Way of the Wicked (2014) User Reviews

More Like The Way Of The Tricked

[nebk · 3/10 · 14 May 2014]

Don't be fooled by the title of this movie. There is hardly anything Wicked about it, other than the fact that people were tricked into watching it expecting a dark thriller horror and getting a weak teenage romance with paranormal undertones.

The movie is about a teenager, Robbie, who supposedly is the son of the devil and has telekinetic abilities. When he was 12 he supposedly killed another boy who was bullying him without even touching him. Fast forward 5 years and the guy (played by Jake Croker) is back in town and attending high school there. He soon rekindles a friendship he had with Heather who is the daughter of a local policeman played by Vinnie Jones. She was his friend when they were 12 and soon there is a romantic entanglement between the two of them. Unexplained deaths then start occurring of the people who crossed either Heather or Robbie and the policeman together with a defrocked priest played by Christian Slater are trying to solve the mystery of what is going on.

The good points of this movie are few if any. There is one twist in the story but it's not that difficult to figure out. The acting is not the worst out there but it's not great in any way or even decent for that matter. Vinnie Jones who is English and playing a police officer in an American town was an odd choice for the role though. There is a reference to him drinking a lot and yet we only see him have half a glass of wine throughout the whole film. The fact that no one reacts much when the unexplained deaths start happening is another odd thing about the movie. There is one scene where someone gets run over by a piece of farm equipment which shouldn't even be running as the engine was taken out of it. And yet everyone just goes on about their business as if it's a regular occurrence in their town.

So overall I wouldn't recommend this movie. It could have been engaging and entertaining but it's neither of those things. It's bland, mostly badly acted and forgettable. A 3 out of 10.

Wicked ways

[Prismark10 · 3/10 · 19 June 2015]

This is a low budget straight to DVD film that mixes up The Omen with Carrie.

Christian Slater whose career hit the skids somewhere in the mid 1990s (who remembers that once he was regarded as the new Jack Nicholson?) plays a weird priest who believes that his book reveals the existence of an anti Christ.

Vinnie Jones plays a detective who hails from England but now migrated to a small American town. He loves his daughter who is going out with a high school jock who meets a nasty death. She is also attracted to a childhood friend Robbie who has returned after an incident some years ago. His return sets off a bizarre chain of events.

This is just a low budget, derivative B movie. One of the leads, Jake Croker must be the oldest high school student in town. His hairline is receding. Apart from guessing which film it knocks off you can guess that there will be a twist in the ending.

Way of the Wicked (2014)

[morrigan1982 · 4/10 · 28 June 2014]

There are pretty much all the cliché in the movie. The as***** jock, the cool bad guy who is so desirable, faithful friends (some more hysterical than others!), and the girl who is the object of desire. Also we have the priest with the crazy theory and the overprotective dad.

I couldn't get sympathetic or identify with the characters. I was wondering why they act so stupid in the entire movie. More stupid than in usual movies. Hmmm So you suspect the character of the bad guy as being the one who killed your friend, lets go and see what will happen if you treat him badly too! There are no real surprises in the movie although it has a small twist in the end which you might guess and expect. In the entire movie though you wonder why everybody acts more stupid than in the normal horror movies. There are also some parts where you don't make a lot of sense like something is missing.

The movie is watchable although it is a little bit boring at some parts, but you might enjoy it … I think! Especially if you like the prophecy and the omens about the end of days!

What?

[twelve-house-books · 1/10 · 13 December 2020]

There are actors here who are talented. Others, not so much. The story, on the other hand, should have never been told. There is hidden agenda here; and extremely poor storytelling. The director makes sure that one of the highlights of the film is the high school science teacher explaining in detail a hypothesis concerning evolution on other planets. This may vaguely fit in with the birth of the devil baby and how it is allegedly more powerful and smarter than any other human, but the connection is never made. The bottom line is that the writer can't write himself out of a wet paper bag, and without a good story how can a good film be made? I rarely review on the lower end of the star system, and only do so to help potential viewers avoid wasting their time.

Typical D Class Vinnie Jones movie!

