Content Advisory: Animal cruelty or animal death, Excessive or gratuitous violence
The now-orphaned sociopathic teenager sets herself out to save her dog from an ultra-right-wing terrorist cell in The Wrath of Becky. It has been two years since now-16-year-old Becky (Lulu Wilson) survived an attack by a gang of neo-Nazis that claimed the life of her father. Becky has since escaped from multiple foster homes and focuses her time on fine-tuning her survival skills with her dog Diego.
Becky eventually settles in with a kind elderly woman Elena (Denise Burse) and takes a local job as a barista. It is while on the job, that Becky has an incident with Anthony (Michael Sirow), DJ (Aaron Dalla Villa), and Sean (Matt Angel), three members of an ultra-right-wing terrorist organization called the Noble Men. The gang ends up following Becky home and in the subsequent attack, ends up kidnapping Diego. The next day, Becky pursues the Noble Men to the cabin of their leader Darryl (Seann William Scott), hell-bent on killing them all and getting Diego back.
The Wrath of Becky Synopsis
The Wrath of Becky is the sequel to the original action-horror film from the summer of 2020. Writer-directors Matt Angel, who also co-stars in the film, and Suzanne Coote take over behind the camera from the original directing duo of Jonathan Milott and Cary Murnion. Teenage actor Lulu Wilson (The Haunting of Hill House) returns as the titular Becky, who hides her sociopathic behaviour from prospective foster families while practicing her knife-throwing and trap-building skills in the woods.
Becky’s skills will once again have to come into use when her dog Diego is kidnapped by members of the terrorist group the Noble Men, who are planning to commit an insurrection at an upcoming town hall meeting. The terrorist cell’s stash of weapons will come in handy as Becky will do anything it takes to get Diego back.
My Thoughts on The Wrath of Becky
The most notable fact about 2020’s Becky was that it came out on VOD during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, which likely increased its viewership numbers, and its comedian Kevin James went against the character as a sinister and violent neo-nazi. The original was a surprisingly dark and nasty film, particularly its implied murder of children and undeniable violence against dogs, the latter of which is also seen in The Wrath of Becky.
Despite still tackling some dark subject matter, The Wrath of Becky is a decidedly less Nileistic film than the original, while arguably being a lot more violent. As The Wrath of Becky adds an inner monologue for the titular character, Becky becomes a cross between John Wick and Dexter Morgan. While the original film insinuated as much, there is no denying this time around that Becky is a full-blown sociopath, who considers killing terrible people a fun pastime.
As the main antagonist Darryl, Seann William Scott (American Pie, Goon) is decidedly a step down from Kevin James in terms of traditional comic actors playing truly horrible human beings. At least Scott is better than the predominantly no-name actors playing the incredibly dislikeable members of the Noble Men. However, the fact that these characters are so hateable does make it more satisfying when they are killed in an increasingly gory fashion.
While a plot involving a teenage girl committing bloody vengeance already straddles the line when it comes to suspending disbelief, The Wrath of Becky outright jumps over in during scene in the closing moments, clearly meant to set up a third film. While the original film is bookended by questioning the character’s sociopathic behaviour, without giving too much away, this film ends up not only rewarding this behaviour but doing it in an incredibly “jump the shark” fashion. The final moments of The Wrath of Becky are definitely going to make or break the film for people, but it is most definitely embracing its position as the teenage John Wick.
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