The Wretched (film)

The Wretched is a 2019 American supernatural horror film written and directed by the Pierce Brothers. It stars John-Paul Howard, Piper Curda, Zarah Mahler, Kevin Bigley, Gabriela Quezada Bloomgarden, Richard Ellis, Blane Crockarell, Jamison Jones, and Azie Tesfai. The film follows a defiant teenage boy who faces off with an evil witch, who is posing as the neighbor next door.

The Wretched
Theatrical release poster
Directed byThe Pierce Brothers
Produced by
  • Chang Tseng
  • Ed Polgardy
  • Brett Pierce
  • Drew Pierce
Written byThe Pierce Brothers
Starring
Music byDevin Burrows
CinematographyConor Murphy
Edited byTerry Yates
Production
company
Little Runway
Distributed byIFC Midnight
Release date
  • July 19, 2019 (2019-07-19) (Fantasia)
  • May 1, 2020 (2020-05-01) (United States)
Running time
96 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$66,000[1]
Box office$3.1 million[2]

The Wretched had its world premiere at the Fantasia International Film Festival on July 19, 2019, and was released in drive-in theaters and through video on demand on May 1, 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic limiting the amount of films in theaters, The Wretched became the first film since Avatar (2009) to top the box office for six consecutive weekends.[3][4]

Plot

In 1985, Megan arrives at the home of the Gambels to babysit their daughter. In the basement, she finds a creature feeding off the little girl. Terrified, she tries to escape, but Mr. Gambel purposely shuts the door on her. A strange sign is shown on the door.

In the present, Ben comes to live with his father Liam as his parents are in the middle of a divorce. Liam gives Ben a job working at the marina, where he befriends Mallory. He notices Liam kissing a co-working named Sara. In the woods, Dillon, the son of Liam's neighbor Abbie, finds a tree with the same symbol seen at the Gambel house. He hears what sounds like Abbie's voice coming from the tree, calling to him before Abbie appears. They bring a buck home that they hit and that night, something crawls out of the buck's corpse.

Ben investigates strange noises he hears on the roof. He follows the sounds to Abbie's house, but all he finds is an animal. He catches a glimpse of the witch on the porch, but cannot be sure what he saw due to Abbie's husband Ty turning on the porch light. Ben befriends Dillon and makes him promise to tell if he sees anything strange around his house. That night, Abbie goes to check on her baby Sam in his crib. She finds the baby gone, replaced by a bundle of sticks. She is then attacked by the witch. Ben later notices Abbie walking into the forest with a child.

Ben returns home one night to find Dillon hiding in his house, claiming that there is something wrong with his mom. Abbie comes looking for Dillon, threatening Ben and attempting to get into the house. Ty comes and takes Dillon home. Dillon tells Ty that Abbie is acting weird, but Ty dismisses his concerns. Ben is also concerned that something strange is happening with Abbie. At work, Ben learns that Dillon never showed up for his sailing lesson. When he goes to Dillon's house, Ty denies that he has a son. Later, Abbie whispers something demonic to Ty that makes his ears bleed. She then takes a shower and her body starts to decay.

Ben is suspicious and reads about a witch that is known for possessing people and "feeding on the forgotten". He confides in Mallory, but she does not take him seriously. She slips a taunting note under Abbie's door. Ben sneaks into Abbie's cellar and finds a picture of the family with Ty's face scratched out, along with a picture of Mallory and her sister Lily. He realizes that the witch is after Lily next. He calls Mallory to warn her that Lily is in danger, but Mallory does not remember her sister. Ben rushes to save Lily, but is too late, as the witch has pulled her into her tree. He is knocked out after hitting his head on a rock. Upon returning home, he finds that Liam has called the police due to Ben being missing. Ben attempts to explain what is happening with the neighbors, but is accused of being on drugs.Ben confides in Sara but notices flowers decaying, and realizes she is possessed by the witch. When she tries to attack, he slashes her arm, but the witch makes it look like he attacked Sara for no reason. He is taken into custody. Ben sees Sara whispering in the officer's ear. He tells Liam that Sara is possessed and pleads with him to check the neighbors' cellar. Instead of taking Ben to the station, the officer attempts to drown him at the beach until a dog attacks. The officer shoots the dog and then himself as he realizes that something is controlling him to kill Ben. Meanwhile, Liam finds the dead bodies of Ty and Abbie at their house. Sara attacks Liam and is nearly about to kill him, but Ben arrives and shoots her with the officer's gun. The witch crawls out of Sara's corpse and goes after Ben, but he takes Liam to safety as their house burns down. As a picture of Ben and his family burns, Ben suddenly remembers that he has a little brother, Nathan, implying the witch had made Ben forget about him.

