Indie and B-movie horror has a tendency toward adopting the more superficial aesthetics and tone of the horror genre—blood, guts, screaming, jump scares, creepy old houses, dark forests, and bad decision-making—without much (or any) of the skills used in the best scary movies to effectively create tension and deliver on it, or to present any more interesting ideas beyond what the literal events of the film. Most of them end up being a murky mish-mash of overdone beats and insultingly lazy plotting, made worse (or sometimes better) by amateurish acting and a juvenile script.
That's why it's refreshing when a small-budget, indie horror flick—like The Wretched, from relatively unknown directors Brett and Drew Pierce—can serve up something that's even marginally more competent and intriguing. The Wretched isn't challenging the form or blowing minds, but it is a modest creepshow that plays with some fun ideas and effects surrounding its central monster and manages to maintain interest from beginning to end, thanks to endearing supporting players and an unconventional setup.
Ben (John-Paul Howard) is a teenager, caught in the middle of his parents' incoming divorce. In the meantime, they're separated, and he's come up to stay with his dad Liam (Jamison Jones) for the summer in a lazy coastal resort town. Keeping busy by working at his dad's marina business, Ben meets Mal (Piper Curda), a goofy and easygoing coworker who insists on getting Ben out to socialize with her and the other kids in their freetime.
Aside from flirting with Mal, Ben is mostly bored at work and at home until he starts witnessing some strange goings-on at his dad's neighbor's house. A la Rear Window or Disturbia, Ben begins spying on his neighbors through binoculars after he hears spooky noises in their front yard and finds a gaping hole under their porch. After discovering a bizarre upside-down "A" symbol etched into their front deck, and conducting an oddly convenient and informative Google search on it, Ben realizes he may be dealing with a thousand-year-old witch.
After witnessing the witch possess the neighbor family and take mysterious garbage bags down to their cellar, Ben's challenge becomes a matter of convincing his father, Mal, and others of what he's seen, without coming across as a creepy, voyeuristic lunatic in the process.
The Pierce brothers show some serious skill with pacing, building tension, and visual framing, which makes me interested to see what they could do with a better script—perhaps someone else's, or a half-dozen more revisions—and a stronger cast. The writing is certainly not The Wretched's strength. That being said, I've endured much worse in this arena, and I was never entirely put off by the Pierces' dialogue, even if I wasn't completely convinced or enthralled.
The real treats here are the visual effects—mostly practical, I believe—and the Pierces' ability to suck you in to the creepier moments that lead up to the next spooky reveal. The witch has a recurring bodysnatching ability, in which she quite literally crawls under (and back out of) other people's skins as a means to control them and navigate the town. These takeovers are gross and a little gory, though it never gets entirely gratuitous with the body horror. At times, I kind of wished it would.
Unfortunately, the film is never quite "scary;" the bigger moments in the climax wind up being a little too underplayed and are over too quickly. Likewise, the "scares" throughout the film are mostly duds. The implied terror lurking around the corner, conveyed through sound design, camera movement and editing, are much more effective at keeping you on edge. It's a bit of a shame, but I enjoyed the ride. It's hard to be upset with a low-budget horror movie when it's better than most of the ones that hit the cineplex.
The Wretched won't scare your pants off, but if you're in need of a horror movie that will keep you engaged without overtly dumb, headache-inducing jump scares and painful storytelling, it might just satisfy. Come for the fun concept of a teenager trying to live the teenage life while battling an ancient witch, and stay for the delightfully nasty effects that show up when that witch begins her rampage. Check it out on Amazon Prime now.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkyHLudSrCE&w=585