The Dark and the Wicked
Two estranged siblings confronting their father’s final days on a remote Texas farm become trapped in a merciless supernatural nightmare.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Graphic
- dread-filled
- bleak
- oppressive
- late night horror viewing
- scary movie night
What critics said
Critics broadly praised the film's technical flair, bleak Southern Gothic atmosphere, and ability to generate sustained dread, while some found its logic thin and its disturbing episodes insufficiently unified.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The isolated Texas farm, dying patriarch, religious figures, and atmosphere of inherited despair place the supernatural story in a Southern Gothic tradition.
Louise and Michael return to the farm to face their father's terminal decline, while mourning becomes inseparable from the escalating haunting.
The film emphasizes mounting dread, ominous silences, unsettling images, and the inevitability of death over detailed supernatural explanation.
Nearly all of the siblings' ordeal unfolds around a secluded family farmhouse with limited escape and deteriorating emotional stability.
Films like The Dark and the Wicked, and why
The Others
shared atmospheric haunted-house horror, creeping dread, grief, and psychological uncertainty
The Witch
shared isolated rural setting, supernatural menace, family trauma, and bleak psychological horror
The Babadook
shared grief-driven supernatural horror, ominous domestic spaces, and sustained dread
The Exorcist
shared Southern Gothic atmosphere, mourning, possession, and unsettling supernatural intrusion
Movie Details
- Director
- Bryan Bertino
- Release Date
- 2020-04-16
- Runtime
- 95 min
- Rating
- 6.1 / 10 (573)
Cast
- Marin Ireland
- Michael Abbott Jr.
- Xander Berkeley
- Lynn Andrews
- Julie Oliver-Touchstone
- Tom Nowicki
- Ella Ballentine
- Michael Zagst
- Mel Cowan
- Mindy Raymond
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Philo, AMC Plus Apple TV channel, AMC+ Amazon Channel, AMC+ Roku Premium Channel, AMC+, Shudder, Shudder Amazon Channel, Shudder Apple TV channel
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is The Dark and the Wicked about?
- Two estranged siblings confronting their father’s final days on a remote Texas farm become trapped in a merciless supernatural nightmare.
- What is The Dark and the Wicked like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Dark and the Wicked as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is The Dark and the Wicked violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in The Dark and the Wicked as graphic.
- What did critics think of The Dark and the Wicked?
- Critics broadly praised the film's technical flair, bleak Southern Gothic atmosphere, and ability to generate sustained dread, while some found its logic thin and its disturbing episodes insufficiently unified.
- Which films are like The Dark and the Wicked?
- Films with a similar feel include The Others, The Witch, The Babadook, and The Exorcist.
- How long is The Dark and the Wicked?
- The Dark and the Wicked runs 95 minutes.
- Where can I watch The Dark and the Wicked?
- In United States, The Dark and the Wicked streams on Philo, AMC Plus Apple TV channel, AMC+ Amazon Channel, AMC+ Roku Premium Channel, AMC+, Shudder, Shudder Amazon Channel, Shudder Apple TV channel.
