Last night I attended a midnight screening of The Wretched, an upcoming indie horror that was filmed locally. It was directed by a brothers-duo whose father Bart Pierce did special effects on The Evil Dead. The directors (who also made 2011's Deadheads) were in attendance, along with some of the cast and crew. It's set in a small lakeside town, the kind I grew up in, and concerns a teenage boy who suspects his next door neighbor is being possessed by some sort of witch who is abducting the local children and erasing them from everyone's memory. The movie is extremely well made and has a very unique atmosphere, considering they don't make a lot of movies around here. The cast is all really good, a standout being Zarah Mahler as Abbie. The writing and plot could have maybe been a bit stronger, but overall I thought it was a pretty well-done indie horror. It's also played straight, and is a major improvement over their previous movie Deadheads which I wasn't especially crazy about. The movie doesn't have distribution yet, and this was only the second public screening (the first being at Fantasia last month). I will keep an eye out for release info and share when I know more. More reviews: Bloody Disgusting DreadCentral 28 Days Later Analysis
IFC Midnight has acquired the rights to The Wretched, with plans to release it sometime in 2020. IFC Midnight typically means a Blu-ray release from Scream Factory.
