Terrence Malick’s debut gets the Bad Dads treatment. We dive into the cool, clinical menace of Martin Sheen’s James-Dean-by-way-of-the-Midwest and Sissy Spacek’s fairytale-flat voiceover that makes murder sound like homework.

What the episode covers

• The real-world shadow: The Starkweather–Fugate killings that inspired Badlands, Springsteen’s Nebraska, and the film’s uneasy “romance.”
• Vibes and visuals: Malick’s painterly Midwest, perfect framing, big blue skies, dust-trail car chases, and double-denim iconography.
• That score you’ve “heard before”: The Carl Orff/“Gassenhauer” motif lineage and why True Romance echoes it.
• Kit & Holly, de-romanticised: Dog killing. Patricide. Tree-house hideout. Calm compliance instead of panic. What that says about complicity and control.
• Malick’s tone game: Spacek’s naïf narration vs. the on-screen violence; why the fairy-tale cadence makes it creepier.
• American Dream, skewered: Celebrity criminality, the cops’ weird reverence at arrest, and that chilling last beat.
• Law tangent, modern lens: How felony-murder doctrine reframes Holly’s “innocence” and where age, coercion, and responsibility collide.

Should you listen?

Yes. If you like films that look beautiful while making you feel morally grubby, this one’s prime. We keep it sharp: craft, context, and a few savage laughs at the myth of outlaw romance.

🎧 Hit play for a tight, provocative chat that’ll have you rewatching Badlands with fresh eyes—and side-eyeing anyone who calls it a love story.

You can now text us anonymously to leave feedback, suggest future content or simply hurl abuse at us. We'll read out any texts we receive on the show. Click here to try it out!

We love to hear from our listeners! By which I mean we tolerate it. If it hasn't been completely destroyed yet you can usually find us on twitter @dads_film, on Facebook Bad Dads Film Review, on email at [email protected] or on our website baddadsfilm.com.

Until next time, we remain...

Bad Dads