The Wretched (2019)

The film begins in 1985, where we first catch a glimpse of the baddie - a creature that looks like a cross between Buhguul from Sinister and a vampire from 30 Days of Night. The nostalgic but gruesome opening scene is just a small entry into a dark and grisly tale that any parent - or curious neighbor - would find a thing of nightmares.

Thirty-five years later, seventeen-year-old Ben goes off to his dad Liam’s for the summer in a Michigan beach town while his parents work through a divorce. He’s constantly torn between doing the right thing and bettering himself, represented in his responsibility at his dad’s marina and with his friendship with coworker Mallory, or giving into temptations of his dark past.

Next door to Ben and Liam is a family of four - two tired parents, a baby, and a young boy named Dylan. After Dylan’s mom brings back a buck they hit on the road in the woods, and something nefarious slithers its way out. Ben notices right away that something isn’t right in the neighborhood, and he becomes a confidante for Dylan, who seems to be terrified of his mother. Days later, Dylan is missing, and his parents act as though they have no children, leading Ben to investigate.