The Wretched (2019)

The Wretched is the kind of lean, confidently made horror film that sneaks up on you—less about flashy mythology dumps and more about the slow realization that something is very wrong in a quiet, sunlit lakeside town. The Pierce brothers build dread with terrific atmosphere and shivery suspense, using unsettling camerawork and a pulse-raising score to make ordinary spaces—backyards, basements, tree lines—feel suddenly unsafe. It’s also satisfyingly tactile, with creepy practical effects that give the evil a nasty, physical presence instead of hiding everything in darkness. If you’re looking for elevated, character-first horror you may find it more straightforward than that, but if you want a well-crafted, mean little mystery-thriller with real chills and a steady escalation, this one delivers.

The Wretched is aiming for a slick, teen-focused creature-feature that mixes suburban divorce angst with an old-school “witch in the woods” mystery, and it does deliver some gnarly body-horror moments and a few creepy images. The problem is the storytelling leans heavily on familiar beats, so if you’ve seen a handful of modern folk-horror thrillers, you’ll likely predict where it’s going long before it gets there. Characters often feel like they exist to move the plot along rather than to earn the emotional weight the movie keeps reaching for, which can make the scares land softer than they should. If you want straightforward, moderately gory horror with a brisk pace, it’s a decent time; if you’re after surprising twists, deep characterization, or a genuinely unsettling slow burn, this probably won’t satisfy.