Quartile rating: 6/10 · 1 rating
A rebellious teenage boy, struggling with his parents' imminent divorce, encounters a terrifying evil after his next-door neighbor becomes possessed by an ancient witch that feasts on children.
The Wretched hits a solid stride with its folk-horror suburban setup and an intriguing memory-manipulation gimmick that gives it some genuine identity. The witch creature design and woodsy atmosphere are competently executed on a low budget, lending the cinematography a reasonable sense of dread. However, the plot leans heavily on familiar coming-of-age teen-in-peril scaffolding, and the characters are thinly drawn, with acting performances that rarely elevate the material beyond serviceable. The ending attempts a twist that feels more frustrating than earned, undermining the tension built earlier. Novelty earns a modest bump for the amnesia/memory-erasure mechanic, which is a genuinely clever wrinkle in an otherwise well-trodden witch-horror subgenre.