Man, don’t you hate it when you go live with your dad at a small, coastal town, and find out a witch has infiltrated your neighbors, and threatens the lives of you and everyone you love? It’s a bit of a drag, especially to 17 year old Ben (John-Paul Howard), who is struggling to cope with his parents’ divorce as he heads over to live with his dad, Liam (Jamison Jones), for the summer, and work at his marina. However, his seemingly idyllic summer takes a turn when his neighbor, Abbie (Zarah Mahler), and soon her whole family, begin to act out of character, Ben investigates to see what is really going on.
Tapping into the kind of motifs you’d see in works like Rear Window, The ‘Burbs, and Fright Night, the writer-director duo, brothers Brett and Drew T. Pierce, tackle some fairly familiar and well torn ground. So, they seem to take our familiarity with this kind of subgenre, and gets to the good stuff quick. A gnarly opening sequence involving a child being eaten sets an ominous tone, and it doesn’t take long for the witch to start wreaking havoc on Ben, his neighbors, and his new friend and co-worker, Mallory (Piper Curda).
However, it’s not like the Pierce brothers breeze through the essentials before getting the ball rolling. There’s a decent amount of time spent on Ben trying to aquatint himself to the town through amusing moments like his initial awkward meet-cute with Mallory, an encounter with some bullies, and some momentary bonding with his dad’s new girlfriend, Sara (Azie Tesfai), after brushing her off in a rather crude manner. These moments are effective in getting you to understand the underlying dynamic between the characters, and being invested in Ben’s struggle before the witch starts messing with everyone.
There is some mythology that the film tries to build, but all you need to know is that the witch removes the memory of individuals that it possesses, so that it may take the children. There’s something very disturbing and unsettling in seeing a parent having no recollection of their kids, and it sets the stakes really well. Madelynn Stuenkel plays the witch, credited as “the Wretch,” and she does a great job at crafting an unnervingly jolty and lanky physicality that is heightened by some excellent folly work. The design is a bit on the generic side, but the filmmakers are skilled enough to utilize her presence in a way that helps build tension and scares.
There are admittedly some contrivances and conveniences sprinkled throughout the film. The fact that Ben not only doesn’t go to the authorities at the first sign of trouble, but the thought seemingly never crosses his mind is frustrating. Some of the dialogue can come across as clumsy and even corny at points, but these flaws ultimately felt minor once it was all said and done. By the time we get to the halfway point, I was surprised at how invested I was, and hoping everything would turn out alright.
The Wretched marks the second film from the Pierce brothers, following their 2011 debut, Deadheads (which I haven’t seen). However, if this film is of any indication, I think these guys are worth keeping an eye on. It’s not necessarily rich with subtext or compelling theming, but it’s a really fun horror film that boasts charming characters, great gore effects, and a killer instinct in crafting crowd pleasing moments. There were numerous points where I would’ve loved to see a crowd’s reaction, from some effective jump scares to a third act reveal that kind of broke my brain in the best way possible. Now, I don’t want to come across as hyperbolic in my praise here, it’s a fairly simple and modest horror flick, but it just does everything it needs to do with plenty of polish and lots of skill for such a seemingly unassuming genre film. I honestly see a lot of potentially great things down the line for the Pierce brothers, and I really can’t wait to see what they cook up next.