Ben and Mallory go to the tree to rescue their siblings. As Ben rescues Nathan and Lily, Liam arrives and rams his car into the witch. Afterwards, Ben and Nathan are leaving to return to their mother's house. Liam says he will stay with his brother while he heals from the witch's attack. Ben and Mallory kiss goodbye, and she puts a flower in his hair before leaving to give sailing lessons. Ben notices the flower is fake, revealing that the witch is alive and now possessing Mallory, who is alone with three children.

Cast
  • John-Paul Howard as Ben
  • Piper Curda as Mallory
  • Zarah Mahler as Abbie
  • Kevin Bigley as Ty
  • Blane Crockarell as Dillon
  • Jamison Jones as Liam
  • Azie Tesfai as Sara
  • Gabriela Quezada Bloomgarden as JJ
  • Richard Ellis as Gage
  • Madelynn Stuenkel as The Witch
  • Amy Waller as Nora
  • Ja'layah Washington as Lily
  • Judah Abner Paul as Nathan
  • Ross Kidder as Officer Guthrie
  • Kasey Bell as Officer Kopitar
  • Pamela Gray as Counselor Rutland
  • Sydne Mikelle as Megan
  • Tug Coker as Mr. Gambel
  • Kenzie Jones as Ashley Gambel
  • Owen Thomas Pierce as Baby Sam
  • Ryan Alexander Holmes as Adam

Production

Filming took place around Omena and Northport, Michigan, near the Pierces' hometown.[5][6]

Composer, and childhood friend of the Pierce Brothers, Devin Burrows composed the film's score. According to Burrows in a 2020 Nightmare on Film Street interview, he visited the film's shooting locations prior to principal photography beginning to work the natural influence and inspiration into the film music. [7] The trio also worked together on the Pierce Brothers 2011 film Deadheads.

Release

The film premiered at Fantasia International Film Festival on July 19, 2019.[8][9] It also screened at the Traverse City Film Festival.[6] It was released in selected theaters (mainly drive-ins) in the United States on May 1, 2020, as well as Premium VOD.[10] The film was released in cinemas in the Netherlands on June 25, 2020.[11]

Reception

Box office

Due to limited theater exposure and few films playing due to the COVID-19 pandemic, The Wretched was #1 at the box office in its opening weekend, earning $65,908 from 12 theaters.[12][13] Playing in 19 theaters, the film finished first again the following weekend with $69,608, for a 10-day running total of $165,294.[14] The film remained in first the following weekends, making $91,975 from 21 drive-in theaters in its third,[15] $215,836 from 59 in its fourth,[16] and $181,000 from 75 in its fifth.[17] It became the first film since Black Panther in February 2018 to top the box office five weekends in a row,[18] although it was noted that Trolls World Tour would have likely come in first over the course of its release had its weekly grosses been made public.[19]

The film then made $207,212 from 99 theaters and crossed the $1 million mark, topping newcomer Becky by $1,415 to remain in first for the sixth straight weekend (the first film since Avatar in 2009 to do so).[20][21] It was finally dethroned in its seventh weekend, finishing third behind Becky and Infamous with $148,583.[22]

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 75% based on 102 reviews, with an average rating of 6.27/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "The Wretched stirs up a savory blend of witch-in-the-woods horror ingredients that should leave genre fans hungry for a second helping from writer-directors Brett and Drew T. Pierce."[23] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 61 out of 100, based on 15 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[24]

Jeannette Catsoulis of The New York Times gave the film a generally positive review, writing: "Blessed with shivery setups and freaky effects—here, skin-crawling is literal—The Wretched transforms common familial anxieties into flesh, albeit crepey and creeping."[25] Geoff Berkshire of the Los Angeles Times wrote: "What the Pierce brothers lack in flavorful storytelling or compelling characters, they almost entirely make up for in good old-fashioned atmosphere and suspense. The Wretched rarely surprises, but it's well-crafted enough to get under your skin anyway, with an able assist from the creepy camerawork of cinematographer Conor Murphy and unsettling score by Devin Burrows."[26]

