Film Review: The Dark And The Wicked

On a secluded sheep and goat farm, an old man (Michael Zagst) is slowly dying. He lies in his bed, not moving, not talking, just quietly fading away. His wife (Julie Oliver-Touchstone) has spent so much time taking care of him, but is soon joined by their son, Michael (Michael Abbott Jr.) and daughter, Louise (Marin Ireland) as the man seems to approach his final days. But as time passes, it’s clear that something is off. Both Michael and Louise get a feeling that there is some kind of dark presence in the house, but whether it’s just in their heads, or if something is truly haunting them, they don’t know.

That’s the basic setup of The Dark And The Wicked, the latest horror film from Bryan Bertino, who is most well known for his 2008 debut film, The Strangers.  Like The Strangers, The Dark And The Wicked is also in a twisted way, a home invasion film. However, the invader is far more supernatural. Compared to previous efforts, it is a slow burn in every sense of the word. Even with a 95 minute runtime, the pacing is very deliberate and methodical, at times almost punishingly so, but with it, the film is truly able to get under your skin.

The film keeps you guessing as to what exactly is going on. Is it a ghost story? Is there a cult involved? Is there demonic possession afoot? The details are kept vague for a significant portion of the film, and the answers that the film does eventually provide aren’t necessarily the most clear, but that does not prevent Bertino from throwing in some really effective scares before things get too stagnant, keeping you engaged in the general mystery and the oppressive atmosphere that he’s building throughout the film.

And it’s that atmosphere that has the strongest effect in the film. Tom Schraeder’s moody score combined with the earthy colors in Tristan Nyby’s measured and carefully composed cinematography makes for an experience that is unpleasant in a very purposeful way. The performances from Michael Abbott Jr. and Marin Ireland are terrific, not only in creating a believable family dynamic that we only get to see through these really extreme circumstances, but also in building their paranoia and despair as the tension and unexplainable events begin to increase. I also want to highlight Xander Berkeley, who plays a profoundly creepy priest.

A lot of the film is fairly minimal in bombast and excess. The scares are mostly made up of sudden apparent specters, and all the action mostly takes place in this small farm in the middle of nowhere. However, the filmmakers make a great use of the environment, and the few bits of special effects are some expertly handled gore shots, and they are as startling as they are nasty. One particular scene early that involves the chopping of carrots goes about as well as you’d imagine, and it is as gnarly and repulsive as it sounds.

One thing that The Dark And The Wicked taps into is the weight of dealing with the death of a parent. Despite the father’s death being all but guaranteed, the siblings share an obligation to make the best of the situation, and try to find ways to help. Their efforts are in vain, which reflects the horror aspect of the film, which is just as inevitable. It’s a hopeless and bleak film, which combined with its slow burn qualities make it a bit of a hard sell for most mainstream audiences, but I think horror fans will likely find a lot to enjoy here. Speaking for myself, I feel like grief as a thematic interest in horror films has become tired and overused in the past several years, but as long as the movie is good, I’m willing to let derivative theming slide, and The Dark And The Wicked is definitely a good movie that has enough unsettling imagery and haunting moments to leave an impression on its audience.

The Dark And The Wicked will open in select theaters and VOD platforms on November 6th.