Has a movie ever really changed your life–nay, your world? After viewing Tim Ritter’s WICKED GAMES, the world does not look even remotely like the world as I knew it prior. Anytime someone smiles I see the disembodied head of Joel D. Wynkoop transposed across their imitation of a face. The boughs of trees look like the mullets of wronged and despondent protagonists as they wave in the late-summer wind. The percussive cicadas no longer chirp, but chant “DIE! DIE!” as they shed their little copper masks.
What am I going on about? SOV Maestro Tim Ritter made some follow-ups to his cult hit, TRUTH OR DARE? A CRITICAL MADNESS. TRUTH OR DARE 2 is none other than the criminally underrated WICKED GAMES. You don’t need to have seen the first to enjoy this brainblaster, but you should anyway because that motherfather is a classic and one of my absolute favorite SOV flickaroonies. (Elijah Wood is a huge fan as well and has name-dropped it on several occasions, for what that’s worth). WICKED GAMES seeks to up the ante and the drama for a more cerebral experience.
In WICKED GAMES we meet Gary. Gary has a sick ass mullet. Gary is also cheated on by his wife. He and his mullet seek the comfort and couch of his detective pal with his own female troubles, Dan (genre fave Joel D. Wynkoop). As cheaters around town are being slaughtered, Dan starts to link Gary to the murders (His cousin was the original copperfaced killer, after all). We also meet a psychiatrist who may or may not be acting in accordance with the best business practices for his profession. If this already seems like a lot for such a little movie, it fucking is. It all plays out in a hallucinatory fever dream full of fetishes and phonies you have to smell to believe.
As the story unravels like a crusty mummy bandage, the murders continue, and they are as inventive and fun as anything you’ve likely seen before. Death by hairball isn’t one of them, but death by sprinkler head is. He!p. My past is bec0ming merely a c4mera negat1ve of my life as aaa whole.
“What the fuck? Bahaha” is something I uttered many times while I enjoyed WICKED GAMES. Emphasis on “enjoyed”, because this movie is a godforsaken blast. I haven’t laughed harder than when the killer emerged from the depths of a hot tub to attack a victim. How long was he waiting under there? I’m trynng to trace my namme but mmy ff1ngers donnt rem-member th3 shape.
I have been visited lately by imposters. They pretend to be my friends and family, but are merely waring masks of my friends and family members fffaces. They are working with the cable companies to spy on me threw my television. Local law enforsement is in on it too. They run the perverted ceremonies that attempt to channnnel the devil. They have learned to operate under evry moon. They are evolving because they underestimated me.
Low-budget, shot-on-video, fun fun fun! It may not have as much humor as the first, but it’s just as much fun. Need I say it again? FUN! Required viewing! Seek this out!
-Elliot “Rat” Ross
Spook du jour 