Way of the Wicked

Cast: Vinnie Jones, Christian Slater , Emily Tennant, Jake Croker, Aren Buchholz, Matthew Robert Kelly
Screenplay: Matthew Robert Kelly
Director: Kevin Carraway
Genre: Horror
Rating ***

Way of the wicked is an American horror story that follows the lives of two young friends, Heather (Emily Tennant) and Robbie (Jake Croker).
One day Heather is bullied and Robbie tries to intervene. He pushes the bully away who then mysteriously chokes to death right in front of the other children. Everyone suspects that Robbie had something to do with this unforeseen death, and he is sent off to an institution for five years.
Years later he returns and is hell-bent on becoming friends and defending Heather just as he used to, when they were younger. This does not sit well with Heather’s new friends, especially Greg (Aren Buchholz) who is keen on having a relationship with Heather.
In a confrontation with Robbie, when he spoke to Heather, Greg is mysteriously injured and is rushed to the hospital. Henry (Christian Slater) a priest who has been defrocked, is convinced that Robbie is the Anti-Christ and attempts to make Heather’s father, John Elliot (Vinnie Jones) see this too. Heather’s father is also a police officer in the town.

Robbie continues to find himself at the centre of several strange deaths where every victim had an altercation of some sort with him just before they died. These incidents raise even more suspicions whether he may or may not be an Anti-Christ.
I honestly don’t know what to think of the movie. I am not a particular fan of horror, but when the plot is good and the storyline develops, I sometimes enjoy gory movies. Way of the Wicked is not boring but not as interesting as it could have been either. The storyline lacks a bit of emotion. The acting is good, however I was surprised to see Vinnie Jones give up his guns and bad-boy attitude, for the role of a sweet, caring father. It almost felt weird to see him act genuinely sweet and concerned, but I enjoyed him in the movie, nonetheless.
Although the movie is only 92 minutes long, it feels much longer. There are, however, some unnecessary scenes just to prolong the suspense and mystery behind who the real killer is. Film reviewer, Todd Martin from horrornews.net said, “I wasn’t really that familiar with Way of the Wicked but when I got my hands on a copy I thought that it sounded pretty promising. In my opinion the movie was pretty damn good. I have no idea why there are so many negative reviews for it floating around the Internet as I thought that it was one of the better horror movies that I have seen recently.”
“All in all I really liked most of the characters (with the exception of Heather, who was a little too whiney and wishy-washy for my taste) . Some other online reviewers have complained that it was way too easy to figure it all out and while part of me is inclined to agree with them I still have to give props to writer Matthew Robert Kelly because I think it is still effective regardless.” The film premièred on the internet on 30 April in China, and was only released on DVD in the United States on 20 May this year.