'The Wasteland' review: Unseen evil 

An isolated family living in the middle of nowhere is torn apart when an unseen evil decides to pay them a visit. This is the premise of The Wasteland.

Netflix has lined up an array of upcoming movies and TV series to start off the new year with. Starting with comedy and drama, to the horror/thriller genre, a number of new releases are slated for 2022. Netflix's The Wasteland is one of the first horror/thriller flicks that the viewing platform is bringing to its audience.

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The Wasteland reviewed

In the middle of nowhere

Set in the nineteenth century, a family of three living in the middle of nowhere are torn apart when impending doom decides to visit them in the shape of a terrifying creature.

The Wasteland starts off with a feeling of eeriness and anticipation. Diego and his parents may live a monotonous life in the wastelands, isolated from society, but the threat of something terrifying is looming over the three from the very beginning.

Diego's father knows of the 'beast' and other perilous things that are lurking on the horizon, so he has marked off their territory with tall posts. Nobody is allowed to venture beyond that.

The family grow their own food and tend to their own needs themselves without having established any kind of connection with the outside world.

Diego's father wants his son to grow up fast and become a 'man', but his mother coddles and protects him from all the dangers and responsibilities that his father seems to thrust upon him.

Diego and his mother would share bedtime stories all the time. Interestingly, most of his mother's stories were children's horror but they always took a gory turn. However, when Diego's father would try to 'educate' his son about the beast, his mother would always stop him, claiming the kid was too young for such horrors.

However, when a wounded man on a drifting boat disrupts their lives, it became essential for Diego to know of the horror lurking on the horizon. His father tells him about the encounters between his sister and the beast, including its culmination.

Little did Diego know then how close he would get to the horrors which only sounded like tales to him.

Abandoned and bewildered

Diego's father left in search of the wounded man's family in order to deliver the news of his death. Despite warnings and pleadings from his wife and son, he ventured beyond the marked territory.

Left to fend for themselves, the mother and son passed each day in anticipation of his return and in fear of the unseen evil which seemed to draw closer.

Armed with a shotgun that Diego's father had gifted him, his mother continued to stay on vigil, looking out for what she feared was the beast. With every passing day, the beast seemed to show up nearer and nearer to the house.

In the absence of the father and without proper food and care, Diego's mother was slowly inching towards insanity. It was now up to little Diego to simultaneously take care of his mother as well as defeat the beast that soon gained entry into their house and took over their lives.

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Verdict

An intriguing plot depicted through spine-chilling sounds

The Wateland is an interesting enquiry into the concept of evil. The movie does not bring to the viewers the shape of the beast until the very end. Even then, it is shrouded in darkness or portrayed through reflections.

Moments of horror are created strictly through sounds. The suspenseful music, the sound and sudden noises, and even the echoes through which the beast would communicate are the only elements that have been used to create horror.

The aural effects have been employed in a fantastic manner by the director of The Wasteland to create the ambience of horror.

Turgidity comes at a cost

However, it must be noted that the movie was long drawn out. The first half admittedly gets a little monotonous as the viewer is taken through the days with the mother and son cooped up in the house, awaiting the father's return.

The latter part of the movie progresses at a smooth pace which makes us wonder the intent behind the lackadaisical first half. The lack of story in the plot of The Wasteland becomes evident.

Overall, The Wasteland is an interesting watch. It could have been better if the audience could be kept entertained by something other than jump-scares in the first half of the movie.

However, if viewers are willing to not concentrate on the plot's density and instead focus on the element of horror, The Wasteland with its innumerable jump-scares, does not falter.