The Dark and the Wicked

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The Dark and the Wicked
The Dark and the Wicked.jpg
Film poster
Directed byBryan Bertino
Written byBryan Bertino
Produced by
  • Bryan Bertino
  • Adrienne Biddle
  • Sonny Mallhi
  • Kevin Matusow
Starring
CinematographyTristan Nyby
Edited by
  • William Boodell
  • Zachary Weintraub
Music byTom Schraeder
Production
companies
  • Unbroken Pictures
  • The Traveling Picture Show Company
  • Inwood Road Films
Distributed byRLJE Films
Release dates
  • August 28, 2020 (2020-08-28) (Fantasia)
  • November 6, 2020 (2020-11-06) (United States)
Running time
93 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$422,174[2][3]

The Dark and the Wicked is a 2020 American horror film written and directed by Bryan Bertino. It stars Marin Ireland, Michael Abbott Jr. and Xander Berkeley.

The film had its world premiere at the Fantasia International Film Festival on August 28, 2020. It was released on November 6, 2020, by RLJE Films.

Plot[]

Louise and Michael are siblings who are brought back to the family farm in Texas when their father's illness, which keeps him bedridden and uncommunicative, cared for by his wife and a nurse, worsens. Their mother seems disturbed and expresses a desire for the children to leave. At night, she hangs herself in the barn after cutting off her own fingers in the kitchen.

As time goes on, Louise and Michael start to understand what happened to their mother. The nurse confides in them that she heard her whispering to the father, but it seemed as if she was speaking not to him, but some other presence. Michael finds their mother's diary, which describes her fears of an unnamed presence trying to take the soul of her husband. The presence makes itself known to the siblings in increasingly terrifying and deadly ways, ultimately pushing Michael to suicide after seeing his wife and daughters killed by the entity. Louise, traumatized by repeated interactions with the demonic presence, including the suicide of the nurse, remains with her father at the farm. As he dies, he is possessed by the presence, which in turn attacks Louise shortly after.

Cast[]

Release[]

The film had its world premiere at the Fantasia International Film Festival on August 28, 2020.[4][5] RLJE Films had acquired distribution rights to the film and set it for a November 6, 2020 theatrical release.[6] It was originally scheduled to have its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival in April 2020, however, the festival was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[7][8]

Reception[]

Box office[]

The film earned $410,787 at the global box office.[2]

Critical response[]

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 91% based on 107 critic reviews, with an average rating of 7.5/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "The Dark and the Wicked delivers on its title with an unsettling horror story whose deep dread and bleak outlook further compound its effective jolts."[9] Metacritic reports a score of 72 out of 100 based on 14 critic reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[10]

Cath Clarke of The Guardian gave the film a score of 3 out of 5 stars, describing it as "a nastily effective, lo-fi, psychological haunted house horror", and added: "There is possibly not a single scary moment here that will be new to horror fans, but Bertino directs with such technical flair that I yelped at most of them – and half-missed the others, eyes squeezed tight shut."[11] Matt Zoller Seitz of RogerEbert.com gave the film a score of 3 out of 4 stars, writing that it "has enough jump scares to satisfy the "Yes, but it is scary?" contingent of horror fans. But for the most part, this film ... focuses on atmosphere and creeping dread, channeling 20th century classics like Don't Look Now, The Tenant, the original Alien and The Sixth Sense."[12]

Kate Erbland of IndieWire was more critical of the film, giving it a grade of C. She praised Ireland's performance, but wrote that the film "despite a strong start ... never coalesces into anything more than a collection of chilling images and a paper-thin logic."[13]

References[]

  1. ^ "The Dark and the Wicked". Tribeca Film Festival. Retrieved August 25, 2020.
  2. ^ a b "The Dark and the Wicked". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
  3. ^ "The Dark and the Wicked". The Numbers. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
  4. ^ "The Dark and the Wicked". Fantasia International Film Festival. Retrieved August 25, 2020.
  5. ^ Hazelton, John (July 9, 2020). "Fantasia festival adds 30 titles including eight world premieres". Screen International. Retrieved August 25, 2020.
  6. ^ Del Rasio, Alexandria (August 25, 2020). "'The Dark And The Wicked': RLJE Films, Shudder Acquire Bryan Bertino's Family Horror Film". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 25, 2020.
  7. ^ Goldsmith, Jill (March 3, 2020). "Tribeca Sets Feature Lineup Of Films For 2020 Fest". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 25, 2020.
  8. ^ Beresford, Tribly; Lewis, Hilary (March 12, 2020). "Tribeca Film Festival Postponed Amid Coronavirus Fears". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 25, 2020.
  9. ^ "The Dark and the Wicked (2020)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved October 10, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  10. ^ "The Dark and the Wicked Reviews". Metacritic. Red Ventures. Retrieved December 15, 2020.
  11. ^ Clarke, Cath (February 24, 2021). "The Dark and the Wicked review – devilishly directed farmhouse horror". The Guardian. Retrieved July 27, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  12. ^ Seitz, Matt Zoller (November 6, 2020). "The Dark and the Wicked movie review (2020) | Roger Ebert". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved July 27, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  13. ^ Erbland, Kate (August 29, 2020). "'The Dark and the Wicked' Review: Marin Ireland Gives Her All to a Grim Possession Tale". IndieWire. Retrieved July 27, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)

External links[]

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