WICKEDLY EVIL (2023)
2 stars
101 Films. Digital 13th November.
This starts intriguingly, but rapidly goes downhill – with police sirens wailing and a call out about a robbery in progress. Two guys, Dancer (James Farrelly) and Gaz (Darryl Carter) are dressed in green tracksuits and wearing frog masks – arguing about the fact they should have been ninja turtle disguises! Making their escape they come face to face with a young girl – who we later learn is Clare (Louise Bourke), daughter of the local crime boss – who shoots at them.
Cut to Frankie (Joseph McGucken) turning up at a remote house. Luckily for him neighbour Sadie (Cat L. Walsh) turns up with a key, so he can get inside, as he is unable to locate the one meant to be hidden under a flowerpot.
That night he is confronted by Dancer, wielding a gun, accusing him of ratting them out. After calming down they manage to get Gaz – the one who was shot – into the house. Unfortunately for him he is potentially mortally wounded with no hope of being taken to a hospital.
Also Dancer hasn’t told Frankie the full story and has put them all into a deadly situation with the big crime-lord after them. Add to this who is the strange old woman at the window and why is their neighbour Sadie quite so friendly.
An economically budgeted, supposed horror-comedy from Ireland, this starts off as kind of low rent Reservoir Dogs – at one point one of them explicitly cites that classic – but this is no Tarantino. Oh that it reached those heights… though I suppose you can’t fault them for trying. Consequently you get lots (and lots and lots) of talking, large amounts of swearing, a surfeit of plot explanations without showing, because they couldn’t afford it, and very little else. This does eventually veer into horror territory but by then it’s too little too late!
Steve Kirkham
