The Wretched (2019)

Directors: Brett Pierce, Drew T. Pierce

Starring: John-Paul Howard, Piper Curda, Jamison Jones

A defiant teenage boy, struggling with his parents’ imminent divorce, faces off with a thousand year-old witch, who is living beneath the skin of and posing as the woman next door.

Although the film’s logline mentions a witch, this antagonist has all the traits of a demon, and I will therefore view and review ‘The Wretched’ as a possession movie.

With so many possession movies out there, I need a movie of the genre to have a quality that sets it apart from the pack. There are so many cliched possession movies out there that it becomes a blur when I try to think of some of them.

Think 2023’s ‘When Evil Lurks’. This film dared to go beyond familiar ground and presented us with an utterly disturbing possession movie unlike I’ve seen in a while. ‘The Wretched’, for me, was just another possession movie in the myriad of movies in the genre. Having said that, ‘The Wretched’ is a well made movie and it is a good one. I just don’t know if I will remember this in time, because there was nothing uniquely memorable here.

When a young woman, Abbie, hits a buck on her way home from the forest, she takes it home to slaughter and to “teach her son meat doesn’t necessarily come from the grocery store shelf”. That night a creature that crawled out of the buck consumes Abbie, and she becomes possessed. Well, maybe not possessed in the true sense; possibly the witch entered her body and now acted as Abbie – which is all the same as possession, anyway.

Our hero is teenager Ben, who lives with his Dad, Liam. Liam works at the marina, and offered Ben a job. Liam and Ben are Abbie’s neighbours, and soon Ben becomes suspicious of the goings-on at the house next door.

There’s some family drama and a few twists. There are some creepy and scary moments. But ultimately ‘The Wretched’ was just another possession movie for me. I also didn’t find Ben a strong enough character (or actor) as the protagonist. And then there’s Mallory who also works at the marina and sort of became an interest (I hesitate saying love interest) to Ben. I couldn’t really place this character, who also, wasn’t really a strong enough character.

The make-up and contortion effects were excellent, and definitely the film’s highlight. ‘The Wretched’ is still worth a watch if you’re into the genre, but for me this is going to be forgettable.

Would I watch it again? No.

Imaginary (2024)

Director: Jeff Wadlow

Starring: DeWanda Wise, Taegen Burns, Pyper Braun

A woman returns to her childhood home to discover that the imaginary friend she left behind is very real and unhappy that she abandoned him.

At first glance I assumed ‘Imaginary’ to be a ‘Child’s Play’ type of movie, but ‘Imaginary’ is unlike any other doll movie out there, and its not trying to be one. At first I though Chauncey the teddy bear was far too passive, and I didn’t like the voice either, but we soon discover there’s actually a good reason for this.

Jessica and her husband Max moves into Jessica’s childhood home together with Max’s daughters Alice and Taylor (who is as cliched a teenager with issues as they come in these types of movies). Whilst playing hide and seek, young Alice finds a teddy bear in the basement and this becomes her new best friend.

I found Max to be a dispensable character. In fact, not even halfway through the movie he leaves town only to return much later when he is needed – or was he really? I feel the movie would have done perfectly – if not better even – without this character, who contributed nothing to the film anyway. Jessica was by far the strongest character.

During the first half, we mostly follow Alice’s story with her newfound friend, but after the halfway mark there’s a big twist that steers the film in an entirely different direction. The attention then shifts to Jessica, who carries the rest of the film. The film takes many unexpected – and rather weird – turns, and there’s so much going on during the second half that I’m probably going to forget it in a month or so, if that long. In time, I believe, I will remember having seen the movie, but will forget how it plays out, and ends.

‘Imaginary’ gave me a sense of ‘Insidious’ meets ‘Poltergeist’ with a hint of ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’ thrown in there as well. Whichever way you look at it, ‘Imaginary’ is already one of the big talked about movies of 2024 despite receiving mostly negative reviews from critics. To some extent I agree with some of these reviews, but fact remains ‘Imaginary’ is indeed a very different movie. Give it a go; it might just be your next guilty pleasure.

Would I watch it again? I don’t think so.