[leonblackwood · 2/10 · 8 November 2014]

Review: I was waiting for ages for something to happen in this movie, but it was just too slow and the showdown at the end wasn't that great. It was good to see Vinnie Jones playing an emotional character except for a heavy baddie, like most of his movies, but the storyline was pretty weak and the acting from the other characters was poor. The twist at the end came way to late in the film and Christian Slater was only in a couple of scenes, even though he's plastered all of the poster. We have all seen this type of concept before, we're a teenage stranger comes into college and he gets picked on by the popular students, so the storyline wasn't original or even slightly interesting. In all, I wasn't that impressed with this cheaply made movie which didn't have that much thought behind it. Disappointing!

Round-Up: Poor Christian Slater! He just seems to be taking in any project that comes his way, and they all seem to be badly made films that go straight to DVD. His career seemed promising after starring in big films like Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves, Interview With A Vampire and True Romance, but his career went on a downhill slump when the work dried up. The same goes for other promising actors like Val Kilmer and Cuba Gooding Jr. who also go straight to DVD, after having box office success earlier on in there careers. Vinnie Jones impressed me in this film because he seemed to be more natural and calm in his role. Its just a shame that the actual movie wasn't that good. I also found his annoying daughter quite irritating, which didn't help because she was the main character, so in all, it's not a movie that I would be watching again in a hurry.

Budget: $3million Worldwide Gross: N/A

I recommend this movie to people who are into there spooky drama/thrillers, about a teenage boy who has a shady past and gets picked on by the popular students at college. 2/10

Eyeroll

[Harlequin-Rose · 1/10 · 28 July 2020]

I have very rarely seen such a ridiculous movie in my life. The twist was laughable, and made the movie worse. It was a teen angst drama disguised as horror pretending to be a movie. I want those two hours back.

Passable B- horror.

[britlektorcomenius · 5/10 · 20 January 2021]

Passable for Covid lockdown viewing - only 90 minutes. Not a complete turkey. Credit to

The combination of Christian Slater, Vinnie Jones and the Antichrist is a little weird. Goodness knows what Slater's agent was thinking.

The twist in the ending is somewhat contrived and a letdown.

Credit to Jake Croker for holding his own in the film - in fact he almost ends up 'carrying' it. Some credit too to Aren Buchholz.

Another oh dear!

[balaamdebbie · 4/10 · 20 February 2022]

Was very disappointed. I thought Christian Slater would be in the film more. Barely appeared! Vinnie Jones was really good and convincing as a policeman. Robbie character was soo bad monotone voice all the way through. Noticed the receiding hairline. This actor is definitely not 17 years old!

Mmmm

[euronick61 · 2/10 · 29 May 2021]

If the priest had really been following the lad believing him to be the anti-Christ then he would have spotted that nothing untoward must have happened for the 5 years he was away from the town thus making him maybe think it is someone else ... Vinnie Jones is dreadful and I really feel sorry for Christian Slater having to resort to this rubbish.

Might have worked better if they had switched rolls.

[face-819-933726 · 5/10 · 13 May 2014]

Christian Slater and Vinnie Jones play the Priest, and the Cop dealing with what they grow more an more certain is the rise of the Anti-Christ. That is the sexy line, but sadly the movie does not live up to the idea, mostly because the writing is just so completely messed up. The reveal is not in any way surprising, and the lead up is just so much filler. Slater is a Priest who really just seems creepy, always hanging out in the bushes, and who somehow never really sees anything happen to anyone, and still jumps to the conclusion that he has all the answers in his books. Mr. Jones is a Detective (When did all these ex-military fellas from the UK move to North America to work as cops in small towns?) who is completely out of the loop, and for some reason never really has to work unless it is at some inopportune moment, he is accused of being a drunk, but you hardly see him with a drink anywhere near him. The saintly Daughter is one of the worst problems though as first those are not the eyes of a 17 year old, sorry they just can't be, and her relationships with the other characters all seem fake. There is no point at which you believe that she has any true feelings for either of the guys fighting for her. (This could be written off as a deeper clue to the ending, but even that would be flawed) The stone angel never breaks, so what does that mean? Who is the second angel then? I could not find anything in this movie to Enjoy, and these are usually two top actors who you can count on even in a low budget mess to stand above it with their own personal talents, and I can not recommend this movie even to fans of dark magic with brooding teens as it is just not good enough. However there was a good effort put up by all the players, and the production is not some cramped studio, you have nice outdoor scenes that are shot quite well. Just a real slog getting past the story to see the beauty framing it.

