As the sons of Evil Dead special effects artist Bart Pierce, it's no surprise that brothers Brett and Drew T. Pierce gravitated toward the horror genre. The duo made their feature writing and directorial debut on the 2011 zombie comedy Deadheads. After continuing to cut their teeth in the industry - Brett as a production coordinator and Drew as storyboard artist - they've taken a decidedly more refined approach to the horror spectrum with their sophomore effort, The Wretched.
The film centers on Ben (John-Paul Howard, 14 Cameras), an angsty teenager who's sent to stay with his father, Liam (Jamison Jones, General Hospital), in a coastal Michigan town for the summer. Liam gets him a job at the marina in the hopes of disciplining him, as Ben is dealing with the repercussions of his parents' recent separation. Seeing his father with his new girlfriend (Azie Tesfai, Supergirl) doesn't help, but Ben befriends a co-worker, Mallory (Piper Curda, I Didn't Do It). After catching a glimpse of a witch-creature on his neighbor's property, Ben teams up with Mallory to investigate the matter.
Ben is adequately developed as the protagonist, complete with coming-of-age sensibilities, but the script often loses focus by shifting perspective to his neighbors. The middle act, drawing heavily from Rear Window (or, perhaps more relevantly, Fright Night), would have been more effective if the film was told entirely from Ben's point of view. Instead of limiting the viewer's knowledge to that of the main character, we already know the truth about the neighbors while the characters are wrapped up in the mystery and paranoia.
Nevertheless, The Wretched's brand of horror is a potent amalgam of atmospheric subtleties, high-energy frights, and calculated plot twists. Blending creature feature tropes with a witch influence, the monster is a witch (with a kinetic performance by Madelynn Stuenkel) inspired by Native American folklore. Special makeup effects supervisor Erik Porn (Paranormal Activity 2, The Crazies) and Bitemares Inc. create a convincing creature, which the Pierce brothers utilize for some supremely creepy imagery and a memorable transformation sequence.
The Wretched arrives on Blu-ray from IFC Midnight with a pair of audio commentaries. Although a featurette on the effects would have been nice, the two tracks are full of insight. The first is a spirited and informative conversation between the Pierce brothers. They point out a few shortcomings while touching on the challenges they faced as independent filmmakers, but it's always with a smile. The second commentary composer Devin Burrows (Deadheads). It's a mix of music discussion (about both his cues and the soundtrack), isolated music, fun facts, and a few bouts of silence.
The Wretched is available on Blu-ray and DVD via IFC Midnight.
The Wretched is written and directed by The Pierce Brothers and stars John-Paul Howard, Piper Curda, Jamison Jones, Azie Tesfai, Zarah Mahler, and Kevin Bigley. The film follows a teenage boy named Ben (Howard) who goes to live with his father (Jones) following his parents' separation. Once he gets to the coastal town he starts to notice strange and peculiar things going on next door at his neighbor's house. Ben soon realizes and finds out that an ancient witch has started to take hold of the family that lives next door. I was very eager to check this film out since everyone is in quarantine right now and I heard that this was a horror film worth checking out. The Wretched is a unique and original horror film that I found myself enjoying for what it is.
What this film does well is the aesthetic and mythology of the witch. The witch is creepy and scary and I think the best part about this film. You really do feel her presence throughout the film and I think the filmmakers really put the emphasis on the witch for the story that they are telling. The practical effects used here are great and it’s something I love when it’s done well in a horror film. The lead character in the film and some of the other characters with the exception of one, are hit or miss with me throughout the film. What I mean by that is that at times they’re likable and other times I didn’t care much for them, but I’m not sure if that was a deliberate choice on the filmmakers part. For myself, what I enjoyed the most in this film was the witch and the adventure to try and stop her from destroying the town that she’s in.
I think the flaws with this film are it’s characters like I mentioned above, but that’s not a detriment to this film at all. I really liked the overall tone that this film was going for and what it achieved. By the end of the film I enjoyed what I saw and found this to be a fun horror film with a sense of adventure like The Goonies mixed with Rear Window. Right now in the times we are living in I think it’s great that there is a new and original horror film out there to watch. The Pierce Brothers are filmmakers to look out for as I’m sure they will make other unique and interesting genre films in the future. As a genre fan I will always watch and respect independent horror films and I would definitely recommend checking this film out if you’re a genre fan.
MOON CRASH (2022) Preview of The Asylum's mockbuster
MOON CRASH (2022) Preview of The Asylum’s mockbuster
Moon Crash is a 2022 American science fiction disaster movie and a mockbuster of Roland Emmerich’s big-budget blockbuster Moonfall.
Directed by Noah Luke (Jungle Run), The Asylum production stars Jeremy London, Tyler Christopher, Pauline Egan and Jamison Jones.
Plot:
A global steelworks company partners with an aerospace firm to mine the Moon.
However, when a drilling accident causes a giant…
Synopsis: World War III took place in 2025. As a result of it already scarce resources (fuel, electricity, etc.) were decimated. The environment was also devastated, leaving a bare and broken world…
