Bad Tales
On Rome’s suburban fringe, children’s simmering resentment turns exhausted family life into an ominous modern fairy tale.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Mild
- bleak
- satirical
- oppressive
- arthouse film night
- suburban drama double feature
What critics said
Critics broadly recognized a savage, formally rigorous indictment of suburban family life, though aggregate responses were mixed about its execution.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The plot explicitly identifies an unreliable narrator who guides the audience sweetly and sarcastically through the dark fairy tale.
The residential estate's parents resent their limited social position while their failures reverberate through their children.
The children are described as the protagonists of the shock wave and independently plot revenge against their parents.
The directors' rigorous mise-en-scène frames the sweltering Roman estate as a sterile environment where unease can explode.
Films like Bad Tales, and why
The Celebration
shared suburban alienation, corrosive family dynamics, and darkly comic social critique
The White Ribbon
shared unsettling child centered perspective, repressed domestic violence, and rigorous social realism
Happiness
shared bleak suburban family dysfunction, adolescent rage, and satirical discomfort
Movie Details
- Directors
- Fabio D'Innocenzo, Damiano D'Innocenzo
- Release Date
- 2020-06-15
- Runtime
- 98 min
- Rating
- 6.7 / 10 (618)
Cast
- Elio Germano
- Tommaso Di Cola
- Giulietta Rebeggiani
- Gabriel Montesi
- Justin Alexander Korovkin
- Barbara Chichiarelli
- Lino Musella
- Ileana D'Ambra
- Max Malatesta
- Aldo Ottobrino
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Strand Releasing Amazon Channel
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Bad Tales about?
- On Rome’s suburban fringe, children’s simmering resentment turns exhausted family life into an ominous modern fairy tale.
- What is Bad Tales like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Bad Tales as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Bad Tales violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in Bad Tales as mild.
- What did critics think of Bad Tales?
- Critics broadly recognized a savage, formally rigorous indictment of suburban family life, though aggregate responses were mixed about its execution.
- Which films are like Bad Tales?
- Films with a similar feel include The Celebration, The White Ribbon, and Happiness.
- How long is Bad Tales?
- Bad Tales runs 98 minutes.
- Where can I watch Bad Tales?
- In United States, Bad Tales streams on Strand Releasing Amazon Channel.
