THE WRETCHED (2019)

The Wretched.jpg

Studio:      IFC Midnight
Director:    The Pierce Brothers
Writer:      The Pierce Brothers
Producer:  Brett Pierce, Drew Pierce, Chang Tseng, Ed Polgardy
Stars:     John-Paul Howard, Piper Curda, Zarah Mahler, Kevin Bigley, Gabriela Quezada Bloomgarden, Richard Ellis, Blane Crockarell, Judah Paul, Jamison Jones, Azie Tesfai

Review Score:

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Summary:

A troubled teenager must save three families, including his own, from an ancient witch with the power to possess people and make them forget their loved ones.


Synopsis:     

Review:

17-year-old Ben broke his arm breaking into, and then out of, a friend’s house. He was there stealing some Vicodin, but he’s not really a typical bad attitude punk. He’s not necessarily all that troubled either. Mom and dad’s sudden breakup just sent Ben into a spiral that has him fighting to figure out how he fits in with his freshly fractured family.

Ben’s recently relocated father Liam, who already has a new girlfriend, helps his son get back on track by getting him a gig at his marina. Maybe now Ben’s behavior can calm down by casually flirting with cute coworker Mallory, fantasizing about unattainable hottie JJ, and dealing with the usual bit of bullying from Gage, JJ’s privileged prick of a boyfriend.

Ben’s ordinary summer becomes anything but when he crosses paths with a witch in the woods. An ancient entity wrapped in cryptic snips of forest folklore, ‘The Wretch’ possesses the power to hitch onto human hosts. The cursed creature can also manipulate minds into forgetting their loved ones exist, ensuring no one even remembers the stolen children she chews on.

Ben stands the best chance in centuries of unraveling The Wretch’s wrath when his curious suspicions turn into paranoid stakeouts. No one believes Ben’s conspiracy theories concerning unusual activities next door. He has only himself to rely on as Ben sets out to save his neighbors, his new crush, and himself by trying to outwit the flesh-craving hag.

“The Wretched” has a great “Evil Dead” vibe going for it. (The earlier eerie tone, not the later jokey one.) There are a number of reasons for this.

Maybe you saw Sam Raimi’s pull quote promoting “The Wretched” as “wicked fun … a twisted blend of fairytale and horror!” That’s not an entirely unsolicited accolade. The father of filmmaking brothers Brett and Drew Pierce, who wrote and directed “The Wretched,” did visual effects work on Raimi’s 1981 classic. Like Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell, the Pierces also hail from the Great Lakes State, linking “The Wretched’s” DNA with “The Evil Dead’s” both thematically and geographically.

“The Wretched’s” Michigan shooting locations play a big part in perfecting the subtly sinister setting. The story supposedly takes place in summer, but it seems like a Midwestern autumn without the brown leaves or constant chill. So many indie thrillers simply shoot inside a house or in California, they all end up with identical looks. “The Wretched’s” gnarled branches and foreboding forests give it a distinctive flavor of visual dread that psychologically unsettles. The marina, a country store, and an outdoor party also keep that Middle America mood humming so horror feels even more homegrown.

“Evil Dead” energy keeps poking into every corner it can. I know The Pierce Brothers conjured the same sort of creepiness because, no kidding, Ashley J. Williams not so coincidentally featured in my dreams on the night I screened the film.

Excellent effects and exceptional sound design make certain that energy burns hot. Accentuated by CGI cracks and SFX crunches, Madelynn Stuenkel’s constantly contorting frame causes The Wretch to rival any Javier Botet or Doug Jones creature in terms of slender scariness. Your fingers unconsciously curl when you see her slickened with brown slime. Neck hairs stand up at the sound of her inhuman cluck. “The Wretched” delivers a viciously visceral experience by pounding out grotesque gurgles to go with sick sights like diseased animal guts falling onto the floor.

The Pierce Brothers wouldn’t have been wrong to put further faith in composer Devin Burrows, whose unrelenting score always amplifies intensity whether a scene needs all that auditory effort or not, and cinematographer Conor Murphy, whose camera captures incredible amounts of rich darkness without sacrificing detail. Pouring on all the pop it can, “The Wretched” instead commits the sin of cashing out more jump scares than credit permits. They’re often of the unearned variety too, like smash cutting to a loud lawnmower just to jam in another jolt.

Originally titled “Hag” once upon a time, “The Wretched” squeezes as much spookiness as it can out of slim, but not insufficient fiction. Mythology comes cobbled from various tall tales like Jenny Greenteeth and other such legends. This witch doesn’t have a cauldron, broomstick, or pointed hat. The Wretch is an ancient monster made from nature, meaning you get gritty bits about bundles of sticks, secret caves underneath tree stumps, and occult symbols carved into wood.

The movie’s humans are equally engaging, which isn’t always the case for fright films with familiar characterizations. John-Paul Howard manages to turn Ben into an atypical teen even though he may be a routine one on paper. The script gives Howard enough room to bring out Ben’s personality without forcing him to persistently drive plots points. Ben starts with a hunch that he saw something out of the corner of an eye and his suspicion snowballs into genuine concern for the boy next door’s safety. Ben senses something disturbing, but isn’t sure what it is, so he ends up driven by realistic curiosity that compels us to invest in the mystery too. He naturally facilitates storytelling without becoming its tool.

Piper Curda is the unsung hero of the supporting cast. I’m hard pressed to immediately think of another actress who has ever played the down-to-earth “regular” girl with this much charismatic conviction. Mallory is confident, comedic, and cool. The broad strokes of her interactions with Ben may be basic (e.g. a misunderstanding over a rival love interest and accidentally inserting herself into danger). But Curda’s consistent charm prevents her scenes from being boring. Little touches like a gag about misremembered marketing slogans and the best flavors of Starburst (Mallory correctly identifies lemon as the worst) keep her bond with Ben cute, never cursory.

“The Wretched” hits some hiccups by trying to juggle all the people it puts in play. Side stories involving the cool kids hanging out in the harbor retroactively reveal themselves as inessential distractions that Ben and Mallory’s relationship doesn’t substantially benefit from.

But based on its fearlessness for depicting creatures killing children, and fusion of gun-and-go filmmaking with a flair for savagery, if “The Wretched” is indicative of the stylish creepy-crawling The Pierce Brothers can deliver, expect to see bigger and bolder productions in the duo’s future. And even if the movie can’t tear into your skin with its sometimes bombastic approach to atmosphere, it should at least be good for a one-time chiller on a quiet night in the dark.

Review Score: 80