It's not one of the best movies I have seen in a while but it was entertaining and I wasn't bored.

[cosmo_tiger · 6/10 · 17 May 2014]

"Everything that's been going on around us has all been foretold." After residents of a small town begin to die mysteriously the local cop John Elliott (Jones) is at a loss. When his daughter tells him of an old friend of hers as returned to her school he remembers events of the past. When Father Henry (Slater) shows up and tells Elliott what he thinks is going on he doesn't believe him, but when his daughter becomes a target he is only one who can stop him. If you were to judge this by the cover and cast (like I did originally) you would probably not expect much. Christian Slater has fallen into the Val Kilmer school of acting lately. He does a lot of movies without caring if they are good or not. Vinnie Jones is, well, Vinnie Jones. Armed with those expectations I was looking forward to a long boring movie. While the movie isn't amazing or something I would watch again I have to say that I did end up liking it. The movie is kind of like if Damien went to high school. There are enough horror aspects to appease horror fans and enough drama and intrigue to please non horror fans. This is a B movie and nothing amazing but I expected much worse. I do have to say that this is Slater's best movie in a while. Overall, it's not one of the best movies I have seen in a while but it was entertaining and I wasn't bored. I give this a B.

The Omen meets Twilight

[Leofwine_draca · 4/10 · 10 February 2015]

Like most viewers, I watched this because I'm a fan of Christian Slater and Vinnie Jones, both of whom are prominently advertised in connection with the movie. A word of warning: Jones only has a major supporting role, while Slater is in the film for about fifteen minutes. A bit of false advertising, then.

Plot-wise, this is pretty unoriginal stuff, coming across as a cross between THE OMEN and TWILIGHT. The storyline involves a kid who's supposed to be the son of the Devil, but instead of crafting a creepy, supernatural horror yarn what we get is a twee TWILIGHT copy full of teenage angst and high-school bullies getting what they deserve.

To be honest, whenever the seasoned actors aren't on screen, this is dull. Jones and Slater are both adequate but we needed a lot more of them to make this a decent film. The romantic stuff is extremely tiresome and seems to have been thrown in either for padding or to appeal to a teenage crowd. Either way it makes this hard to enjoy, even though it has been quite professionally put together. Watch out for one of the dumbest, most pointless twist endings ever.

Oh, what a complete waste of time

[siderite · 4/10 · 6 December 2014]

I only watched it because I like Christian Slater and Vinnie Jones. At least I used to like them before this film. A lame ripoff of movies like The Omen, it unsuccessfully combines high-school drama (in a school for psychos and geeks) police drama (depressed cop raising a daughter) and the spawn of the demon plot that was so ridiculously implemented that I couldn't believe it.

Both Slater and Jones have stupid roles and their wooden acting only shows the disdain they must have had for the entire thing. The main character doesn't act at all; I mean, I can't call it acting. The extras are doing more work than he does and, let me tell you this, they don't do any.

Bottom line: avoid this film like the plague. It is not one of those films that some people hate and some people love, it is a movie that no one will ever remember. You've been warned.

weak production

[SnoopyStyle · 4/10 · 6 September 2016]

Father Henry (Christian Slater) investigates Robbie, a 12-year-old boy who seems to have supernatural powers. A bully was chocked to death by an invisible force. Five years later, Robbie Mueller (Jake Croker) returns to town focused on Heather Elliot (Emily Tennant) who tried to help during the childhood incident. Bully Greg wants her for homecoming. When Greg starts pushing Robbie, Greg is hospitalized by the invisible force. Father Henry has also returned. When Greg is killed, Heather's police detective widower-dad John Elliot (Vinnie Jones) investigates.

