‘The Wrath of Becky’ Review
Stars: Lulu Wilson, Swann William Scott, Denise Burse, Jill Larson, Michael Sirow | Written by Matt Angel, Suzanne Coote, Nick Morris | Directed by Matt Angel, Suzanne Coote
Co-directed by Matt Angel and Suzanne Coote, The Wrath of Becky is a sequel to Becky, a twisted home invasion horror that quickly gained cult appeal when it was released in 2020. With original co-directing duo Jonathan Milott and Cary Murnion on board as executive producers, it’s a satisfying follow-up that ticks all the right sequel boxes.
The story picks up three years after the events of the first film, with a now 16-year-old Becky (Lulu Wilson) living with kindly elderly lady Elena (Denise Burse) and working as a diner waitress. However, when Becky pours coffee in the lap of an obnoxious customer, he and his friends follow her home, killing Elena and stealing Becky’s beloved dog, Diego. Vowing to retrieve Diego and avenge Elena’s death, Becky tracks down the men and discovers that they are part of a domestic terrorist group known as the Noble Men. And when she realises that their leader, Darryl (Seann William Scott) is plotting an armed insurrection, she steals evidence of the plan and uses it to lure the men into her various deathtraps.
As with the previous movie, Wilson is a lot of fun to watch as Becky, even if a psychotic, gory death-dispensing 16-year-old isn’t quite as interesting or as original as a psychotic, gory death-dispensing 13-year-old. Regarding character progression, the sequel suggests that Becky has found ways of coping with, or at least channelling her capacity for rage-fuelled ultraviolence, which has a great pay-off in the final scenes.
As for the villains, it’s a treat to Seann William Scott in something like this, though his character is frustratingly underwritten, in that his particular brand of charisma suggests he’d be a real threat as a covert terrorist, yet you never really get to see him interact with anyone other than his band of dumb rednecks. There’s also strong support from Michael Sirow and Courtney Gaines as Anthony and Twig as two of the Noble Men, both of whom have memorably gory interactions with Becky.
On that note, the film arguably peaks too soon with Becky’s first kill, a splattery, smartly executed crowd-pleaser that will make you wish you were seeing the film with a cinema audience. To that end, Angel and Coote strike exactly the right tone throughout, mixing notes of jet-black comedy (there are at least two laugh-out-loud gags) in with the violence and gore.
If there’s a problem with the film, it’s only that it lacks a certain degree of tension, in that you’re never really all that worried for Becky, even when the bad guys have her at a disadvantage. In the first film, 13-year-old Becky turning out to be a rage-driven psycho killer was a terrific twist, and there’s nothing in the sequel that really matches that. Having said that, Angel and Coote maintain a decent pace for the film’s trim 84-minute running time, and they orchestrate several decent action sequences.
In short, while this doesn’t quite hit the heights of the first film, it’s a satisfying sequel, and there’s more than enough here to leave you hoping that the planned third film (B3cky?) becomes a reality.
