Review: THE WRATH OF BECKY [SXSW]
Man, I love seeing Nazis get fucked up.
Even when the movie itself isn’t very good (looking at you, OVERLORD), it’s still a simple joy to watch the “übermenschen” get mowed down in hopefully increasingly painful ways. Luckily THE WRATH OF BECKY doesn’t just provide multiple glorious deaths of Proud Boys stand-ins/Neo-Nazis, but it’s an incredibly entertaining film full of wit and propulsive action.
It’s been two years since the events of BECKY (2020), and titular warrior (Lulu Wilson) is being moved to various foster homes along with her dog, Diego. After getting away from those nightmares, Becky has set up a new life where she combat trains to sublimate the unbridled rage coursing through her. When three members of the Noble Men (a Far Right, heavily-armed, men’s rights activist group) decide to mess with her and her dog, war is declared and the homicidal teen brings the fight to the front door of their leader, Darryl (Seann William Scott).
WRATH OF BECKY is an utter delight that features another unhinged yet charming performance by Wilson. Even though the character is only sixteen, you can feel how much she has aged since the previous film and the ways what happened then have greatly impacted her psyche. But this isn’t another horror-ish film about trauma, as the girl’s violent tendencies are constantly bubbling up just below the surface, ready to explode. And when they do go off? Whew boy, it’s a thing of bloody beauty. She is perfectly countered by a highly restrained performance from Scott, who is just as rage-filled and violent, but keeps a regimented hold on his psychotic tendencies. The other Noble Men (Courtney Gains, Matt Angel, Michael Sirow, Aaron Dalla Villa) are perfect examples of disgusting bluster that immediately collapses as soon as they are met with fair (and bloody) consequences for their shitheel actions.
I keep mentioning how bloody WRATH OF BECKY is because…well…it is. Gloriously so. There are multiple slayings that revel in the viscera rendered mostly practically to terrifically gory results. Watching Nazis get disposed of in increasingly harsh manners is a genuine treat and writers/directors Matt Angel and Suzanne Coote are totally on board for that. Their assured writing and direction shows not just the tale they want to tell, but also the ride that the audience wants to go on with them. Too often in reality, smug toxic bastards get away with their heinous acts and poisonous ways. This movie provides spectacular comeuppance delivered by the most precocious of predators, all with a brain-specked smile and blood-splattered wink.
The comedy, deriving from specific humorous situations and the delightful outlandish nature of the violence, only works with the grounding of getting the audience on Becky’s side and going along with the larger plot. Simply being a teen spouting quips juxtaposed against dispatching some bad hombres wouldn’t be enough to actually be entertaining. But WRATH OF BECKY works so well because it still has genuine heart about the situation in which the lead finds herself and the risible contempt viewers feel towards the antagonists.
All of the other performances from the limited cast is spectacular, playing their (admittedly) stereotypical parts to perfection. It’s not necessary for most of these characters to be especially multi-faceted (as most of them are just soon-to-be-corpses), but when they need to be, they are richly detailed humans. Also Diego, the dog (played by Pac Williams) is adorable and seems especially well trained. He’s a good boy, in other words.
One last point of praise goes to the propulsive score by Nima Fakhrara. An electronic pulsing that immediately ups the intensity and provides excellent musical cues to Becky’s rampage, it’s very memorable and will bring a smile to audiences’ faces when they hear that particular Becky theme kick in as she prepares to unleash hell yet again on some deserving asshat.
THE WRATH OF BECKY is a blood-drenched slice of righteous hilarity powered by crackerjack writing and dynamic performances. Is it a bit slight and would’ve been nice for a bigger body count? Of course. But that doesn’t mean what we get is lacking in its own right. A sequel that improves on the original, this is a film that is a real hoot as you watch for outlandish, creative kills to vicariously enjoy some semblance of justice in this world seemingly hellbent on providing none. Maybe we don’t have enough Beckys in our world at the moment, but for 80+ minutes we’re able to spend some time with greatest of them.