�I am afraid of food. I�m getting fat� Jenny (Jaime Alexander) whispers during dinner with her husband Eric ( Joe Bob Briggs) his reply to her comment �I mean it looks great, your tits have gotten huge� Jenny periodically visits the toilet of the restaurant they are eating in to void her stomach. The sickening scenes of her forcing the food out of herself are giving added layers (no pun intended) by her own melancholy voiceovers.

Jamie Alexander is barely there, although this is intentional and I suppose that�s the aesthetic of the film. When her husband tells her �You make me sick. You worthless cunt� this only further inspires her toward self-destruction. Alexander is wonderful; you see that deep-seated unhappiness behind her placid demeanour. Joe Bob Briggs anger and frustration is so perfectly understandable, there were moments during Wretched when I felt like slapping Jenny. But I understood that her �sickness� wasn�t her fault. She is seeking a perfection that only she will ever see. And perfection will only ever be intent and never an actuality.

Trailblazer Heidi Martinuzzi is a very talented girl. Look out for an inspired cameo by Martinuzzi during the jarring nightmare-logic bathroom sequence. Kudos girlfriend.

Serious, Ridiculous, Overblown, Pretentious, Warped. Alan K was born in 1983 and has contributed to Film Ireland, Pretty Scary, GCN, Penny Blood and ButcherQueers. His fiction has appeared in Dogmatika (contributing editor next issue), Beat the Dust, Parasitic, The Beat, Lit Up Magazine, Gold Dust and is forthcoming in Sein and Werden, Six Sentences and Shoots and Vines ---- He resides in Wicklow.

© 2009 Laura Hird All rights reserved.