THE WRETCHED

 17-year old Vicodin ex-junkie Ben (John Paul-Howard) is visiting his estranged father for the summer. While working for his dad at the dock, Ben meets spunky, cute Mallory (Piper Curda) and a friendship is immediately formed. All is not fun in the sun, as Ben begins to suspect all is not right with the mom next door. As kids in the neighborhood start to vanish and be forgotten by their families, Ben investigates and finds himself in the fight for his life with an evil witch.

The Wretched, if it had a rating, would likely be an R. There is some blood and gore (There's not much, but it's there), and there's some light body horror sprinkled in as well. That said, the horror aspect is decent but not the strongest part of the film.

For myself, I was most attracted to the light, breezy, fun tone that The Wretched has for most of its first two acts (It definitely reminded me of Disturbia in its tone, but better). Our hero, Ben, is very likable and relatable (Imo actor John-Paul Howard is the best part of the film). It's also nice that The Wretched doesn't shy away from it's more grotesque moments. There are some parts near the end that don't exactly feel organic, and there's a nice twist that isn't needed but is appreciated. The implications of the ending aren't really explained, and there are some plot holes/conveniences that occur. The design of the witch is also quite cool.

The Pierce Brothers write and direct, and do a fine job at both. The script is pretty good and a little snappy at times, and the film itself flows pretty well. I'm looking forward to whatever they choose to do next.

The Wretched is a lot of fun, and manages to be creepy, a little disturbing and gross, but is never too scary. If I had kids, I could see myself using this as a decent gateway into horror. In the end, The Wretched is a very entertaining, fun film that makes for an easy recommendation.

3.5 STARS