Something Wicked

I decided to see this film not because it was the last of Brittany Murphy's - unfortunately short - career, but rather because I was an appreciator of horror in general. However, I wasn't surprised by what I found: another cheap film, with all the faults of the genre, but at least capable of entertaining us for a while.

The film begins with a couple who try, after a terrible accident that kills her parents, to move their relationship forward and prepare for their wedding. It turns out that, as the date approaches and all the preparations are made, the bride begins to feel that she is being chased by something, or someone, and that she is in danger.

The film is unremarkable, has a very worn script and doesn't bring anything new. The feeling is that we've seen the same thing, much better, before. The most usual horror clichés are also very present. The ending is pretty good, but I'm not sure if it's really worth the effort to see the rest of the movie. It will never be a memorable film, but if we want a film that entertains us for a while without having to think too hard, I think it meets the requirements. Darin Scott's direction is erratic and boring, and the script by Joe Colleran and Joseph Mungra is basic and uninteresting.

Shantel VanSanten is the protagonist in the role of the young bride. She's beautiful, she's sexy, but she's not particularly remarkable or has shown any remarkable talent, just doing what really needs to be done. It may be little, but it was what she needed to shine in this movie. Brittany Murphy, far from the heyday of her career, hit rock bottom here, with a minor role in a forgettable movie. And while it's not a film cut out for male actors to stand out, I think John Robinson and James Patrick Stuart did a satisfying job and are good additions to the cast.

Technically, it's a film that has very little to present to us. Being a low-budget film, there are no great effects or cinematic gimmicks here, nor an amazing soundtrack. Nothing. Cinematography, which would perhaps be the technical aspect with the greatest propensity to stand out, is tiring, uninteresting and does not bring anything really good or worthy of note.

Please, do not hate on this movie - it caps off Britt's amazing career, so show it some respect. She was a beautiful , if profoundly troubled, soul. RIP Britt, you are beautiful.

You know that feeling, when it's just pouring outside, you are in no mood for anything but a movie, most likely a horror, something not too easy, not too hard, that will go along perfectly with a beer and some chips? You might hit jackpot with this one.

So is it really that good? Well, no, but it is a fun ride, made with a tight budget, good actors, a better plot than most and some decent kills. It's just one of those movies that you won't desire to replay but you do wish for at a certain point, if we were a few years back, it would be the perfect thing on TV at that exact moment when you were ready for something to fill in the time. So, if you can relate to what I'm saying, I think you'll enjoy this one.

Now all you have to do is grab yourself a beer, some chips and wait to rain. Let the movie wait, it needs a good environment to be played in.

Cheers!

I have a soft spot for B-horror films— it's not just that I am usually very entertained by them, but I really just find them charming. Maybe I have an underdog complex. Regardless, I'm not even sure why I am dispensing this information, because I don't know if I can classify "Something Wicked" as a B-movie completely, given the relatively high production values and moderately well-known cast (including the late and great Brittany Murphy). Even if "Something Wicked" isn't a B-movie entirely, it feels like one, and works within this framework. The plot follows a young woman, Christine (Shantel VanSanten) who loses her parents in an accident; she survives, however, as does her boyfriend, James (John Robinson). Christine moves in with her older brother, Bill (James Patrick Stuart), a local cop, and his wife, psychologist Susan (Brittany Murphy), and attends the local university. She and James begin to plan a future together beginning with a marriage, but Christine begins experiencing personal attacks and believes herself to be haunted by demons of the past and stalked by a real-life attacker. Where does Christine's truth lie?

It is without question that the main reason "Something Wicked" is even seeing the light of day at Regal Cinemas right now is because it marks Brittany Murphy's final performance before her untimely death. Had Murphy not passed away, the film would likely have been relegated to the land of straight-to-DVD Redbox specials, but it is currently having an extremely limited theatrical run in the Pacific Northwest, and is one of the few indie films to surface in quite some time from my beautiful home state of Oregon (it was filmed in Eugene, a college town about three hours south of Portland, where I am from). And you know what? I'm glad the film is playing in a mainstream cinema, no matter how limited. It's just a shame that it took Murphy's death to get it there.

The reasons behind the film's delay are ambiguous (it was filmed in 2009), but regardless, what we have here is a no-holds-barred indie horror thriller that is not quite serious enough to be taken at face value, but classy enough that it cannot be dismissed by genre fans. The script plays with genre setups and conventions galore, but they don't appear as clichés because the film refuses to let them be— it walks the line between a made-for-TV movie and a first-rate thriller, which is bizarre, but also extremely absorbing for people who are into this kind of thing. As someone who watches these films all the time, I should have seen the plot twists coming, but I didn't— the script quickly throws the audience into a disorienting snake pit of red-herrings and spends the rest of its time clawing its way out to the conclusion. The performances in the film are also worth taking note of; Shantel VanSanten leads the film and is vulnerable and believable, paired with John Robinson ("Elephant") as her husband-to-be. James Patrick Stewart plays her (perhaps too) protective cop brother quite believably, and Julian Morris ("Cry_Wolf") appears as the ominous and sexy stalker boy on campus— and then of course there is Murphy, who is completely alive and engaging in all of her scenes, her range oscillating between upper-class psychologist and prescription-addled madwoman.

All this said, I don't know who the audience for "Something Wicked" is, as it's not flashy enough to attract a mainstream horror audience, and it is not something that has enough draw for the general public either. It perhaps has a niche market of diehards and B-horror fans like myself, as well as those who are ardent fans of Murphy's and want to see her last hurrah. At its heart, "Something Wicked" is nothing more than a self-aware indie horror flick with a series of twists and turns that aren't particularly profound, but I'll be damned if they don't make for an enjoyable and entertaining ninety minutes. If Murphy's untimely death gave us anything, it was the chance for an earnest and underrepresented indie horror film such as this to see the light of day— no matter how small or large that may be. 7/10.

This is a bad movie. It took years to get released and there is a reason for this. It is truly bad. The acting is terrible. Everyone in it is truly bad. It is filmed like a cable movie. Both the direction and cinematography are amateurish. Even the editing looks like something out of "The Room," which is the movie this most reminded me of. But where "The Room" became a midnight movie laugh fest, one which its creator now insists was intended to be a dark comedy, "Something Wicked" takes itself very seriously. Which makes it all the worse when you are laughing out loud at how bad it is. The only thing redeeming is the ending - and it is not worth the trouble of sitting through this piece of junk.