The Withering – directed by Daniel J. Pico, written by Will Loper & Daniel J. Pico & starring Amelia Mahrie, Gareth Tidball & Debra J. Onsager
Review by Matt Boiselle
There’s actually no scarcity of cursed objects in horror, and The Withering brings its personal spin to the acquainted system with an historic amulet that provides the last word temptation: the prospect to show again the clock.
Judith is a bitter girl in her seventies dealing with a terminal most cancers prognosis when she acquires a mysterious amulet at an property sale. She quickly discovers that the artifact has the power to rejuvenate her physique, making her youthful and stronger. Unfortunately, there’s a catch — and it’s a reasonably nasty one. Every little bit of vitality restored to Judith is being taken from the folks round her. As she continues to develop youthful, the city begins to wither, with illness, decay, and loss of life spreading all through the neighborhood. Judith turns into more and more obsessed along with her newfound youth, and what begins as a supernatural draining of these round her finally provides strategy to one thing significantly extra violent. Her caregiver, Haley, begins piecing collectively what’s taking place, however by the point she understands the amulet’s true nature, Judith’s transformation — each bodily and psychologically — is nicely underway.
The Withering has an intriguing premise, notably in the way in which it performs with mortality, desperation, and the lengths somebody may go to reclaim the life they really feel slipping away. There’s one thing inherently creepy about one individual’s rejuvenation actually coming on the expense of everybody round them, and the movie will get some mileage out of that idea. Unfortunately, the execution doesn’t all the time match the potential of the concept. The story sometimes feels stretched, and a few of its extra attention-grabbing themes might have benefited from a little bit extra depth. There are efficient moments alongside the way in which, notably as soon as Judith’s starvation turns into extra aggressive, however the movie by no means fairly develops the sense of dread its premise appears able to delivering. That’s to not say The Withering is with out its charms. Fans of supernatural curse movies and slow-burn indie horror might discover sufficient right here to make it value a watch, and the central idea supplies an attention-grabbing variation on the eternal-youth nightmare.
Ultimately, The Withering lands someplace within the center — an attention-grabbing horror premise with flashes of one thing stronger beneath, however one which by no means fully sinks its hooks in.
The Withering arrives on Digital July 28 from Cleopatra Venom.
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