The Dark and The Wicked (2020) Movie Review - Slow Burn Brooding Horror

Welcome to Knockout Horror. Today we are taking a look at the supernatural horror movie The Dark and The Wicked. Written and directed by Brian Bertino of The Strangers fame. This is one of those movies you read positive reviews for and like the sound of. Settle down to watch before realising your opinion doesn’t quite seem to fit with other people’s. This film just didn’t get me in the way it got many others which was a surprise for me. I am a big fan of slow burn horror. It just never managed to capture me. With this in mind, let’s take a look.

The Dark and The Wicked

The Dark and the Wicked starts with a slow, almost overly considered, pace. Siblings Louise and Michael are returning to the family farm to help their mother care for their father who has become completely unresponsive. The pair are not greeted with enthusiasm by the family’s matriarch. She told them to stay away and it isn’t long before it starts seeming like they should have done exactly that.

A firm dedication to establishing mood is easy to appreciate. Dropped in during the middle of a traumatic story, Louise and Michael reflect how unaware we are of the situation. Their mother, seemingly, senses danger and they aren’t welcome at the ranch. Their efforts to help with their ailing father are too little, too late. There is a distinct sense that the viewer is supposed to feel as unwelcome as the siblings.

Incredibly Moody and Dark Horror

This is a movie that is unrelentingly moody. Scenes designed to shock come early in its runtime and the director is keen to draw your eyes to the background of every shot. There is a notable feeling of characters never actually being alone. The shadows providing more than just ambient mood setting. It’s all very well set up and fairly unsettling, obviously working as intended. Your eyes play tricks on you affording a sense of paranoia that helps you share in the character’s dead. If nothing else, The Dark and The Wicked keeps you busy; each shot is very carefully considered.

That is something that really stands out about this film, it looks every part the dark and dreary horror movie that it is. The consistent need to watch the background, coupled with exposed locations shrouded in dark, is very effective. There are few places that the characters go that seem safe. The sense of depression and foreboding is present throughout.

This is one of those movies that never lets up on its mood. It doesn’t want the viewer to feel comfortable. Each scene is attempting to bring a new sense of hopelessness designed purely so that you share in the feelings of Louise and Michael. We should suffer along with them. The combination of family trauma and “things in the shadows” works well and this is something The Dark and The Wicked deserves praise for. It also leads to something of a feeling of fatigue.

Relentless Scares For Better or For Worse

You will be one of two things here. Constantly unnerved or completely numb to it. The background watching, coupled with poorly developed scares, becomes tiring. This is a movie that spends much of its time going in circles. It’s like the director had a scare quota they had to hit and, by the halfway point, you may be wondering why nothing significant has happened. You will have been bombarded by setups to scares, most of which will have gone nowhere.

Loud ringing phones blare out to keep the viewer on edge. Dream sequences are predictable eventually giving way to waking hallucinations. The hallucinations hint at a trauma connected to the family’s situation. Is this grief? Is this a metaphor for living with a terminally ill person? Perhaps, but the execution is lacking leaving one wishing for more. Sinister characters appear tormenting the family and the viewer. You hope they offer deeper meaning but they don’t. The story is utterly bogged down by the director’s desire to unnerve.

A Thin Plot

The backbone of the film is fairly sound. The patriarch of a household has a terminal illness. His wife, fatigued from caring for him, is feeling hopeless. Something appears to be haunting the family. It is standard horror fare. Unfortunately, it never develops beyond that. There appears to be a message somewhere in here. Those of us who have lived with someone with a terminal illness may get it. It impacts everyone around them in some way or another. The problem is, the deeper meaning is never really elaborated on.

A diary is used to provide some degree of exposition; the mother’s words hint that something evil has invaded the house. The sense of tension builds only for it to evaporate. There is no pay off here, we never really learn more about what is happening. Plot elements are introduced without any real desire to build on them. The ultimate conclusion of the film is unsatisfying in its reality.

It really amounts to little more than set piece after set piece. Almost like a collection of horror concepts brought together with the loosest framework. Sure, the atmosphere keeps the viewer unsettled and they are, for the most part, well executed. But it doesn’t manage to distract from the fact that there just isn’t much to work with here. The movie gets bogged down by its need to constantly scare the viewer. The once intriguing premise suddenly feels like a frail setup full of plot holes.

Excellent Acting

Acting is fantastic. Marlin Ireland, as Louise, is particularly noteworthy. Michael Abbot is similarly decent as Louise’s brother, Michael. A couple of the roles here do feel a little hammy. There’s no real way you can play a creepy priest without it coming off a little comical. The same goes for another, similarly, creepy role. Still, this is a well acted film.

Direction and cinematography are decent. This is a dark and brooding film, well supported by the camerawork. Shots are nicely set up to keep you watching the background. Locations are dark and imposing, some of the scares are really well set up and there is some unnerving imagery here. It maintains its tense atmosphere almost throughout.

Should You Watch The Dark and The Wicked?

You should definitely watch The Dark and The Wicked. It is slow, brooding, and full of atmosphere. I feel as though it could easily get under certain viewer’s skin. Fans of Hereditary should love it. I have tried to reflect this in my score. For me, however, I just didn’t really enjoy it all that much.</p>

The plot is fairly thin on the ground and features a number of leaps of logic. The scares quickly become routine and tiresome due to overuse of jump scares and the poorly formed story leaves you wanting. I felt as though I was watching a collection of set pieces loosely tied together. Fantastic acting and excellent mood building bear mention. Some will love this film. For me, however, it didn’t quite land.

Our Scoring Philosophy: A Fair Fight

Horror is a genre that thrives thanks to indie film makers and low budget creators. At Knockout Horror, we firmly believe that every movie that we review deserves a fair fight. That's why we grade on a curve. Our star ratings are all about context, judging a film on what it achieves with the resources it has.

A 4-star rating for a scrappy indie horror made for $10,000 is a testament to its ingenuity and raw power. A 4-star rating for a $100 million blockbuster means it delivered on its epic promises. We don't compare them side-by-side; we celebrate success in every weight class, from the back-alley brawler to the heavyweight champion. Please keep this in mind when considering star ratings.

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