Film Review
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Director |
John Poague
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Cast |
Justin Alvarez
Anna Bridgforth
Kelly Roth
Bradford Sikes
Bryan Donoghue
J. Matthew Miller
Gabrielle Dennis
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Distributor |
Maverick Entertainment
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Running Time |
87 Minutes
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Certification |
Not Rated
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Reviewed By
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Vaughan Dyche
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Buy this film
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THE WICKEDS (2005)
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When will the living ever learn that the dead are a bunch of irritable buggers? OK, so being deceased is a bloody good reason to be upset in the first place but when your peaceful slumber is interrupted by annoying party animals or disrespectful grave desecraters, it’s bound to kick of. And so we introduce the latest indie horror flick to feature not only revengeful zombies but also blood sucking vampires and a mischievous ghost! Welcome to the crazy mixed up world of The Wickeds, a confusing yet fervent affair dogged by some serious production issues.
The whole affair starts with the introduction of a generic group of youngsters looking for a little party fun who decide it would be a great idea to setup there rather poor excuse for a Halloween celebration on the set of a real life scary movie. Of course the temptation by the boys to scare the poor girls is too much and, after initially being uncomfortable with the idea of holding a party in the creepy house, are subjected to a barrage of cheesy scares in an attempt to scare them out of their clothes. But in the nearby cemetery, a greater terror lurks waiting to pounce on any living creature, yes, its sweaty porn star Ron Jeremy as a despicable grave robber who, along with his accomplice, are in the process of stealing a valuable but cursed amulet from the clutches of a long resting vampire.
The vampire’s distain for this theft is obvious as he tears a huge chunk of flesh from the thief’s arm as they both try and flee with there bloody gains, but soon they realise that their actions have triggered the dead to rise from their graves and slowly, oh so very slowly begin to punish all those who stand in their way. In terror the two thieves run to the nearest sanctuary in sight, the Halloween party house. Hauled up together, the group must fight for their lives against the creatures both outside and inside the house.
Does this story sound familiar to anybody? Well toss aside the silly vampire and ghost distractions and ultimately your left with a second rate Night of the Living Dead complete with flesh eating zombies and a group trying to survive the onslaught inside a fortified house. This, however is where the comparison ends. Unlike the classic 1968 George Romero film, The Wickeds seriously struggles with credibility thanks to a very poor script and some below par technicals that spoil what could have been much more than a passing curiosity. The filmmakers attempt to put all their eggs in one basket by throwing in several horror figures turns the film into a bundle of confusion by restricting the films development in favour of variety. This approach rarely works in anything other than a parody, which this was in serious danger of becoming with its self-referential commentary and continuous homage to other genre material. The cast do their best with a corny script that forces them to do idiotic, illogical and annoying things such as playing chicken with another vehicle and then being enraged with the other driver when they nearly collide! Other examples of stupidity include slamming the door in your buddies face when he’s snatched by the undead (don’t bother helping him then!) and smearing fresh blood on you face just as you are about to face the zombie hoards. The film also suffers a few typical low budget difficulties ranging from patchy audio levels (making some dialogue difficult to distinguish), wobbly camera work and minor continuity / logic issues.
To finish on a more positive note though, I have to admit that even after all the negative issues that would normally turn the stomach of most mainstream reviewers; I actually quite liked the film from a purely gratuitous point of view. The zombie effects and their associated action scenes were of a pretty high standard with enough bloody moments to keep the gore mongers grinning. Despite actress Kelly Roth’s under use in the film she did a fantastic job of looking and behaving extremely horny. Her direction mostly involved running up stairs showing her panties and parading her body whilst making out with a fellow male cast member, and whilst this does little to enhance the production value, it did at least make for several moments of fun. Interestingly, Kelly’s character had the opportunity to develop into a real mean mother zombie after turning from a terrified victim into one of the living dead, but despite a teasing nod in this direction, the film makers let this one slip through their fingers. What a shame.
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Score
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4 / 10
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