The Dark and the Wicked
On a secluded farm in a nondescript rural town, a man is slowly dying. His family gathers to mourn, and soon a darkness grows, marked by waking nightmares and a growing sense that something evil is taking over the family.
Why it matters
A slow-burning descent into rural dread where grief and unseen evil entwine in unsettling psychological horror.
- Bryan Bertino returns to isolated settings, crafting atmosphere over overt scares in the vein of The Strangers and The Monster.
- Practical sound design and a claustrophobic farmstead setting amplify dread without relying on cheap jumps.
- For fans of folk-tinged supernatural horror that leans heavily on mood and slow mental unraveling.
- Divisive for its elliptical narrative and ambiguous religious imagery—some find it haunting, others frustratingly obscure.
Director
5 horror films in catalog
Cast
Horror DNA
Gore
28
Slow Burn
100
Psychological
43
Supernatural
80
Creature
0
Disturbing
67
Fun Factor
17
Cerebral
85
Survival
66
GriefHauntingPossession
