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When it comes to revenge pictures, there’s no beating the wrath of a female scorned. Even worse there’s no beating the wrath of female child scorned. The whole concept of a child unleashing their wrath is an underused trope in Hollywood and it’s a shame that there aren’t more of these pictures (There is “The Aggression Scale,” though). For what it’s worth we have Cary Murnion, and Jonathan Milott’s “Becky,” a considerably schlocky but vicious bit of revenge fare that I just love.
“Becky” stars horror heavyweight Lulu Wilson as the scornful titular character who is still coming to grips with the death of her mother. She also is being forced to begrudgingly accept her father’s remarrying to a new woman. Becky is pressured in to a weekend getaway with her awkward new family. But things soon spiral out of control when their home is invaded by a group of Nazis, all of whom are eagerly looking for a key that holds access to a possible fortune. Becky accidentally stumbles on to the key and becomes the likely holder of it.
The whole ordeal involving the key becomes the maguffin for “Becky” as it’s sought after by the film’s villains. This is the thin line that stands between the welfare of her family, as they are wiling to do anything to obtain the key. Soon as the pressure is dialed up, Becky is forced to rely on her wits and her penchant for vindictiveness to brutally murder the group one by one. The pair of directors really has a good time with the picture, staging a ton of brutally violent murders by the hands of Becky. She’s one who is unwilling to cooperate with the Nazis, especially after a particularly heinous turn of events. What’s more interesting is the casting of Doug James as the central villain Dominick.
James has had a career filled primarily with comedic roles, but he plays Dominick (a role originally intended for Simon Pegg) with as much dramatic fervor as humanly possible. He’s very good in the role, even if his motivations are a bit muddied up in the second half. There’s also Joel McHale who plays Becky’s tightly wound dad who works hard to ease his daughter in to the new familial situation. Once Becky begins her campaign of violence and revenge, the film becomes more and more entertaining. The way she engineers the strike back with random tools and supplies is interesting; especially the method in which she dispenses a henchman using a ruler and some coloring pencils.
“Becky” is a film that works primarily because Lulu Wilson is so damn good in the role. Wilson has been able to turn out some top notch turns in past genre pictures, and here she progresses in to a more adult actress. The writers take what could have been a paper thin and dull home invasion flick and turn it in to an interesting look at a potential psychopath unleashing her regressed anger out on these terrible people.
There’s no real explanation for what the key is, and or what it does, but I guess we’ll find out in the upcoming sequel “The Wrath of Becky.” If it’s anything like its predecessor, I think we’re in for a great time with Wilson stealing the screen once again.