The Wicked

DVD Review: "The Wicked"
Every town in America has their version of "The Wicked." They're the weird person, house, or other location kids whisper about amongst themselves in fear and parents use to threaten their children with. It's the old house on the hill everyone walks faster by on the way home from school or the old man or woman we're told not to talk to.

Director Peter Winther and writer Michael Vickerman put together a fun little indie film that is only hindered by shoddy CGI and a wavering sense of who it was made for. "The Wicked" is an extended episode of R.L. Stine's "The Haunting Hour" until we get one or two sequences of sexuality and dialogue littered with bad language. Movies like this always leave me shaking my head in wonder. If they tone down those elements or omit them, they would have a PG-13 film that more people could enjoy.

The title character (Cassie Keller) would make any person feel anxious or frightened. She's a witch who maintains her beauty through devouring...

Creepy and fun
Technically, Wicked is not a good movie. The acting is weak, the plot predictable and the story is derivative. Nevertheless, I enjoyed it. There are a few enjoyable twists with how a couple of the characters play out - still predictable but cathartic.

I watched this movie alone due to my wife not being a fan of horror, but I expect this would be more fun to watch with friends with copious amounts of popcorn. It's creepy but most probably won't lose sleep over it.

One review mentioned that the movie took awhile to really get started. I have to agree. If the writer had done a better job of tying some of the back story elements with the main thread it would have been a better movie. In this case, most of what occurs in the first half could have been compressed into dialogue between the characters.

We have to be a bit forgiving when it comes to horror movies because there is not much to choose from unless you are a fan of torture movies like Saw or Hostel...

Not to shabby
Overall not a bad flick. Was it a little corny at times? Yes. Could they have named the witch something other than "the Wicked"? Definitely. It's a B movie, as in low budget. Don't go in with lofty expectations and you wont be disappointed. The reality is if you want to watch a neat movie with a decent plot (so rare these days) check this movie out. If you think you are the second coming of Rodger Ebert I would avoid this film.

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