As Spooky season comes to a close, the scary movies aren’t quite done yet. While there are a lot of rated-R horror films still hitting theaters, there are some more teen and kid-friendly options hitting streaming. And this week, just in time for the Halloween parties and sleepovers Netflix is releasing a slightly creepy tale Wendell & Wild. Not only is this movie geared toward teen viewers, but the stop-motion animation film is truly a work of art.
Although the movie is named after the two demon characters Wendell & Wild, the movie is more about Kat – a young girl trying to find her place in the world. Kat’s parents died when she was young and she was set on a path that lead to her being put in a juvenile center and now, as she enters a private school she wants nothing more than to fit in. But it’s not as easy as that, and it never is. Kat, is actually also a hell-maiden and the way that Wendell and Wild can come to the land of the living. They promise her they can bring her parents back to life, but no one really pays attention to what that can mean.
The story, although choppy at times and too busy at others, is something completely unique. And with a mix of stop-motion animation and more traditional animation, the movie is a visual feast. Even with the characters being so extreme and the story other worldly, the feelings Kat experiences and the desire to be with her loved ones is relatable.
The movie does deal with demons, death, hell, zombies, and other levels of the supernatural that are prevalent in the horror genre. But unlike many other releases this year, it’s only on the slightly creepy side and not scary. It doesn’t fall into the fallacy of being cheesy, which would make teens or younger horror fans find it too young for their taste, but instead dances that line perfectly of creepy and not too scary.
Wendell & Wild will be available on Netflix this Friday, October 28th. Fans of Coraline, Nightmare Before Christmas, and other stop-motion animation classics will love this movie. It may not be everyone’s taste, but the movie is an original story that is something different this Halloween time.
Wendell & Wild is rated PG-13
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About Wendell and Wild:
From the delightfully wicked minds of Henry Selick and producer Jordan Peele comes Wendell & Wild, an animated tale about scheming demon brothers Wendell (Keegan-Michael Key) and Wild (Peele), who enlist the aid of Kat Elliot — a tough teen with a load of guilt — to summon them to the Land of the Living. But what Kat demands in return leads to a brilliantly bizarre and comedic adventure like no other, an animated fantasy that defies the law of life and death, all told through the handmade artistry of stop motion.