"A rebellious teenage boy embarks on a gutsy crusade to stop the terrifying evil he suspects has possessed his neighbor in this bone-chilling occult thriller."
That's about right.
Horror Type...
Supernatural Horror, Creature Feature
Main Players...
John-Paul Howard as Ben Shaw (Troubled Teen)
Piper Curda as Mallory (Sassy Teen)
Zarah Mahler as Abbie (Neighbor From Hell)
- how the scares start coming from the jump, and keep on coming
- the artfully articulated Wretch in all her gory glory
- how some character-types who are traditionally left unharmed in other horror movies enjoy no special protections here (which is to say, I didn't enjoy what happened to them, but I was impressed by how the directors dared to break through established conventions)
- that the dad of the piece eventually listened to his son, though Ben gave every indication of being a very unreliable narrator indeed
- the Sixth Sense-like twist in the third act. Nicely done, youse guys--I suppose I should've seen it coming, but I totally didn't...
The Meh...
- I'd have liked more intel/background on what, exactly, that Wretch-beastie is (she's referred to as a witch, but she strikes me as something different, something...more)
- It's got some '80s brat-pack movie tropes (a hot girl who's kind of a bitch, rich guys who're dicks to the protagonist, an embarrassing moment in a swimming pool, etc.) which contrast weirdly with the heavier themes of the film and detract from its intensity
Would I recommend it...?
Yeah, it's got loads of great scares with gruesome effects for Halloween, takes some risks, and does some things I haven't seen horror movies dare to do, of late. It's not for the faint of heart. Trigger Warnings for: babies, kids, and animals in peril, lotsa violence, and did I mention the gore?
Miscellany...
The Wretched was released to VOD and drive-in theaters during the Covid 19 pandemic and has been "...the closest thing to a box office hit this summer." Bravo, y'all!
Ratings...
My Grade: B+
Rotten Tomatoes Scores: Tomatometer=74%, Audience Score=45%
Details, Schmeetails...
I Watched The Wretched on Hulu (the Rotten Tomatoes page linked above provides links to other streaming platforms)
Learn more about it on Wikipedia (Contains Spoilers)
This concludes Day 30 of
Thanks for reading and come back tomorrow...
IF YOU DARE
Alrighty then. I'll await your last post!
ReplyDeleteYeah, there're better options for you! 😉
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