but it is all a set up. They are related to the car accident in ways that will be revealed in the most prose dump way possible, but it happens so rapidly that signing a waiver feels right. Nonzo (Alex Joseph Pires) is an impulsive idiot that the group blames him for getting them locked up. Smooth (Justin Lombard) is nursing a gun wound and has the most conscience. Nice (Justin Genna) is the newest, hottest, relatively nicest member. When he shaves his beard, every person attracted to men will probably scream at their screens, “Nooooooooo.” When he takes off his shirt, they will settle down because maximum hotness restored; thus, preserving the balance. Doc (Manny Perez) is the meanest and most violent in the crew, but God bless him, he keeps that same energy when he is at a disadvantage and will deliver blunt truths to his future torturers. He is honestly more fun at a disadvantage because once he figures out that he got ensnared on a quest for vengeance, his comments are more unhinged and authentic packed with some decent advice, “Continue bitching about it or you can move on.” Perez plays a magnificent bastard, and when it was time for the story to shift focus from him, you may miss him. Also, I’d like to file a complaint for not getting a translation of what Abby yelled at Doc in Spanish!
How does Abby accomplish her goals? Let’s let Doc explain, “now you hire some crazy fuck to do some witchcraft voodoo fucking shit.” Hougans (Jimmy C. Jules, who kind of looks like Kadeem Hardison), Lucinda (Angie Lubin) and six others, referred to as servants, or sevites, will conduct a ritual. They’re pitch perfect in an over-the-top way, and the costume designer Lisa Coleman did a great job without looking like they were working with a budget. Like adherents of The Satanic Temple, horror refuses to let go of the traditional, likely inaccurate image of voodoo practitioners and prefers to stick to the sensational side so if that is a dealbreaker, consider yourself warned.
What ensues after the big reveal gets confusing but is fun for not being completely predictable. The key to enjoying horror is believing that even if the writers do not successfully convey everything, they know what is happening to the characters. It feels obvious when writers cop out and put the burden on the director’s shoulders to create a spooky atmosphere but flake out on mythology and never thread the logic needle Cowriters Hepburn and Devin Fearn never flesh out Abby’s goals. Revenge is clear, but it feels as if the other goal is to resurrect her girls, but it is not, and there is some connective tissue missing between her working hard towards something then not really engaging with it. It may be purely emotional, and it may make sense, but because the goal was unclear, it muddied up the reasoning behind her reaction. The voodoo practitioners’ goal is obvious if you listen to what they said. If there is a deeper message in “Bad Voodoo,” it is that appropriation of spiritual practices is never a good thing.
As the plot unfolds, Marcus starts playing a bigger role. Sederquist delivers lines like he is reading them off a card or in a soap opera, but here is the thing. As events get crazier, Sederquist is perfect for the role because Marcus reacts like a normal person to all the bonkers supernatural events, and that kind of affect makes the film fun. He only needed a Dunkin Donuts iced coffee. Sederquist gets more relaxed and convincing when the situation goes to hell. “Bad Voodoo” understands and works with its limitations, and if a movie does not take itself too seriously, the flaws end up being gold. Same with Detective Lisa Gomes (Allison Klinman), who never buys Abby’s shit and is openly hostile (love that she never buys her mourning mother bit). John Fiore is more of a natural as Detective Tom Carson, who admits to being completely incompetent. They filled the hole that Doc left, and if there was a movie about their misadventures, it would be hilarious.
If you grade on a curve because everyone is relatively new to the filmmaking game, “Bad Voodoo” is a resounding success for being fun, disturbing, original and leaning into their flaws as strengths. There is a world where it becomes a cult hit, and it is so entertaining. If they keep up the good work, hopefully they will keep getting better with time. So many movies with more funding pale in comparison. It is a movie that reveals that everyone is a bad guy and relishes dishing out pain. We love a bleak movie with a mean streak. It is reminiscent of a good old days Stephen King tale.
