Wayward teenager, Becky (Lulu Wilson), is tricked by her father, Jeff (Joel McHale), into spending the weekend at their old house with himself, his new girlfriend and her son. Not at all happy with the situation, and still trying to come to terms with her mother’s death, Becky storms off into the woods. Whilst Becky is off sulking alone, the house is besieged by a group of escaped convicts intent on finding a rumoured treasure on the property. With her father and prospective new step-mother and brother held captive by the frightening group, Becky must do everything she can to evade capture. As she begins a one girl assault, the fearsome felons realise that they might be in over their heads. Cue blisteringly brutal battles and gory traps, as one of the most violent games of hide and seek committed to cinema unfolds.
Becky unfurls at breakneck speed, directors Jonathan Milott and Cary Murnion opting to keep the set-up to a minimum. They also make the decision to simultaneously introduce both sets of characters, with scenes flashing back and forth, effortlessly communicating all the information you need in a few short moments. Once everything has been put in place, the pair let utter carnage play out on screen. Pitched by many as Home Alone for grown-ups, Becky certainly works within that mantle, but offers much more than silly games. There are some serious issues around grief and anger that are explored alongside themes of racism; our lead bad guy, Dominick (Kevin James), is a swastika-tattooed neo-Nazi. It’s gorier than you might anticipate.
Lulu Wilson has steadily carved herself out a career within the horror realm. Performances in Ouija: Origins of Evil, Annabelle: Creation, and The Haunting of Hill House have demonstrated that she’s very good at being scared on screen. In Becky however, she gets to stretch her talents as she unleashes her inner action heroine. To say that Becky is a troubled teenager is putting it mildly. She’s obviously suffering with grief in the wake of her mother’s death, but the anger that she barely tries to contain within herself can’t all be attributed to that alone. There’s a touch of the unhinged to her and that of course plays into what makes her such a worthy adversary for a group of career criminals. It’s a strong, defiant, and viciously violent role for someone so young to inhabit, but Wilson is clearly more than up for the challenge.
Whilst Wilson may be moving slightly out of her comfort zone for Becky, her co-star Kevin James is practically in an entirely new world. James is famous for his work within comedy, having played everyone’s favourite mall cop Paul Blart for two movies, as well as being a frequent collaborator with Adam Sandler. As Dominick, James rewrites his career; his character is stripped of all humour, and is cold-hearted, cruel, and menacing. It’s an intriguing choice of role for James, but one that hopefully points to a more serious chapter in his work as when removed from all the gags, he can seriously act. Once you watch Becky, you’ll never see him in quite the same way again. It’s a bold move from James, but his commitment pays off in dividends. A blisteringly brutal battle of wills between a wild child and psychopath plays out over the nimble run-time, delighting, disgusting, and dismaying viewers in equal measure. With career upgrades for both Wilson and James, Becky plays on, and subverts, our associations with both to create a fraught, but fun thriller.
Becky is released on Digital HD on 28th September 2020.
Becky
Summary
Gleefully gory; Becky unfurls at breakneck speed and challenges our perceptions of its leads, and in doing so, creates a deliciously vicious twist of the home invasion thriller.
