[Review] 'The Wrath of Becky' Satisfies by Unleashing Bloody Fury

​What’s better than watching a little girl slaughter a bunch of bad guys? Watching a little girl slaughter a bunch of fascist bad guys! Back in 2020, Becky delivered on that promise and then some, and in the new sequel from writers/directors Matt Angel and Suzanne Coote, The Wrath of Becky, it’s more of the same as she slices and dices her way through despicable dudes in a flurry of bloody rage.
 
Set two years after the first film, The Wrath of Becky sees the title heroine (played once again with vicious glee by Lulu Wilson), out on her own and continuing her survivalist training. After an encounter with a group of d-bags belonging to a woman-hating, white supremacist group dubbed “The Noble Men”, Becky sets out on a quest for revenge to remind them that hell hath no fury like a teenage girl.
 
With a new pair of directors in Angel and Coote tackling this furious sequel comes a slightly different take on the title character. Whereas Becky was just a little girl in the first film (albeit a seriously deadly little girl), she’s now become a full-fledged teenager with the sort of attitude that makes you believe her looks actually could kill if she wanted them to. Working as a waitress now, we get a good taste of just how little shit Becky is willing to take from creeps as well as how vindictive she can be when they don’t listen, resulting in some cheer-worthy moments. Lulu Wilson is the ultimate badass in this role. The talented actress steps back into the character’s shoes with ease and delivers a magnetic performance that you don’t dare look away from. If the first film was about Becky discovering who she is, then The Wrath of Becky is about her fully indulging in her own killer personality and enjoying the hell out of offing creeps.
 
Becky is well on her way to becoming an icon. The character is just that much fun to watch. Now that she has a few murders up her sleeve, Becky daydreams about all of the gruesome things she’d like to do to shitty guys that cross her path, and it’s hilarious. The filmmakers understand that if you’re watching this sequel, you’ve come for the laugh-out-loud violence, which they accomplish with an over the top bubblegum and blood tone. While I’m not sure there’s anything here that tops the motorboat death from the first film, The Wrath of Becky is gloriously gory. Made all the better by Wilson’s cackling joy as she rips through a cast of characters who absolutely have it coming. Becky is more or less a little Jason Voorhees with a penchant for killing terrorists instead of campers. We love to see it.

​Wilson may run the show here, but Sean William Scott steals the scene every chance he gets as the leader of this particular Noble Men cell, Darryl. Like Kevin James in the first film, Scott’s role here is a surprising villainous turn for the actor, but one I’d love to see him do more of. You’ve never seen Scott be so intimidating. Every time he speaks, he pulls the viewer to the edge of their seats, unsure of what he might do next. By surrounding him with a bunch of pathetic morons, the film allows Scott to control the scene and come off that much scarier by comparison. While the others are sexist, bigoted pricks, Darryl is a crazed but calculated character who truly believes in his mission of wiping out minorities and forcing women into servitude. In a time when we’re seeing groups like The Noble Men get louder in America, Darryl and crew are the perfect adversaries for Becky, because when they get theirs, it is so. Goddamn. Satisfying.
 
Those of you watching just to see Becky cut her way through bad guys like a lawnmower through grass will get exactly what you came for with The Wrath of Becky. Just don’t expect much else. This is more or less the exact same film as the first time around, only with less emotional stakes. It even takes place at a rustic cabin again. At just over eighty minutes, The Wrath of Becky is lean, mean, machete-swinging carnage with a thinner narrative than a Friday the 13th film. The reason these Noble Men have gathered has potential to lead to a bigger story, but ultimately doesn’t amount to much. Rather than a sequel which expands on the world, this feels more like a stepping stone to something bigger and better. Unlike the first time around, there’s zero opportunity for Becky to grow here, making the film a little less captivating than its predecessor. It’s a blink and you miss it movie that seems to know it doesn’t have much to say, getting in and out as quickly as possible while throwing in a few fun kills to direct attention away from the underwhelming narrative.
 
Still, fans of the first film will have a killer time with The Wrath of Becky. It’s a wild, bloody, sit back and enjoy the ride kind of movie that delivers on exactly what it promises; An unhinged Lulu Wilson bringing down a hammer of rage.

The Wrath of Becky comes to theaters May 26th from Quiver Distribution. 

By Matt Konopka