The production looks weak and is no more than cable TV level. There is way too much sunshine for a dark horror. The cinematography and editing are basic. Even the kill is simple blood splashes and random guts. There is no real energy. The presence of Christian Slater and Vinnie Jones attracted me to this movie but that's never a guarantee of anything. Jake Croker is not leading man material. His character should be darker and he doesn't have the screen presence. Emily Tennant shows a little potential and actually tries to do some acting. The obvious twist is good but not completely done well. The production is so weak that it doesn't have anything to offer cinematically.

Some Redeeming Features

[b1038752 · 4/10 · 11 May 2016]

Currently showing an IMDb score of 3.8 which I think is about right.

Vinnie Jones plays a prominent role but is merely a failed UK footballer (soccer player) who attempted to launch a movie career and cannot act. Foolishly I did not check the full cast list before selecting this title on a Z-list UK terrestrial TV channel as his name would have saved me tuning in.

Jones is hopeless and wooden (as expected), Christian Slater is clearly hard up for a buck (a shame given his previous work) so it is left to the youthful pseudo-teen school cast to carry this poorly written and directed pap. They don't do too badly so maybe they are worth a look in their future work.

As a B-Movie fan I was able to watch it to the cheesy end but I was surprised to see that it was made in 2014, it felt like a low budget 1990/2000 flick.

Some kind of an Omen kid

[nogodnomasters · 4/10 · 19 January 2018]

It appears creepy little Robbie Mueller (Jake Croker) has telekinetic power and people who want to harm him, tend to die. After being away from his home town for five years he is back in high school creeping everybody out with his knowledge of Drake's Equation, bad hair, and inability to smile. The only thing more creepy is Christian Slater playing a defrocked priest following him around wearing a gold gangsta cross.

Robbie has designs for Heather (Emily Tennant) who shows as much emotion as Kristen Stewart. Her father is a small town detective played by Vinnie Jones who is as convincing as when he played Ivan Rudovsky.The film felt like I was listening to someone tell a story who doesn't know how to tell a story.

I had "Carrie" flashbacks as well as "The Omen." The small Washington state town with a girl being liked by a guy with special powers had me thinking "Twilight" especially with the low end acting. There is a twist which I admit didn't see coming, because the clues were light and you were dragged heavily in one direction. So think twist, and if you get it before the last 30 minutes, I owe you a Scooby-Snack.

The film might have some stoner camp value to it. Not a serious horror/thriller.

Parental Guide: F-bomb. No sex or nudity

Bad movies don't die

[kosmasp · 2/10 · 12 December 2014]

I'm pretty sure you could watch this while you're outside shopping and you'd still get it. Actually since this movie does not think you can think for yourself, it does remind you of the movies "highlights". Anyway, there is not much going for the movie, least of all logic. While the "twist" is as ridiculous as it gets, the people in this movie react to it as if they had no brain.

Sometimes that's not a bad thing, but I'm pretty sure you have better things to do with your time. Unless you're a professional movie reviewer there is no reason to watch this. Actually, even if you are, there are other movies to watch than this. You wonder how deep Christian Slater has fallen ...

"Are yew out of yore moind?!"

[doug_park2001 · 4/10 · 24 May 2014]

Formulaic, half-baked film about Robbie, the weird bullied kid with unique and sinister powers; Heather, his pretty friend from childhood whose doting British dad is a cop; Greg, the cool jock-jerk with carnal desires for Heather; Heather's friends and Greg's friends, none of whom contribute a whole lot except as filler; and finally, Father Henry, the kooky "priest" played by Christian Slater who's read some arcane medieval texts and has Robbie all figured out.

Good cinematography with pretty scenery makes WAY OF THE WICKED basically watchable. Still, this hinders as much as it helps because you may be left wishing you hadn't bothered to finish it. The plot follows the same pattern that's been done--and done much better--a gazillion times before. Full of loose ends and unanswered questions, e.g., Why don't the cops question Heather about Greg? Some routine, unimaginative, tacked-in twists and "surprises." Most of the script, Robbie's excepted, is similarly lame.

Another film where it doesn't seem the makers had much of a clue what to make happen, particularly when it came to ending it, so they said with a shrug, "Oh, well, let's just get this out and make a few Redbox bucks off it."

