Watch The Wicked For Free

Highly Overrated But Still Good

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

"The Wicked" is a slightly different take on the well worn theme of a group of American teens visiting a haunted house; we have skepticism, sexual tension and of course recalcitrance. It begins fairly dynamically with a young girl snatched from her bedroom by a supernatural presence, but loses its way a bit. The girl is presumed dead, but there is no presumed about the next victim, who meets a grisly end. So what is going on here?The house in the woods is inhabited by a witch, a hideous hag, but she doesn't intend to stay hideous for much longer, though in order to restore herself to her former glory, she must consume a young girl for youth, a male teen or two for strength, and a mature teen for beauty. Or something like that. Our intrepid adventurers are aware of this from the word go because it is a local legend. The real problem with this witch is that she is so powerful, how can they possible combat her? The answer is of course with magic of their own. And wouldn't you know it? - one of their number is the grandson of a recently deceased local magician from whom he has learned a trick or two.

This movie centers on an old town ghost story that the abandoned house in the woods is occupied by the spirit of a witch. The local kids use it as a dare to go out there and break the windows which is told will invoke the witch's spirit. When a young girl named Amanda (Caitlin Carmichael) disappears after doing just that, the locals blame it on the legend of the witch. This doesn't stop Zach (Deeley) from taking his friends out to the site to party, have sex and then of course break the windows of the house. Before you can say "eye of newt" the group is being captured and killed by the CGI witch as they try to escape and save the imprisoned Amanda. The by-the-numbers story and cardboard characters don't help this pretty predictable movie that makes it tough to find a character to side with. The closest we come to is Zach's younger brother Max played by Devon Werkheiser and his spunky tomboy girlfriend played by talented actress Diana Hopper. The mostly CGI witch doesn't do much in the way of getting scares, but the movie does paint the screen red at times with the demise of a few characters. It just seems like writer Michael Vickerman should have written one more draft of this script to iron out the bumps and a shorter running time could have turned this into a nice B flick to enjoy. The movie is well made and certainly watchable, but the undercooked script and story drain it from truly being effective.

An odd opening sequence sets the tone for this yawn of a film when a child is seemingly sucked into another dimension, out the window, or into space (or something or other) and the mother looks perplexed, finally concerned enough to sort of scream. Then half of the $800,000 budget is displayed in some pretty creative graphics and photo montages. After that, it's all down hill fast, with a cast of obnoxious young characters played by obnoxious talentless actors doing what most of these types do during these kind of horror movies. There's running, agitation, and continued sub-par screaming. The story makes little sense if any and the dialog is tedious, often being completely unrelated to whatever the plot is and seemingly from another movie about teenage angst. Actually, some of these characters might be in their 20's or 30's and just behave like adolescents. That applies to the characters in their 40's - 80's as well. None of them have a lick of sense and that just ratchets-up the frustration level. One would hope for unrelenting suspense yet all that's unrelenting is the sleep-inducing imagery, the irritating conversations, and the film's refusal to end.

I can't think of a many horror movies that feature a witch as the villain. This one does and the witch is pretty good. I don't see where the movie has a rating. I don't recall any drinking or drug use. Had they cut back on the F word, I bet this movie would have earned a PG-13 rating. The gore isn't direct. This isn't a slasher flicker. I don't recall any direct nudity.Are there holes in the storyline? Sure, like there are in most B-movies. Is there some remarkably horrible acting at times? As others have said, pretty much anytime the deputies are on screen. Are there one or two decent performances? I thought Diana Hopper as Sammy was a joy and hope to see her in more things. Jess Adams as Julie does a nice job. Adams is the pretty girl and looks to me as a hot mix of Megan Fox and Liv Tyler.As with any B-movie, you'll howl at some of the plot holes and stupid mistakes made by characters at times. To me, that's part of the fun. Unlike a lot of b-movies, this one has a pretty decent soundtrack.