Bad Match (2017)

Directed by: David Chirchirillo | 90 minutes | thriller | Actors: Lili Simmons, Noureen DeWulf, Jack Cutmore-Scott, Brandon Scott, Chase Williamson, Christine Donlon, Kahyun Kim, Trent Haaga, Brent Alan Henry, Cynthia Rose Hall, Talisa Friedman, Eric Podnar, Zedrick Restauro

Dating in 2018 takes place largely online. Whether you’re looking for a serious relationship or just casual contact, there are tons of sites and apps to suit everyone. With a simple ‘swipe’ to the left or right you can indicate your preference and approve each other’s profile, then you have a ‘match’ and a date can be set for a date. Harris (Jack Cutmore-Scott), the main character in the thriller ‘Bad Match’ (2017), knows exactly how to take advantage of online dating apps like Tinder. His philosophy: ‘swipe’ as many girls to the right as possible, because then the chance that there is one who wants to sleep with him is greatest. And so Harris has a sizzling sex life. He’s worked out exactly which pick-up tricks to use to get women around his finger as quickly as possible. He never stays asleep; he prefers to sneak out at night, but if his conquest does wake up, he always has the right excuses ready. Add to that his prestigious job at a renowned advertising agency and his loyal friends and Harris seems to have it all figured out.

But you’ll just hit the wrong person. The date with the beautiful college student Riley (Lili Simmons) goes smoothly at first. Harris throws out his trusty one-liners and in no time the two are having some steamy sex. But Riley is now typically one of those girls who wakes up as soon as Harris tries to smear him. The kind of girl who wants more than just a one night stand and hangs out in your house even though you asked her to leave the next morning. Harris desperately tries to brush her off, but she calls, texts, and only chases him more. She also appears to be a rather unstable type, with a remarkable sense of humor. When disaster strikes Harris, everything points to Riley getting back at him for feeling humiliated by him. Harris finds himself increasingly mired in misery and is willing to go far, far to get his former fling to order once and for all.

Bad Match was written and directed by David Chirchirillo (“Cheap Thrills”, 2013) and is reminiscent of classic stalker films such as “Play Misty for Me” (1971), “Fatal Attraction” (1987) and “The Crush” (1993). ). To compare Chirchirillo with masters like Alfred Hitchcock and Brian De Palma might be going a bit too far, but with this film he does give a nice calling card. ‘Bad Match’ gives a fresh, contemporary twist to the genre and presents a mirror to the current generation, for whom everything has to be fast and fleeting. With modest means and without a big name in the cast, he also manages to present a very entertaining film in which he plays with the viewer’s expectations. It is these tricks that distinguish ‘Bad Match’ from the average stalker thriller. With Jack Cutmore-Scott and Lili Simmons, the film also has two charismatic protagonists who still manage to provide their fairly one-dimensional characters with the necessary depth. Our sympathy constantly switches between the two; he’s really just a self-centered dragon and she’s an unstable wreck, but at the end of the ride it turns out to be just a little more complicated than we’ve thought all along. ‘Bad Match’ certainly has its flaws, but on the whole this modest stalker film manages to surprise us in a positive way.