Bad Voodoo

2026

Horror

Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Rotten 90%
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Upright 90% · 100 ratings
IMDb Rating 8.6/10 10 323 323

Plot summary

Two escaped convicts break into a house and take a hostage, only to discover that the hideout houses something far more dangerous: a voodoo curse born from a grieving couple’s thirst for vengeance. As the night spirals into terror, they must battle an unseen power that feeds on guilt, blood, and lost souls.

Director

Top cast

Manny Perez Photo
Manny Perez as Doc
John Fiore Photo
John Fiore as Detective Tom
Gary Moujabber Photo
Gary Moujabber as Congregant
Ophelia Burnett Photo
Ophelia Burnett as Sevite
720p.WEB
795.41 MB
1280*1066
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 26 min
Seeds ...

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by 5 / 10

A decent enough but entirely problematic genre effort

After breaking out of prison, a group of escaped convicts arrives at the home of a woman whom they accidentally killed her children years ago, but when a deadly secret turns the tables on the group, they have to go against a dark voodoo priestess to get out of the house alive.On the whole, this was a severely disappointing and disjointed genre effort. The central setup of this one, not just taking the initial starting point of a home invasion that turns into a setup for this kind of voodoo-based revenge, allows for a strong series of twists to come about, which has a lot to like. The dark truth about who is in charge of the situation and the different interactions that come about with their bodies being twisted and mutilated through voodoo manages quite a lot to enjoy when we start getting the full force of what they're dealing with. These focus on some surprising revelations more than action, as the majority of the time isn't based on ripping the guilty party to pieces, but it does manage to get some likable factors when they occur, especially when it finally comes back around in the finale to generate some solid ideas here, which are enough to hold this up overall. There are some big flaws here that hold this down. The biggest issue here is the fact that there are so many extraneous aspects on display regarding how the whole thing is set up that it takes forever to get to its main point. The whole invasion angle at the start, acting as a way to get the guilty party to her house so that she can undertake her revenge ritual with her husband as a secret member of the gang, is an immensely clumsy and contrivance-riddled plot to get things together that just feels draining once you realize the whole purpose behind it all. As well, the scenes featuring the group being stuck in the basement, conversing about the situation, wondering what's going on with their hosts, and how they're going to get free don't have any kind of urgency or sense of motivation behind them, so it all feels as though there's far too much useless material here for this kind of film. As well, once it starts to evoke the actual ritualistic means of them getting revenge on the couple who killed their children, it seems to take a backseat to other ritualistic matters during the middle section. After those initial few encounters that provide some decent enough encounters, the rest of this section is spent on uninteresting conversations with the dark voodoo master at the center of their training or making sure the police officer with a crush on her doesn't enter the house to foil their plan. It leaves the pacing during this part of the film incredibly lax and bland, waiting for something to happen. That makes this one feel messy and convoluted when trying to generate some interest in the purpose behind this one, where the whole point was the revenge, only to focus on other factors instead. As the rest of the issues are mostly related to its low-budget limitations, these are all that hold this one down overall.Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Violence and Graphic Language.
Reviewed by 10 / 10

Great Horror Film

I thoroughly enjoyed the movie! Definitely a fresh take on horror and a needed addition to the genre! The topics explored in the movie regarding love, grief, and revenge of personable ones that anyone can relate to and see themselves in the main characters. Hoping to see more from the Bad Voodoo dynasty in the future!
Reviewed by 5 / 10

