The Dark and the Wicked

Steady interlacing of generational resentment with supernatural menace-each feeding, zombie-like, off the other-gives The Dark and the Wicked a subtext that's almost strong enough to offset its largely generic scares.

There is possibly not a single scary moment here that will be new to horror fans, but Bertino directs with such technical flair that I yelped at most of them - and half-missed the others, eyes squeezed tight shut.

The Dark and the Wicked is a relentless ride through the stages of grief and guilt.

Cast in funereal grays and blacks, and aided by lead performances that do much with minimal gestures, it's a nightmare...

It isn't exactly terrifying, but is well-acted and sinister enough to rise (levitate ominously?) above the pack.

It adds up to a pretty sophisticated and dark, creepy little movie.

What Bertino ultimately delivers is a time capsular movie with an enduring, if not routine, story.

I can't think of another American film propelled by such razor-sharp and hopeless fatalism, but there will be more.

Relentless and brutal, The Dark and the Wicked builds a pervasive sense of dread that reaches almost unbearable peaks in its torment of the estranged, emotionally repressed family featured within.

The Dark and the Wicked continues the current mainstream horror trend of half an idea (sometimes known as 'a simple premise') filmed and stretched out to a feature-length running time on the pretence of offering up something we haven't seen before.