"The Thing," "Animal," and "Evil Dead" are joined at the round table of practical effect heroes in horror by writer directors Brett Pierce and Drew T. Pierce's and their recent flick "The Wretched."

In "The Wretched," it's a pleasure to be approached with the practical effects involved in creating this woodsy horror. Furthermore, seeing that demonstrated with the creature's reveal early in the film helped me feel like I wasn't being led on.The setup is familiar, a boy moves to a new small town and faces a supernatural threat that slowly begins to affect the community that surrounds him. The character's actions highlight a familiar interest in pursuing the unknown, a particular quality that feels amplified during the teenage years. Ultimately, this witch's tale is refreshingly original and well thought out.

If the lighting department is doing the best they can, the lighting in each shot shouldn't break your focus on the film's overall picture. Yet, I found my attention at times only on the light! From outside windows to doorways, and creeping rays of sun in a dark space, I was in awe at the work done to create such beautiful production design. The focus that I tendered to each shot was well deserved. Even more reason to check out "The Wretched," is it's an effective stray from overwhelming CGI.

The use of CGI animation in film is a guilty pleasure regardless of genre. Budgetary constraints or production limitations can motivate filmmakers to ditch the real life shot and ride with the digital rendition instead. There are cases where this is an exceptional effort, insert Marvel Cinematic Universe and all things "Avengers," but then there are times when the work ends up making the effect look obviously impossible and unrealistic. A scene like that pulls audiences right out of nearly convincing entertainment and has them ready to scroll through the catalog of other options all trying to do the same thing. When it happens in horror I groan and wait for the moment to pass, but to my surprise, this movie was void of any places I had to skip because of poor special effects.

There were fresh takes on the parental roles two can have within "The Wretched." The commonly assumed safety first, cook and clean position that we have seen placed on mothers made no appearance in the movie. Instead, the mother left cooking and tending to the baby for the father, while she was outside gutting a deer and drinking a cold one! I was impressed to see the very real albeit rarely seen shifts in parenting styles. Seeing more differences in family dynamics can help shatter the societal expectations placed on two parents, as it should be because parenting is a special role that everyone does differently.

As the story progresses the effects of the evil's malevolent presence begin to take its toll on how the afflicted perceive reality. This makes for an excellent twist that may inspire some revisiting. What's most favorable about this film is that it's not another cheap iteration of a teenager's nightmare coming true and a bloodbath ensuing. Instead, it's a quiet adventure and a special one on the must watch witch list.

Ultimately, I'll be referring to this movie as one of the few new ones I experienced in quarantine that inspire my excitement to get back to theaters once things are opened and safe again.