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LoganCrews (2861 KP) rated The Wretched (2019) in Movies

Mar 11, 2021 (Updated Jul 4, 2021)

Never unwatchable, but I'm getting tired of suggesting that there should be more horror in these horror movies, you feel? Far superior than your average thin-metaphor-instead-of-actual-story-with-next-to-no-scares A24 wannabe clone that I'm shocked we're still seeing in 2021. The lead guy is really excellent, it's aesthetically pleasing, and those practical effects are a riot and a half... but as you can probably guess it feels the need to get into the groove of "1. long stretch of familiar story 2. quick horror tease" on endless loop. Though thankfully that story is actually half-decent, if not ultimately enough to deliver on its sensational gold mine premise. I liked a whole lot about this but it just starts to drag its feet after so long, there's only a finite amount of times I can be walked through the same "nobody believes me..." setups these all have while there's literal witches, murderous parents, and neat character premises right there which never get built upon. Admirable for what it is, and thankfully it nixes the boring, faux-intellectual pretention these films love to flaunt - but still nearly misses out on working.

(EDIT: Sat on it for a while, can't help but give it a pass - perhaps given that I didn't have high expectations for it going in? It's just way too engaging for what it is to scold it *too* much).