Becky

Starring: Lulu Wilson, Kevin James, Joel McHale, Amanda Brugel, Robert Maillet, Isaiah Rockcliffe

Director: Jonathan Milott & Cary Murnion

Rebellious thirteen year old Becky (Lulu Wilson), still not over the death of her mother years prior, heads off with her father Jeff (Joel McHale). Unknown to her, Jeff has invited his new girlfriend Kayla (Amanda Brugel) and her son Ty (Isaiah Rockcliffe) with the hope of breaking the news to Becky that he and Kayla are getting married. Upset, Becky runs off to hide and let out her anger. Enter escaped convict/nazi Dominick (Kevin James) and his crew who hold everyone hostage, looking for a key he believes to be in Becky's possession. Becky becomes everyone's only hope of escaping this nightmare and must dispatch Dominick and his crew before it's too late.

I'm all for a hard R, fairy fairy tale-esque take on Home Alone. While the film looks good and there are a couple of somewhat suspenseful set pieces, this cant help but feel like a missed opportunity.

Lulu Wilson, known to horror fans for her work in Ouija: Origin of Evil and Annabelle:Creation, shows what she is capable of in a rare lead role. You are definitely on her side as she slowly takes out her family's captors. Let me be clear though, Home Alone this is not. Becky is not like young Kevin McCallister, setting non lethal traps to stop burglars from robbing his home. Becky is straight up Rambo, often dispatching the villains in gruesome fashion. For a 13 year old girl to be this efficient at killing and feel nothing is unbelievable and somewhat psychotic. While her violence is directed towards a Nazi villain and his supporters, it's hard to truly buy into it because her transition into ruthless killing machine comes out of nowhere.

I love casting against type and while comedic thespians Joel McHale and Kevin James fit the bill, people will probably be more impressed by the villainous James. Paul Blart this is not, with James sporting a killer beard and equipped with a swastika tattoo on the back of his head. He is surprisingly good in a very underwritten and stereotypical villain role.

Also, don't think about the movie too hard. Plot holes will definitely start to pop into your head (they are too numerous to even begin listing here) and this is due to the script that seems more interested in Becky delivering her violent justice than actually putting together a somewhat coherent story. While I haven't seen the directing duo's previous film Bushwick, this was definitely the case of their debut film Cooties which did little with its clever and potentially fun conceit.

Despite how it sounds, it's honestly not the worst thing I have seen. It's just frustrating when a movie squanders the potential of its cast and story.

Grade: C-

Becky is available on VOD.