Fairly terrible movie...

[paul_haakonsen · 3/10 · 4 October 2022]

Right, well I was lured in to watching the 2014 thriller "Way of the Wicked" from the cover, as it seemed fairly interesting. And Christian Slater is a fair enough actor, so I figured that since I hadn't already seen "Way of the Wicked", of course I would do so.

Well, I should perhaps have taken heed of the movie's rather low rating here on IMDb, because it is a clear indicator of what you're actually in for here, when you sit down to watch what writer Matthew Robert Kelly and director Kevin Carraway has to offer.

The storyline told in "Way of the Wicked" is rather pointless, and provided me with next to no entertainment. And I managed to endure just about an hour of the ordeal before I had to turn off the movie, as the self-inflicted torment was just becoming too unbearable. Yeah, the movie is pretty terrible.

The acting performances in "Way of the Wicked" were not great. I mean, you have Vinnie Jones in the leading role, and he isn't expect carved from acting material now is he? And Christian Slater, while having great movies to his resume, felt like he was just running on auto-pilot here.

Visually then "Way of the Wicked" was adequate. I mean, you're not in for a grand spectacle of special effects. And whatever special effects was used served the movie well enough. It was fair enough for what it was.

All in all, this movie was not really worth the time or effort. Nor is it a movie that I will ever return to finish watching, simply because the storyline was too mundane, and the character gallery had zero appeal.

My rating of "Way of the Wicked" lands on a three out of ten stars.

Omen-esque but nothing more!!

[Zulfmanauthor · 7/10 · 17 May 2014]

'Way of the Wicked' has an idea but sadly it's been seen before several times. A priest aims to convince a cop who is also a desperate father that the young lad hanging around his daughter, is someone sinister. There are some interesting scenes but throughout the movie, there is a feeling like we have seen it all before. The element of surprise remains missing through most of it. Despite having a tried and tested formula, it seemed the director failed to try more with the plot or even add some engaging sub plots. However I was impressed with the cast who did their best with what they had which was sadly an average storyline. I still do recommend it as decent late night entertainment, especially for people who enjoy 'Omen-esque' films and like a decent climax!

Falls short of being memorable by offering nothing new to audiences

[ersinkdotcom · 6/10 · 31 May 2014]

Religious horror and thriller movies are a dime a dozen these days. Ever since "The Exorcist" hit screens in 1973, the world has been in a state of satanic panic. There's always a constant flow of possession or devil- baby flicks being released in the independent world of horror and touched upon in the mainstream at least once every six months or so. Some of them rise above the standard fare, while others fizzle out and are forgotten. "Way of the Wicked" falls short of being memorable by offering nothing new to audiences.

Robbie (Jake Croker) is a disturbed young teen suspected of causing a mysterious death. After five years, he returns to his hometown to start anew. Still pining for the local police detective's (Vinnie Jones) daughter Heather (Emily Tennant), he befriends her and incurs the wrath of the girl's popular schoolmates and suitor. They begin turning up dead as each torments Robbie and bothers his love interest. Can Father Henry (Christian Slater) use the powers of his faith to stop the killings?

"Way of the Wicked" plays out like a mashed-up version of "Carrie" and "The Omen." Although the image used to promote the movie screams "The Exorcist," what viewers find inside is a hodge-podge of elements taken from other films featuring teens with telekinetic powers. The only tie to religious thrillers is a prophecy Father Henry is investigating. Upon first viewing, it's vague whether the foretelling is from the Bible or another book associated with it. I doubt anyone would want to view it a second time just to catch whether it's one or the other.

The acting in "Way of the Wicked" never comes into question. Both Vinnie Jones and Christian Slater act like they're personally invested in the film. Emily Tennant does a great job emoting as Heather. Jake Croker is absolutely creepy as Robbie. His performance and haunting stare made my skin crawl.

"Way of the Wicked" is unrated. It features violence, adult situations, and language. Viewers don't have to sit through any unnecessary nude scenes. I can see this airing on the Chiller Channel on a Friday or Saturday night.

