The Wretched

The Wretched is a lovely looking movie. Nicely acted and shot, with decent, practical special effects. I struggled with the story, which was ultimately a bit un-interesting.

Ben visits his father at a lakeside town. Some kind of demon-thing lives under a tree and has the power to cast a spell on people such that they 'forget' about the existence of loved ones around them. Paranoia sets in for Ben when neighbours are acting strangely ...

It's a well-edited mainstream pleaser but hanging off a story which doesn't add up very well. Some elements are great but it feels like another short that has prematurely evolved into a lacking feature, devoid of tension and scares.

It was well-received at FrightFest; I felt I was in the minority who didn't quite get it. If you're a fan of spooky, ghost/wraith type horror, it's entirely possible you might enjoy The Wretched. I didn't dislike it but nor did I take much away from it.

I've been binging many of the classic 80's horror as well as cult classics and this film, The Wretched, gives me a similar feeling. It's your classic "I think my neighbor is a ____" with the mix of teen romance and family drama. It isn't an intellectual horror as this is a saturated genre, but it was fun to watch an updated version of the genre movies I love (fright night, the lost boys, etc). Like those films, they aren't perfect but they have there strengths as well as weaknesses. The creepiness was decent, but it was never very scary. It did a good job of slowly introducing the monster and building suspense. One thing I disliked was that the subplots failed to go below surface level so looking back they felt like a waste of energy - should have focused on only one along with the main story. However, the production was fantastic and you could tell they knew what they were doing. Actors were fine, but nothing to write home about.

Real rating: 6.3 (given a 7 because I feel the current score of 5.8 is bit too low)

This movie had the right pieces including a likeable protagonist, decent practical effects, and a brisk pace. But the plot felt "forced" by the end and it veered into an average movie. It lacked effective scares and a sense of dread that I like in a "witch" movie and the antagonist was not as frightening as I would have liked.

I don't regret watching it, but I was hoping for more.

Besides a couple inconsistencies in the story, just little things that made no sense, The Wretched is an entertaining movie in the "witch" genre. It isn't the best movie I ever watched in this genre but it's certainly worth a watch. The horror parts are well made and pretty decent in the "gore" genre. The acting was most of the time good, nothing to really complain about. That said it could all have been better but still there are a couple good creepy parts that will keep you attentive, and in a horror movie that's a bonus.

Brilliant and well done horror. Amazing, considering the budget, don't let this put you off though, the quality and story were amazing.

Due to the pandemic, crap movies seem to be on the loose, this movie definitely doesn't fall into that category. It was refreshing.