The Director Of The Strangers Made One Of The Best Horror Movies Of The 2020s, And Hardly Anyone Saw It

Summary Bertino's 2020 hit, The Dark and the Wicked, is a must-see psychological horror film with a twisty ending exclusively on Shudder.

The Dark and the Wicked, though underrated, outshines even The Strangers, offering a disturbing atmosphere and unsettling folk horror experience.

Bertino's return to form with The Dark and the Wicked showcases his strength in creating a deeply effective and downright scary horror film.

Best known for writing and directing the 2008 sleeper hit The Strangers, filmmaker Bryan Bertino also made one of the best horror movies of the 2020s — and hardly anyone saw it. With the release of the poorly received The Strangers: Chapter 1, the first installment of an intended relaunch of the cult classic franchise, horror fans are likely looking for a more compelling watch. Partly based on a true story from Bertino's childhood, The Strangers is a truly chilling psychological horror film that centers on a distraught couple, Kristen McKay (Liv Tyler) and James Hoyt (Scott Speedman).

After Kristen rejects James' marriage proposal, the couple weather an awkward night in a remote summer home. However, the couple's uncomfortable evening takes a terrifying turn when three masked strangers invade their house. The violent intruders — Dollface, Man in the Mask, and Pin-Up Girl — reveal in The Strangers' ending that the home invasion is random: hauntingly, the truth is that Kristen and James were targeted simply because they were there. While The Strangers is Bertino's most acclaimed and enduring film, the writer-director has also created several other stand-out horror films, including one released in 2020.

Bryan Bertino Wrote and Directed The Dark And The Wicked

The Supernatural Horror Movie Is One Of The Filmmaker's Best Projects

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When it comes to ranking every Bryan Bertino movie, The Strangers comes out on top, and only The Dark and the Wicked gives the 2008 classic a run for its money. After penning the box-office smash — The Strangers made a staggering $82.4 million against its $9 million budget — Bertino wrote and directed horror flicks like 2014's Mockingbird and 2016's The Monster. The filmmaker also produced a few well-received scares, including The Blackcoat's Daughter, a supernatural psychological horror film starring Emma Roberts, Kiernan Shipka, and Lucy Boynton, and the Yvonne Strahovski-starring slasher He's Out There.

...the writer-director found a return to form with The Dark and the Wicked.

In 2018, a whopping decade after his original film, Bertino returned to The Strangers franchise. Although he didn't direct The Strangers: Prey at Night, Bertino wrote and executive produced the sequel. Unfortunately, the second Strangers flick wasn't as successful or well-received as the first outing, but, two years later, the writer-director found a return to form with The Dark and the Wicked. Starring Marin Ireland as Louise and Michael Abbott Jr. as Michael, The Dark and the Wicked follows two siblings as they confront a demonic entity at their family farm — a premise that leverages Bertino's strengths.

Related Is The Strangers: Chapter 1 A Prequel, Remake Or Reboot? It's Complicated The new film in the psychological horror series is the first of three new The Strangers films coming out in 2024, with the first one coming in May.

One Of The Best And Most Disturbing Horror Movies Of The Decade (So Far)

The Dark And The Wicked Is A Better The Strangers Replacement Than The Strangers: Chapter 1

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As the siblings deal with the demonic entity taking hold of their homestead, they also navigate the fallout of their mother's death by suicide as well as their ailing father. One of the most underrated horror movies of 2020, The Dark and the Wicked is a classic folk-horror film that harnesses its isolated setting. Packed with creeping dread, The Dark and the Wicked keeps its focus on an unsettling, not-quite-right atmosphere. Although Bertino doesn't reinvent the haunted house genre, he does create an incredibly effective — and, at times, downright scary — psychological horror film.

Related One Detail In The Strangers: Chapter 1 Makes Its Connection To Past Franchise Movies More Confusing A subtle but important element of The Strangers: Chapter 1 makes it impossible to work as a prequel to the original 2008 The Strangers.

Shudder Has Exclusive Streaming Rights To The Dark And The Wicked

Bertino's Latest Horror Movie Was Released During The COVID-19 Pandemic

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Given The Dark and the Wicked's twisty ending, it's a must-see even for the most well-versed horror enthusiasts. Unfortunately, Bertino's 2020 hit isn't very widely available. Several months after its world premiere at the Fantasia International Film Festival, The Dark and the Wicked landed with AMC Networks' siblings RLJE Films and Shudder — AMC's horror-specific streaming platform. As of 2024, The Dark and the Wicked still streams exclusively on Shudder, which means would-be viewers need to sign up for the platform in order to check out Bryan Bertino's underrated gem.

The Dark and the Wicked streams exclusively on Shudder.