Review #158: The Dark and the Wicked (2020)

This review was originally written in 2022.

Gabe's 100 Bucket List Horror Films Review #13 - The Dark and the Wicked (2020)

This is one of those movies that I never would have watched in a million years if it weren't recommended to me by this bucket list; the premise is fairly generic and there aren't any actors in it that I'm clambering to see. That being said, it was quite an experience, and I'm glad I watched it!

The first thing I should probably get right out there is that this film is hard to watch. It's an incredibly slow burn (I feel like you could sum up most of the events of this entire story in three or four sentences), and it spends the entirety of its runtime steadily building up a mounting sense of impending dread. The entire time the film is playing, you know SOMETHING is coming. At various points, something DOES come, but you know that IT is still on its way. Where most films will break up the tension with some comic relief, or some lighthearted subplots or a friendly character you're happy to see, this film does NOT. There is no comic relief, no moments of levity, no anything except that steadily growing dread. Every time a character goes from one location to another, you know it's because something even worse is going to happen to them when they get there. And I kid you not, the dread simply doesn't let up, at all. You can breathe easy once the credits roll.

In some ways, that's a good thing. This movie takes itself very seriously and intends to deliver you a tense, dark, and creepy experience. But in other ways, it's not a good thing. I watch horror films not only for the tension, the creepiness, but also because (like most films) I expect to have some FUN, too. Upgrade is my favorite film from this bucket list so far, and it had TONS of moments of levity. Tons of jaw-dropping excitement. Cabin in the Woods is another great one- that movie has tons of laughs and downtime too. The Dark and the Wicked, though, just doesn't have any of that. If you want a solid 95-minute block of dread, then this is the film for you! Unfortunately I'm not usually looking for that.

This is also the kind of movie that seemed like it had a LOT more going on behind the scenes than ended up on the screen. I'm not exaggerating when I say I have no clue what was going on in this movie- why was the family cursed? Was there a way out of it? What was the deal with the nurse? (Was she responsible for bringing the curse? Or was she exactly what she appeared to be for 95% of the film, and if so, what the heck was going on in her last scene?) Who was that priest and what in the world was his deal? (What was with that phone call where he seemed to not know any of the characters? What was meant by his claim that he had a dead daughter with the same name and similar voice to the protagonist? Was that some kind of subplot that got cut or am I supposed to fill in the blanks myself?) There's so much in this film that seems like it's barely hinted at yet seems way too deliberate to not be something the writer had fleshed-out in their head. But unfortunately, none of that ends up on the screen, so you either have to give the filmmakers tons of (potentially undue) credit, or you have to admit that the movie as a whole is FULL of red herrings that don't go anywhere. I guess the movie itself is fine as it is, but there are SO MANY unanswered questions at the end that I feel would have made the movie so much more meaningful if they were answered!

I'm really conflicted about whether I liked or disliked this film, or even whether I would be willing to watch it again. But there is quite a bit of implied harm to animals in this one, so I think I'll knock it a bit for that.

Overall Rating: 5/10 Unexpected Shower Guests

Unexpected IMDB Connection: The Priest character was played by Xander Berkeley, who has TONS of IMDB credits, including the foster dad in Terminator 2 who gets stabbed while drinking from the milk carton!