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The Wicked (2013)
Directed
by Peter Winther
The Wicked is a
straight to DVD indie horror movie that pits a handful of late teens
against the terrible powers of a witch. The story is set in the small
US town of Summerville, where stories of the witch—known locally as
"The Wicked"—have been passed down through the generations. The rest of
her coven were burned by witch hunters, but she survived by eating
children; the younger ones help sustain her youth and the
older ones provide her with strength. Shades of Hansel and
Gretel? Perhaps, but The
Wicked is a much darker tale.
The
Wicked is believed to inhabit an old deserted house out in the middle
of the woods and the local kids have a tradition of sneaking out to the
woods and throwing stones at it. If the stone hits the house they are
safe, but if they should break a window "the Wicked will get them". The
movie begins by showing a very scared little girl. Her name is Amanda,
she is tucked up in bed and clinging to her teddy bear for dear life.
She and her friend sneaked out to the woods and threw stones at the
house. Guess which one had a smashing time. If you guessed Amanda you
guessed right and she is terrified. Her mom tries to calm her down of
course, and reassures her there is nothing to worry about, but she is
wrong because invisible forces throw open the bedroom window and a
couple of scenes later Amanda's mother is putting up missing posters.
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The main
characters in the movie are, brothers, Zach and Max Reese (Justin
Deeley and Devon Werkheiser) and their friends. The boys will be home
alone for the weekend because their father has to go away on business,
but he is worried about leaving his sons when a neighbour's child
(Amanda) has just been abducted. Zach is the eldest and his father
instructs him to stay home at all times and keep an eye on his brother.
Zach agrees to do so, but finds it hard to keep his promise when his
friends Carter (Chase Maser) and Tracy (Jackelyn Gauci) invite him to
go on a camping trip. Zach wants to go, but remains true to his
responsibilities until Carter tells him the new girl in town, Julie
(Jess Adams), will be going on the trip and is keen to get to know him
better. Julie is extremely easy on the eye, and Zach is only human, so
the double date under canvas is pretty much a done deal.
Max finds
out about all of this from his best friend Sammy (Diana Hopper), who
just happened to be lurking in the bushes during the planning of the
camping trip. Sammy is the local tom-boy, has an alcoholic mother, and
is in constant trouble with the local police. She is also one of the
strongest characters in the movie, so right from the start it is easy
to predict that she and Max will probably survive their encounter with
the Wicked. It is also pretty easy to assume Carter and Tracy will end
up becoming witch bait sooner rather than later.
Max isn't
happy about being deserted for the weekend, so he and Sammy decide to
follow the others out to the woods. So while Zach and his friends
travel by car, Max and Sammy take a cross country shortcut on their
bikes and when they arrive at the witch's house the first thing they do
is throw a couple of stones and one of them breaks a window. Zach and
his gang have already been there and shattered some glass as well, so
it looks like the Wicked is going to have a busy night.
The most
unbelievable thing about this movie? The police officers who apparently
smoke dope on duty and seem quite at ease with calling people "shit
smear" and telling them to "shut your smelly dick hole". If real police
officers behaved like these guys the US of A would be in serious
trouble, but it's all good fun and it's hard not to smile at some of
the scenes that involve a police presence. The way Sammy and Officer
Karl Bryant acknowledge each other with a single raised finger is
especially amusing and Sammy is also responsible for one of the most
memorable lines in the movie: "They think I'm a lesbian just because I
don’t wear Prada or get a tit job." "Are you?" Max asks. Apparently she
is not and Max finds this out for himself, later in the movie, when his
friend lets her hair down and challenges him to a game of tonsil hockey.
The Wicked may make
some viewers jump in their seat from time to time, but it is unlikely
to necessitate the need to sleep with the light on. Having said that,
the scenes where the Wicked is putting her victims through a man-size
mincer are rather icky; so it’s not exactly a popcorn-friendly movie,
especially when she starts to chow down on bowls of intestines, but
these scenes are few and far between and will seem pretty tame to
anyone who is used to watching movies like Wrong Turn and House of 1000 Corpses.
The
Wicked is a little predictable in places, but the special
effects are more than adequate, the script is not too shabby, and the
cast are surprisingly capable. The
Wicked probably isn't a movie that will compel viewers to
watch it again and again, but neither is it likely to cause too many
people to eject the disc in disgust before the end of the movie. It's
definitely one of the better indies and has a lot more going for it
than some Hollywood produced horror flicks.
Rating:
4 out of 5.
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
Runtime 100 mins
Certificate: 18
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