USA
2019 95 mins OV English
Distressed by his parents’ forthcoming divorce and hoping to clear his head, 17-year-old Ben (HELL OR HIGH WATER’s John-Paul Howard) visits his father for the summer. He quickly becomes aware of horrific happenings taking place on his street. A centuries-old evil is terrorizing the young family next door. Stemming from the nearby woods, and soon residing in the very skin of the mother, it begins preying upon the local children. Ben tries to get help. No one believes him. If he wants to save the town, he’ll somehow have to go at it alone. Meanwhile, off in the woods, voices are calling out to people from the base of an ancient, rotting tree…
A full-throttle horror film that’s also a dark, contemporary fairy tale, THE WRETCHED is a dead serious new spin on witchcraft cinema, with a fresh set of rules, likeable and developed teen characters, a ton of surprising scares and a cauldron of imaginatively gruesome special make-up effects. Doubtlessly inspired by growing up on the set of Sam Raimi’s EVIL DEAD, thanks to their dad being on the production’s FX team, writer-directors Brett & Drew Pierce (DEADHEADS) have conjured a vivid genre creation that aims for the rafters and lands ferociously on target. A range of influences can be felt, from FRIGHT NIGHT and INVADERS FROM MARS to REAR WINDOW and THE GUARDIAN, but this is no throwback film. Nor is it an ambiguous “is it all in the mind of a destabilized protagonist?” fake-out. Delivering with a solid supporting cast that includes Piper Curda (I DIDN’T DO IT), Jamison Jones (TRUE DETECTIVE), Azie Tesfai (SUPERGIRL), Kevin Bigley (Netflix's UPLOAD) and Zarah Mahler (NIGHTMARE CINEMA), THE WRETCHED is the real deal in next-gen horror. See it and shriek. – Mitch Davis