NOW ON TUBI! In co-writer/director Opie Cooper’s Big Bad, a small-town legend about a haunted jailhouse begins to feel less like folklore and more like an impending bloodbath. And wouldn’t ya know it, there’s a full moon on its way. The film follows a simple setup: an urban myth, a fundraiser gone wrong, and a creature lurking in the dark. Cooper and screenwriters Daniel Dauphin and Beth Kander let the night spiral from harmless dare to full-blown survival story.
Our tale opens with a trio of teens who are dared to find the legendary Marion County Jail Ghost. Though it’s a legend you tell at the campfire, it becomes a deadly reality for the trio. Days later, Donny (Cameron Deane Stewart) is a heartbroken teen. After his breakup with cheerleader Chase (Ainsley Bailey), he confides in good friend Crystal (Madeline Thelton), who secretly holds a crush on Donny. He schemes his way into joining Professor Howell’s overnight lock-in fundraiser with Chase and Crystal after Chase’s new boyfriend dropped out.
The goal is simple. You raise money if you can stay in your jail cell until morning. Once Donny, Chase, and Crystal are locked in, Professor Howell notices a power problem and goes out to investigate. After a huge roar and Howell’s car alarm blaring, our heroes realize they are in trouble. When a shadowy creature arrives, they know they are doomed and quickly switch to survival mode.
“…stay in your jail cell until morning…a shadowy creature arrives…”
I think it’s best to start with where Big Bad falls on the horror scale. From kid-friendly to gory horror, this falls right in the middle, if not leaning toward kid-friendly. The tone is much brighter and more comedic than you’d expect. This is definitely a film for horror fans who can’t handle the truly scary stuff. It lies just under the B-movie horrors from Full Moon and Troma. It’s got a good cast of lovelorn teens letting their hormones get in the way of common sense. Now add a skeptical teacher who dares to defy an urban legend. Finally, a werewolf, who no one believes exists, is the key to all the answers.
To me, the fun is how it plays into the campy teen horrors. There’s a skinny-dipping scene in the beginning. We have a teen dating-angst story with Donny, and not just one but two damsels in distress. Cooper’s fun, slightly creepy outing is a good film to introduce someone to horror. It will also make a great date movie if you’re looking to scare your girl just enough.
Ultimately, Big Bad leans into its creature-feature roots and keeps things light enough for newbies. But it still delivers just enough teeth for seasoned genre fans. Cooper crafts a throwback monster movie that knows exactly what it is, with nary a wink, and invites you to howl along with it.
Big Bad can be streamed on Tubi TV.
"…a good film to introduce someone to horror."
