The Dark and the Wicked

RLJE Films | Release Date: November 6, 2020

6.1	USER SCORE Generally favorable reviews based on 48 Ratings

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bertobellamyNov 22, 2020

'The Dark and the Wicked' has a promising start, but it's not long before the plot goes into generic territory. Despite some good acting, especially that of Marin Ireland, director and writer Bryan Bertino cannot provide a context to his'The Dark and the Wicked' has a promising start, but it's not long before the plot goes into generic territory. Despite some good acting, especially that of Marin Ireland, director and writer Bryan Bertino cannot provide a context to his story. After the credits roll, it's like a demon decided to terrorize a family at random. There's some family conflict in there, but it's not developed as expected.… Expand

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Lambo442Nov 13, 2020

Yet another horror being spoiled by the characters not acting in believable ways. Whether it's Hush, Alone, the Invisible Man, it's always the same. Firstly, both of them are seeing apparitions and not only do they hide it from each other butYet another horror being spoiled by the characters not acting in believable ways. Whether it's Hush, Alone, the Invisible Man, it's always the same. Firstly, both of them are seeing apparitions and not only do they hide it from each other but they treat the priest like he's a con man, without a moment's hesitation, given what they've seen. Her brother decides to go and tend to goats rather than stay with his traumatised sister, when it's been established that the devil himself is lurking around. But he still has to work apparently. It's ok, he has a pen knife. At this point pure survival would have taken over and you'd have left your dad and vacated the property.
The film blatantly copies other successful horrors, such as It Follows, Hereditary and insidious. The acting is fine, the pacing is good and the imagery is disturbing, but some of the ways is copies these films is unforgivable. At one point his mum walks towards him naked, which is so blatantly ripped from It Follows. I stopped watching at this point. The person in a coma stalked by a demon was also done in Insidious. I hope this director keeps making horrors though. His next one could be a masterpiece. The idea of it being the devil coming for them was nice and the atmosphere was spot on.… Expand

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mbeckfordNov 8, 2020

I was excited to see Bryan Bertino's latest offering. "The Strangers" was an interesting classic introducing masked home invaders in the most unsettling of ways. "The Monster" was a better-than-expected as an estranged mother and daughter areI was excited to see Bryan Bertino's latest offering. "The Strangers" was an interesting classic introducing masked home invaders in the most unsettling of ways. "The Monster" was a better-than-expected as an estranged mother and daughter are stranded in their car in the woods while being stalked by a monster. "Wicked's" Rotten Tomatoes/Metacritic score was a solid (90%/72) and user reviews were ok (3.2 on IMDB). But for me, it fell completely flat as I kept waiting for something to connect the disparate disturbing scenes and story-line together. Many movies try to tease the viewer with unreliable narrators, leaving them to ponder whether what is happening is supernatural or all in the characters head. "The Babadook," "Black Swan," and "The Lighthouse" are examples of movies that do this right. Unfortunately, this doesn't. It's clearly something supernatural that is haunting everybody but beyond some gory and violent scenes (all of which are well done), the movie is just too ambiguous in a very frustrating way.… Expand

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JLuis_001Nov 15, 2020

It remains intriguing enough for most of its short length and is quite disturbing at times, but fails to fully hold its own, and loses its edge and force in its third act, which tops off with its pathetic ending.

It lost a lot of points for that.

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bjwilsNov 14, 2020

While I found myself disturbed and scared at quite a few moments, that’s all the film really has to offer. I don’t feel invested into any of the characters, or their relationships. It feels very repetitive and lacking much (if any) narrativeWhile I found myself disturbed and scared at quite a few moments, that’s all the film really has to offer. I don’t feel invested into any of the characters, or their relationships. It feels very repetitive and lacking much (if any) narrative moment other than the next scare. There is definitely some great tone and it’s visually sound, but needed some refining in the screenplay department to build on the concept, add in some origins, refine the emotional drama and the depth of the family relationships.… Expand

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Soleil83Feb 2, 2021

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Depicting terrible things happening to people is a necessary part of horror. Bad things happening to people is not, in and of itself, horror. This movie doesn’t know the difference. In this film, a series of unfortunate events, both real and imagined, torment a family and their neighbors. Also, a phone rings incessantly. A brother and sister are visiting their dying father and a checklist of horror tropes ensues. Jump scares that turned out to be dreams/ hallucinations - check. Animals sensing an evil entity and eventually being killed by it - check. People staying in an obviously haunted house long past the point where any reasonable person would have left - check (although they offer a flimsy excuse about not being able to move the dad). In the end, the characters suffer and die and there is no entertainment value in any of it. Times have been hard for a year now, and there is a lot of real life suffering in our faces every day. Maybe movie makers can pivot away from the misery porn and give us a break.… Expand

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