Director Garry Walsh’s genre-bending Irish feature Wickedly Evil (AKA Bad Things in the Middle of Nowhere, 2023) finds gangsters Frankie (Joseph McGucken), Dancer (James Farrelly), and Gaz (Darryl Carter) hiding out in rural Ireland after pulling off a heist. The robbery was not without its problems, though, as Gaz is bleeding out from a gunshot wound, he and Frankie have kidnapped Clare (Louise Bourke), the daughter of a local crime family, and a woman who lives next door to the hideout named Sadie (Cat L. Walsh) just might be on to the men. The worst of their problems is yet to come, though.
Wickedly Evil is billed as a horror comedy and although there is plenty of tension on tap, viewers expecting horror throughout — like with the 2020 U.K. holed-up criminals vs. the supernatural feature The World We Knew, for example — will likely come away disappointed. Blink-and-you’ll-miss-it shots of something unusual going on in the background are peppered throughout, but the scare fare isn’t on true reveal until the climax. When it kicks in, however, matters get bloody.
In the meantime, viewers shouldn’t mind spending time with the bumbling no-goodniks, as unpredictable coke fiend Dancer and his long-suffering pal Frankie deliver some fun banter, and the supporting players — which includes Owen Roe in a solid turn as bossman The Chief — all deliver engaging performances.
Aside from a few sound design issues that made some of the dialogue difficult to hear, the production values are fine. Director Walsh cowrote the screenplay with Bryan Walsh, and the pair deliver some wicked humor.
There’s plenty to enjoy with Wickedly Evil, and it is certainly worth a watch for genre film fans who enjoy bumbling criminals, barbed humor, and supernatural elements.
101 Films UK released Wickedly Evil on digital on 13 November, 2023.
