The Wretched

We all remember with nostalgia some movies of the 80's like Fright Night (Vampire you said vampire) (1985), The goonies (1985) and it's not a coincidence if Hollywood studios keep surfing on this same nostalgia whether it's the cult series Netflix Stranger Things or the very expected Wonder Woman 1984. Numerous fantasy and horror films from the 80s continue to inspire many directors, as the excellent The Wretched written and directed by Brett and Drew T shows so well. Pierce. It is impossible not to think of directors like John Carpenter, Joe Dante, J.J. Abrams and Steven Spielberg who have forever marked the 1980s in our memories as moviegoers.

It's not all about rhythm and directors Brett and Drew T. Pierce understood this perfectly as they respect as very good students the indispensable rules to create a perfect mix between the fantastic and the horrific film while keeping all the flavor of the films of the 80s. After a perfectly choreographed and disturbing introductory scene, the stage is set. When Ben (John-Paul Howard) is sent back to his father's house after his parents' separation, he realizes that something disturbing is going on in the house next door and from surprise to surprise what was just a local horror folklore turns out to be very real and there is a witch who has been terrorizing this quiet little American town for many, many years. The Wretched is meant to be both a fantastic film but with horrible elements allowing it to be released for a teenage audience fond of jump scares. In this case, we let ourselves be guided like a ghost train through the meanders of this story with many twists and turns.

While many recent horror and fantasy films tend to play the card of overbidding or luxurious casting, The Wretched does not have a considerable budget but knows perfectly well how to highlight the personality of the characters as well as being original and misleading the audience from revelation to revelation. Far from being a B-series entertainment, The Wretched is a real success that nothing could have predicted from the first unnoticed film, Deadheads (2011) by the Pierce brothers. In the same way the special effects are successful and the character of this witch is really disturbing.

We can better understand its success in the United States and the fact that this film was five consecutive weeks in a row first at the American box office. Supported by the American press and by an audience praising the many qualities of this film, we hope that it will soon be released in France because it caught our attention and we can only advise it.

The Wretched
Directed by Brett Pierce, Drew T. Pierce
Produced by Chang Tseng, Ed Polgardy, Brett Pierce, Drew Pierce
Written by The Pierce Brothers
Starring John-Paul Howard, Piper Curda, Zarah Mahler, Kevin Bigley, Gabriela Quezada Bloomgarden, Richard Ellis, Blane Crockarell, Jamison Jones, Azie Tesfai
Music by Devin Burrows
Cinematography: Conor Murphy
Edited by Terry Yates
Production company: Little Runway
Distributed by IFC Midnight
Release date: July 19, 2019 (Fantasia), May 1, 2020 (United States)
Running time: 96 minutes

Seen on 2 May 2020 in VOD

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