Writing for RogerEbert.com, Simon Abrams gave the film 1.5 out of 4 stars, saying that "unlike Stranger Things, The Wretched is a little too cute about teen angst, and not light enough on its feet to make you want to root for its ostensibly typical adolescent.".[27]

gollark: With infinite egg space, the optimal hunting strategy would just be to pick up stupid amounts of eggs and see what's behind them, and leave most to die.
gollark: I like to use my small aeon army to precog things so I get the disappointment early.
gollark: Yes, I know.
gollark: TJ09 specifically said "If the T&C breaks the market please say so"?
gollark: That is not much of a good reason. Especially since the Market thing was fine.

References
  1. John Stewart (July 12, 2020). "'Relic' is the Latest Thriller to Find Success at the Box Office". The Slanted. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
  2. "The Wretched (2020)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved August 15, 2020.
  3. Mendelson, Scott (May 31, 2020). "'The Wretched' Reaches Rare Box Office Milestone Shared By 'Black Panther' And 'Avatar'". Forbes. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  4. Bean, Travis (June 5, 2020). "'The Wretched' Has Forever Redefined How We Measure Box Office Success". Forbes. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  5. https://www.thecinemaholic.com/the-wretched-filming-locations/
  6. Hinds, Julie (May 23, 2020). "Top movie in America during pandemic is by Detroit brothers and was filmed in Michigan". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
  7. Reeves, Rachel (May 1, 2020). "THE WRETCHED Composer Devin Burrows Talks About Casting The Film's Sonic Spell". Nightmare on Film Street. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
  8. "Robert's Fantasia 2019 Review: The Wretched (2019)". The Scariest Things. July 20, 2019. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
  9. "Fantasia 2019: Evil Moves in Next Door in the Teaser Trailer & Poster for THE WRETCHED". Daily Dead. July 9, 2019. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
  10. "'The Infiltrators' And 'Deerskin' Set Virtual Premieres, 'The Wretched', 'Arkansas' And 'Driveways' Debut – Specialty Streaming Preview". May 1, 2020. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
  11. The Wretched (in Dutch), retrieved July 15, 2020
  12. "The Numbers – Weekend Box Office Chart for May 1, 2020". The Numbers.
  13. "Listen: Where Movie Theaters Go From Here". The Atlantic. May 9, 2020. The entirety of the weekend box office right now is like 20 drive-ins open around the country.
  14. "The Numbers – Weekend Box Office Chart for May 8, 2020". The Numbers. Retrieved May 11, 2020.
  15. "Horror Movie 'The Wretched' Leads Small North American Box Office as Drive-Ins Resurge". Variety. May 17, 2020. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  16. "The Numbers – Weekend Box Office Chart for May 22, 2020". The Numbers. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
  17. "The Numbers – Weekend Box Office Chart for May 29, 2020". The Numbers. Retrieved June 1, 2020.
  18. "Indie Horror Movie 'The Wretched' is Breaking Box Office Records". /Film. May 29, 2020. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  19. D'Alessandro, Anthony (June 3, 2020). "The 'Trolls World Tour' Has Held The No. 1 Spot At The Box Office Since Opening, Not 'The Wretched' – Update". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
  20. "Weekend 23 Box Office Chart for June 5-7, 2020". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved June 8, 2020.
  21. McNary, Dave (June 7, 2020). "The Wretched' Passes $1 Million Mark After Strong Drive-In Theater Buzz". Variety. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
  22. "Weekend 24 Box Office Chart for June 12–14, 2020". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
  23. "The Wretched (2020)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
  24. "The Wretched Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
  25. Catsoulis, Jeannette (April 30, 2020). "'The Wretched' Review: Don't Go Into the Basement". The New York Times. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  26. Berkshire, Geoff (May 1, 2020). "Review: 'The Wretched' is a nifty horror film with shades of both Spielberg and Hitchcock". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  27. Abrams, Simon. "The Wretched movie review & film summary (2020)". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
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