Even "Way of the Wicked's" attempt at a twist ending ends up falling flat. It just makes the whole thing more of a copycat of past movies much better than this. Even though you don't see it coming and it's well-delivered, you still are left with a sense of déjà vu as the credits roll. I can think of films that are a bigger waste of time, but you'd still be better off re-watching "Carrie," "Firestarter," or "The Omen."

Way Of The Wicked

[a_baron · 7/10 · 12 April 2015]

If you are old enough to remember both "Carrie" and "The Omen", this is the two wrapped into one; even the script writer couldn't resist referencing the latter. That being said, it remains to be seen if this idea is any more plausible than Vinnie Jones playing the detective, his English accent explained away conveniently by his having emigrated with his wife, now deceased.

In "The Omen", the father of the Devil's spawn was totally unconvinced by the renegade priest; it was only much later that realisation dawned on him. Here, the detective allows himself to be convinced much more easily, probably because the villain of the piece has his eye on his daughter.

Should any detective be quite so gullible? Well, in the UK at present, the police are frantically searching for a mythical paedophile ring at the heart of the establishment, and to date they have turned over the homes of one recently deceased former Home Secretary and our most decorated soldier, who at the age of 91 must be thoroughly bemused. The informant in that case claims that three underage boys have been murdered by this ectoplasmic conspiracy, so what price a humble detective from Hicksville, USA?

Having said that, there is a splendid if dishonest twist in the climax, and only the tiniest of hints, easily missed, that it would play out so.

It should have been developed way more better

[Seraphion · 6/10 · 26 May 2014]

The story is about Heather, whose friend Robbie secretly has telekinesis. Back in middle school Robbie used it to choke a bully to death. Now at high school, after moving away, Robbie goes back to Heather's neighborhood. From the distance one Father Henry, a priest who investigated about the bully's death five years ago, monitors Robbie and Heather. They get close again. Greg, Heather's boyfriend, tried to bully Robbie and he tasted the wrong end of Robbie's ability. Heather asks Robbie about it but he denies anything.

Greg then gets killed by a tractor. Heather's father, Detective Elliot, starts an investigation, warning Heather of a possible danger. He then questions Robbie about Greg. After a time behind the shadows, Father Henry approaches the detective, warning about Robbie's supernatural ability. Pretty soon a colleague tells Elliot that Henry is not an official priest anymore. Elliot confronts Henry but Henry reveals that Robbie is trying to fulfill a prophecy by killing Heather. Father Henry then gets killed right after.

Heather and Robbie meet on the grave of Heather's mother. Elliot finds Henry's body and goes to the grave and finds the couple. First Elliot points a gun at Robbie but when Elliot lowers his gun Robbie immediately draws out a gun and pointed it to Elliot. After this is the final conflict but I'm determined not to spoil it to you because, despite some minor continuance issues, it's a good surprise.

For me it's quite deceiving that the poster that is known widely only depicts Slater's character heavily, while in fact his is just a supporting role with relatively little in-frame duration. I think it's being done to lift the hype of the movie by bandwagoning on Christian Slater's once-was big name.

Christian Slater's career has faded into the backgrounds of the mainstream movies nowadays. He's been acting roles in 3rd class Eastern Europe based movies such as Assassin Run (2013).

Vinnie Jones is also suffering quite the same, and I'm quite surprised to see a frequent action movie cast like him to play in this movie. One thing good is that the movie's directors or producers doesn't compulse him into acting out any American accent, thus he gets to keep his rough European accent which is his trademark in action movies.

The basic story is quite good and sounded promising. Unfortunately the development on the screenplay is not so good that there are plot holes, obvious ones, here and there. But again the ending is quite a good surprise, although even that can't salvage the whole movie from defects in the story.

The thrill mood is not really developed well. This is due to not enough duration given to build up the suspense. The music also is not helpful in building up the mood of the suspense scenes.

The acting is quite imbalanced between the casts. The seniors Slater and Jones, and the main protagonist Emily Tennant acted well, but the rest of the cast lacks out any suitable expressions on the moods or sometimes even overacted.

Overall for me this movie deserves a 6 out of 10 score, while a recommendation is still doubtful from my side. It would be a recommendable watch if only the story had been developed better.