Review: The Wretched

Is it truly the season of the witch? Me and Donovan are in agreement on that one.

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What witch-related songs do you have on your Halloween playlist? Here are the ones on mine*:

Season of the Witch - Donovan; Witches' Rave - Jeff Buckley; Witchy Woman - Eagles; I Put a Spell on You - Nina Simone; Black Magic Woman - Santana; Burn the Witch - Radiohead; Waking the Witch - Kate Bush; The Wind - PJ Harvey; Rosemary - Sierra Ferrell

Despite their healthy representation in my October listening rotation, witches have not historically been a favorite movie monster of mine. Lately, though, there have been a really strong slate of on-screen witch depictions that have them rocketing up my power rankings. While they may not be the "coolest" horror villains in terms of crazy kills or impressive costume design, they have the potential to be far scarier than most of their peers. Compelling witches combine powers of control and manipulation with a complete lack of moral compunction. In contrast to a classic slasher villain who ultimately exists to punish transgression, witches have a predilection for feeding on innocence, usually children. All of which leads to some truly terrifying scenarios that seem to be much worse than a simple stabbing or evisceration of a horny teenager. The Wretched does not represent the best of the recent crop of witchy cinema, or even the best witch movie I watched this year, but it is a pretty strong and impactful entry into the genre, nonetheless.

The story is set in an undisclosed waterfont town, where people rent houses for the summer and spend much of their time boating and swimming. Ben is a somewhat troubled teenager, spending some time with his father following his parent's divorce and an incident which involved him breaking into a house to steal prescription drugs. In true Rear Window / Fright Night fashion, he starts to notice some odd behavior with the family renting the house next door, and soon finds himself embroiled in an amateur investigation that has dangerous consequences. One thing I appreciate about the pacing of the plot is that the movie doesn't play too coy with us as an audience. We clicked the thumbnail, we understand what we signed up for, so no need to tiptoe around by just showing us blurry movement in the background and wierd symbols etched in trees for the first two acts (although there is plenty of that, as well). Early in the film, Mallory (the neighbor mom) and Dylan (the neighbor son) arrive home from a walk through the forest with a dead deer in the back of their truck. They have accidentally hit it in the road, and Mallory is unwilling to waste the bounty of fresh vennison by just leaving it there. Unfortunately for her and the rest of her family, the deer carcass is simply a vessel for a nature-based species of witch, and we are treated to a creepy scene where the witch "unzips" its false skin and emerges from the animal. From there, the film balances shrouding the witch in mystery while still giving us tangible interactions with her that don't patronize us as if we are still unsure of the type of movie we are watching. So, the film is able to eke out a clear explanation of the specific powers at play and the rules of engagement, so to speak, while also providing immediate and visceral scares. It's an effective formula.

Going back to that inciting scene with the deer, I find it fascinating how many horror films use dead animals to forshadow the violence to come. Off the top of my head, you have Ginger Snaps, Talk to Me, X, Get Out, and obviously Pet Sematary that all feature animal deaths as harbingers. If you're keeping track at home, that's a cat, several dogs, a cow, a deer, and a fucking kangaroo that meet their grisly ends before the first human character faces peril. I can imagine a number of reasons for this tactic. One might be to compare or contrast the violence to come, perhaps likening the films' victims to prey animals or livestock for the slaughter. Another could involve the concept of animal mutilation as a precursor to psychopathic violence aimed at humans. With The Wretched, I'm not sure either of those reasons fully apply, and it may have more to do with exhibiting the witch's dominion over nature and willingness to sacrifice any life in service of her own needs. It also demonstrates a particular power that she will later use Mallory and other characters. Regardless, its a specific trope that I'm going to be on the look out for now that I've started to notice how frequently its deployed.

I ended up enjoying The Wrestched quite a bit more than I expected to for a random, Covid-era movie on Netflix that I had never heard of before. One minor complaint I have is that Ben, the film's main protagonist, is not a character that I found easy to root for. I was pulling for nearly every endangered human in the movie, but struggled to muster too much concern for him, despite his ultimately altruistic pursuit of protecting children from evil. There was also a late-film twist that could have been handled better. I like the idea of the twist, but it would have been a lot more impactful if the film slowed down and really emphasized the reveal. Instead, I feel like it sort of rushed by and by the time it registered for me the characters had already moved on. Minor quibbles aside, I would certainly recommend this one for any other burgeoning witch enthusiasts out there.

*I disclosed the werewolf songs from my playlist a few years ago. Maybe next year I’ll hip you all to the surprisingly numerous slasher-related tunes in the mix.