The Wretched is a 2019 American supernatural horror film written and directed by the Pierce Brothers. It stars John-Paul Howard, Piper Curda, Zarah Mahler, Kevin Bigley, Gabriela Quezada Bloomgarden, Richard Ellis, Blane Crockarell, Jamison Jones, and Azie Tesfai. The film follows a defiant teenage boy who faces off with an evil witch posing as the neighbor next door.
The Wretched had its world premiere at the Fantasia International Film Festival on July 19, 2019, and was released in drive-in theaters and through Premium VOD on May 1, 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic limiting the amount of films in theaters, it became the first film since Avatar (2009) to top the box office for six consecutive weekends.
Plot
In 1985, Megan arrives at the home of the Gambels to babysit their daughter, Ashley. As she enters the basement, she finds Ashley being eaten by an inhuman creature in the form of Mrs. Gambel. Terrified, she attempts to escape, but Mr. Gambel shuts the door on her, trapping her down there with the creature. A strange sign is then shown to be etched on the door.
In the present, 17-year-old Ben Shaw comes to live with his father, Liam, as his parents are in the middle of a divorce. Liam gives Ben a job working at the marina, where he befriends a fellow employee named Mallory. During his shift, he notices Liam kissing his co-worker, Sara, and gets angry. During a hike in the woods, Dillon, the son of Liam's neighbor, Abbie, finds a tree with the same symbol seen as that at the Gambel house. He hears what sounds like Abbie's voice coming from the tree, calling to him before the real Abbie appears behind him. As they return home, they hit a buck, and Abbie decides to bring it home with them. When Abbie attempts to gut it, putrid, black entrails spill out. Later that night, something crawls out of the buck's corpse.
Ben investigates strange noises he hears on the roof. He follows the sounds to Abbie's house, but discovers it was only a raccoon. He then catches a glimpse of a witch on the porch, but cannot be sure what he saw due to Abbie's husband Ty, turning on the porch light. Ben befriends Dillon and makes him promise to tell him if he sees anything strange around their house. That night, Abbie goes to check on her infant son, Sam (Dillon's younger brother), in his crib. However, she finds that he has disappeared, replaced by a bundle of sticks. She is then attacked by the witch. Ben returns home from a party later that night and notices Abbie walking into the forest with a child, but is interrupted by an angry Liam who had been searching for him after Ben didn’t return any of his calls.
The next morning, Abbie, disheveled and filthy, returns to her house, where she ominously stares at Dillon as he watches TV. While at work, Ben dumps trash in the boat of the local bully’s father as revenge for him and his friends cruelly pranking him at the party. That night, he is driven home by Sara who reveals she’s lactose intolerant and tries to bond with him. Ben finds Dillon hiding in his room, claiming that there is something wrong with his mother. Abbie comes looking for Dillon, threatening Ben and attempting to get into the house. Ty arrives and takes Dillon home. Dillon trys to warn Ty that Abbie is acting weird, but Ty dismisses his concerns. Afterward, he visits Sam’s nursery, which is now empty. However, Ty doesn’t seem phased by this.
Ben becomes concerned that something strange is happening with Abbie and attempts to spy on her until interrupted by Liam. Later, as Abbie is shown having sex with Ty, it is revealed that her flesh has begun to decay. At work the next day, Ben learns from Mallory that Dillon never showed up for his sailing lesson. When he goes to Dillon's house to check on him, he is greeted by Ty, who denies even having children. Before leaving, Ben finds the ominous symbol carved into the porch.
Ben researches the symbol and finds information about an evil forest witch said to wear the skins of her victims and "feed on the forgotten". He confides in Mallory as they observe Abbie suspiciously emerging from the cellar with a trash bag. But she doesn’t take Ben seriously and mocks him, even going so far as to slip a taunting note under Abbie's door, proclaiming they know what’s in her cellar. Meanwhile, Ben begins spreading salt around his house, as it is capable of repelling witches. When Ty finds the note and attempts to investigate, Abbie appears and whispers something demonic to him, causing his ears to bleed. That night, as Mallory locks up the marina office, it is revealed that the picture of her sitting with her mother and younger sister, Lily, has mysteriously disappeared from the employee bulletin board.