Review for Bad Voodoo

This was a film that I got the chance to see thanks to Alex from Simply Legendary Publicity, who sent over the press release. I was able to get a screener link. Now outside of figuring out that this was a 2026 horror film, I did come in blind. Seeing the title did intrigue me since voodoo is an element that I enjoy when used properly in horror. I also like to have independent cinema for my end of year list.Synopsis: escaped convicts face horrors after taking a woman hostage in her house. As a plot emerges, they struggle against dark forces for survival.We start this in a car where we have a family. The father is driving, John. With him are his daughters, Amelia (Annaliese Curry) and Rebecca (Isabella Leone). This is a fateful night as they're in a car accident. Their car is struck from the side.It then shifts over to our lead, Abigail (Cristina Moody). She seems to be part of a commune of sorts. What we'll learn is that she's the mother and wife of the family. She's struggling with the grief of what happened. This group seems to have helped. It is run by Lucinda (Angie Lubin). She is impressed with the progress that Abby has made.We then see her at home. There's a knock at her door and it is Marcus (Scott Sederquist). He's a police officer and he's checking on her. Abby knows that he has a crush on her. There's more history here that we'll learn later. The reason he's worried is that there was a nearby prison break. Four convicts are at large so he's making sure that she's safe. She is annoyed by him, but can also acknowledge it is sweet.She goes into her living room where she has a sewing station. We see her check her phone to confirm the news story that Marcus told her. She seems excited. We see that part of it is that she's created these dolls out of fabric. She's not alone though. The criminals have broken into her house, or did they? They're led by Doc (Manny Perez) and he's with Nonzo (Alex Joseph Pires), Smooth (Justin Lombard) who has been shot. The final one is Nice (Justin Genna).This is a set up though. Nice turns out to be John, Abby's husband. Doc and the other two played a part in a tragedy that changed this married couple's life. There is more to those events though. John and Abby are performing a ritual with the aid of a voodoo priest, Houngans (Jimmy C. Jules). There's another person who comes over to help facilitate. The curse they enact is set to punish all those that are involved with the tragedy of the car accident. This is literal and secrets come to light.That is where I'll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Where I want to start is that I have things that I like about this film and issues as well. Let's start with the positives, I find it creative to have this Caucasian couple that decides to use voodoo to get revenge on these criminals who all but got a slap on the wrist for the accident that killed Amelia and Rebecca. This is a bit underdeveloped. This was a car accident and I'm not fully sure why this couple believes there is more here. I will acknowledge that I may have missed something for this to make more sense.Now that I have that set up, let's delve into the use of voodoo in this film. There is usually the conceit that you must believe in it for it to work. That's not the case here. I do like that using the voodoo dolls allows Abby to control men that would otherwise overpower her. There is an element here that she gets scolded by Houngans. He believes that she's violated an agreement that they have. This ultimately doesn't amount to much, so I'm not entirely sure why it was included. The use of these rituals makes for good visuals, which I give credit to.Something else to give credit to is that we have grieving parents who are using this ritual for revenge. That is something I could connect with, as if anything happened to either of my children, I could see myself seeking revenge. It is wild to hear everything that John did to set up this plot. That is a bit contrived. Since it is a movie, I can overlook it to an extent. I do like a character later in this factor back in for your ritual. The secrets that characters harbor is good since it all needs to come to light.The basic story uses a revenge ritual, just not one you normally see. Moody and Genna lead as the grieving parents. Curry and Leone create eerie scenes, messing with the parents' minds as manifestations, leaving their true nature uncertain. We also get to see them through flashbacks. Perez, Pires, and Lombard are the criminals. They all worked for what was needed. John Fiore and Allison Klinman get involved later as detectives. Lubin and Jules also play solid roles. The acting is acceptable for a film like this.All that is left then would be filmmaking aspects. I like the setting; the normal facade conceals Abby's creepy rituals. The solid, effective cinematography and framing supported decent, though limited, effects. Later elements, like realistic blood and sound design, improved the film. My main issue is the slow pacing, which made it hard to connect with the characters and invest in the events. It isn't poorly made by any stretch, so I'll give credit there.In conclusion, this takes a unique approach to the revenge horror subgenre by intertwining a home invasion narrative with the spiritual weight of voodoo rituals. While the film offers creative visuals, a solid premise involving grieving parents seeking justice, and a committed cast, it struggles with pacing issues and underdeveloped plot points concerning the initial tragedy. Despite these shortcomings, the film is competently made and provides an interesting, albeit slow-burning, independent cinematic experience that explores how far desperation can drive people for vengeance.My Rating: 5 out of 10.
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