The Wretched

I know what's wrong with this movie: It has no teleology. "Psycho" was a study of mental illness unrestrained and untreated. Shelley's/Laemmle's "Frankenstein" was a study of the unrestrained intrusion of science into the provinces of nature better left unmolested. It's not that a teleology teaches us anything. But it helps the writer produce a better, more profound work. I may not have needed to be told that untreated psychopathology can lead to perversion, but it helped the screenwriter Joe Stefano, and the novelist Bob Bloch create a fascinating study of the consequences of untreated illness. That study held audiences and produced a film classic. This movie, "The Wretched," had no point. It was a study of nothing. It was a series of sight gags. Without an organizing principle, actors are left flailing, engaged in a pointless creative exercise.

Not bad. Pretty good compared to a lot of the other low budget films out there. Keeps your attention, fairly amusing, could have been a lot worse. I liked it.

Everything about this film works... aside from the lame poster. Good acting, attractive cast, nice scenery, some scares and lots of suspense, and a script with a few surprises in it.