The Wretched
IFC Films | Release Date (Streaming): May 1, 2020 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
61
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 15 Critic Reviews
Positive:
9
Mixed:
5
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
78
Austin ChronicleRichard WhittakerMay 4, 2020
The Wretched may be guilty of stealing shamelessly from "Rear Window," "Disturbia," and the best summercamp slasher and small-town supernatural chillers, but none of those were exactly raw innovators, either. Read full review
70
IGNMatt FowlerMay 6, 2020
The Wretched's endeavor to meld a junior mystery with some pretty extreme horror works more than it doesn't, but ultimately neither side of this narrative coin gets explored as much as it should. Despite this, as a well shot and admirably executed thriller, it's a good entry into the catalogue of on-the-cheap scares. Read full review
75
IndieWireEric KohnMay 5, 2020
The Wretched doesn’t reinvent the rules, but it has a timeliness to it that’s hard to shake. There’s not quite enough substance here to launch a franchise, but with a story so attuned to perils of a neglected world, it doesn’t need a sequel when we’re living in it every day. Read full review
60
Los Angeles TimesGeoff BerkshireApr 30, 2020
What the Pierce brothers lack in flavorful storytelling or compelling characters, they almost entirely make up for in good old-fashioned atmosphere and suspense. The Wretched rarely surprises, but it’s well-crafted enough to get under your skin anyway, with an able assist from the creepy camerawork of cinematographer Conor Murphy and unsettling score by Devin Burrows. Read full review
50
Movie NationRoger MooreApr 24, 2020
The Wretched is a polished reasonably tight tale of a witch infestation coming to rural, lakeside Michigan, and the teenage boy who screams “Why won’t anybody BELIEVE me?” Read full review
79
Paste MagazineAndrew CrumpMay 7, 2020
It’s an honest to goodness real movie with a mind of its own; practical FX work and creature design help, too, as essential to what distinguishes The Wretched from its influences as the Pierce brothers’ writing. Read full review
38
RogerEbert.comSimon AbramsMay 1, 2020
Unlike “Stranger Things,” The Wretched is a little too cute about teen angst, and not light enough on its feet to make you want to root for its ostensibly typical adolescent. Read full review
50
Slant MagazineChuck BowenApr 28, 2020
The filmmakers don’t examine the psychological terror, the bitterness, and lust that gave rise to many of the works they cherish. Read full review
67
The A.V. ClubA.A. Dowd May 4, 2020
A potboiler that doesn’t break any molds or reinvent any wheels. Still, there’s something to be said for setting modest goals and achieving them; if this really was some lost relic of the VHS era, it’d pass the blind rental test: There is a witch, and she’s as creepy as the box art would surely promise. Read full review
50
The Associated PressMark KennedyApr 30, 2020
The editing is more than a little rough and the plot gets a little stretched, but just as things start to get seriously hairy, the Pierce brothers suddenly have something really interesting to say about erasure and how families can abandon their histories. Read full review
40
The GuardianPeter BradshawMay 7, 2020
The narrative focus is frustratingly split between Ben’s family and Abbie’s, and the result is a non-frightening muddle. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterDavid RooneyApr 21, 2020
There's enough solid internal logic mixed in with the murky ambiguities to keep The Wretched far more compelling than its generic title might suggest. The filmmakers are working to a formula, but they definitely have fun with it, which is contagious. Read full review
70
The New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisApr 30, 2020
Blessed with shivery setups and freaky effects — here, skin-crawling is literal — The Wretched transforms common familial anxieties into flesh, albeit crepey and creeping. Read full review
67
The PlaylistAsher LubertoMay 1, 2020
Genre buffs are probably more interested in witch’s kidnapping children than Ben’s family divorce. But the Pierce’s deliver on both fronts, so much so that you may never walk into a basement again. Read full review
70
VarietyDennis HarveyApr 28, 2020
The film successfully mixes together a lot of things, from the waterfront tourist-town setting of “Jaws” to a general teen fantasy-adventure feel that tempers (without weakening) horror content variably redolent of “It,” “Fright Night” and myriad other predecessors. If originality isn’t a strong suit here, the film’s conviction and polish make that a minor sin. Read full review
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