The Dark and the Wicked (2020)★★★☆☆

So, I didn’t quite know what I was getting into with this movie…but I certainly didn’t expect a repeat of the creepiest, most disturbing scene from yesterday’s film in this one. And right at the start, no less. And honestly, it’s not even the most disturbing scene from this movie.

(Spoilers ahead) I am not sure where I read this (maybe a Reddit thread somewhere?), but someone called this movie “relentlessly dark and depressing” and yeah, I see where they’re coming from. It starts out dark, it ends dark, and there’s truly no full explanation, no rhyme, no reason.

Since it starts in the middle of everything, there’s not a lot of character development. I don’t really care about Michael, or their parents, or the nurse…and I only care about Louise because she’s played by Marin Ireland, in the…I want to say third? film I’ve watched this year. And I like her a lot! Marin Ireland, that is. Louise I could take or leave.

There’s actually a lot about this movie that reminded me of The Witch. The (slow, slow) pacing, the creep factor, the farm setting, and I guess the goats? And I liked this movie about as much as that one, which is to say…it was ok.

If you really liked The Witch, or if you’re generally a bigger fan of slow-burn horror movies than I am, you might enjoy this one.