Writer & Director
The Pierce Brothers

Starring
John-Paul Howard, Zarah Mahler, Piper Curda, Jamison Jones, Kevin Bigley and Azie Tesfai

A strange record has been achieved by horror film, The Wretched. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic limiting the amount of movies showing in cinemas, The Wretched became the first film since 2009’s Avatar to top the box office for six consecutive weekends in the US. Despite its reign atop the box office, its takings tally up to just $1.6 Million.

17 year-old Ben (John-Paul Howard) arrives by bus to stay with his father, Liam (Jamison Jones) whom he is visiting for the summer. Soon, he picks up some work at the local marina where he meets Mallory (Piper Curda), who shows interest in him. Ben, who is proving to be quite the curious type, is distracted by the increasingly disturbing behaviour of Abbie (Zarah Mahler), a neighbour he is spying on. While researching the internet, Ben makes a horrifying discovery that ends up embroiling his father and Mallory, and leads to him being convinced that Abbie is a witch.

The Wretched stands as the biggest shot yet for The Pierce Brothers to make their mark in the movie business. As writers, their over-ambition results in many flaws in the screenplay, leaving plenty of room for improvement. But they certainly fare better in the directing department as this horror film looks and sounds the goods, especially when considering its smaller budget.

The first indication of the writing becoming slack arrives during what is otherwise an impressively handled scene captured mostly via a baby monitor. Nevertheless, all it takes is a minor doubt given here and another one thrown there to demonstrate that proceedings in The Wretched are going in favour of upping the creepiness and lowering the plausibility. We see this sort of thing happen a lot in horror movies. One particular establishment to eventuate post the aforementioned scene (which I won’t mention here) can only be perceived as a clear plot hole until later revelations do a rough patch-up job. If these writing blemishes ended there, I would still grant The Wretched a pass mark. As I said, the production is well-made and its creepiness works.

Unfortunately, an ill-conceived further twist only adds to its woes and opportunities created by The Pierce Brothers that could’ve given their horror story psychological and dramatic depth have been disappointingly overlooked. Ben’s parents are in the middle of a divorce, which is certainly causing some friction between him and his father. Especially when Ben sees his Dad with a new woman, Sara (Azie Tesfai). This component of the plot, and another set 35 years from the present timeline to commence this film, are ultimately heavily under-utilised and could have resulted with The Pierce Brothers making a statement rather than just a name for themselves.

2 ½ stars

Viewer Discretion
MA15+ (Strong themes and violence)

Trailer
The Wretched

Moviedoc thanks Rialto Distribution and Annette Smith: Ned & Co Marketing and Publicity for providing the screener link to watch and review this film.

The Wretched is screening in Foxtel Store until July 18, is now showing in selected cinemas across Australia and will be available to rent via Google Play, Fetch TV, Microsoft and Apple TV from September 2.

Review by Leigh for Moviedoc
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