Wicked

"Evil never looked so good."

1998 1h 28m EN

😐

5.1

MID

★5.1TMDB · 60

Thriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A cul-de-sac in an oppressive suburb becomes a literal dead end for wife and mother Karen Christianson when she is brutally murdered in her own home. In the wake of the event, Karen's teenage daughter Ellie begins to exhibit bizarre behaviors as she slowly acquires her mother's demeanor and mannerisms. Meanwhile, Karen's husband Ben nurtures a less-than-innocent interest in the family's sultry live-in nanny, Lena.

“Evil never looked so good.”

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Cast

Julia Stiles
Ellie Christianson
William R. Moses
Ben Christianson
Patrick Muldoon
Lawson Smith
Vanessa Zima
Inger Christianson
Louise Myrback
Lena Anderson
Chelsea Field
Karen Christianson
Casey Rion
Leon
Venessa Verdugo
Police Woman

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Michael Steinberg
Writers: Eric Weiss
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

88 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $4.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

28 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Michael Steinberg, shot by Bernd Heinl. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Cliff Martinez. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Daniel Gross shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Julia Stiles and William R. Moses and Patrick Muldoon carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Evil never looked so good.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Michael Steinberg directs. Bernd Heinl behind the camera. Cliff Martinez scores. Daniel Gross cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

188 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
2Shot for just $4.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
328 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
4Directed by Michael Steinberg, shot by Bernd Heinl. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Cliff Martinez. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Daniel Gross shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Julia Stiles and William R. Moses and Patrick Muldoon carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "Evil never looked so good.".
9IMDB entry: tt0120088 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Only 60 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
11Classified under 10 themes, including "jealousy", "killing", "detective", "seduction".

The technical file

Cinematography: Bernd Heinl
Original score: Cliff Martinez
Editing: Daniel Gross
Production design: Dominic Watkins
Costume design: Sara Jane Slotnick
VFX supervisor: Todd Mahon
Sound: Chris David
Runtime: 88 min · 1h 28m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $4,000,000
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Wicked (1998)

Also by

Michael Steinberg

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Wuchak2023-04-26
★ 7/10
Variation on the Lethal Lolita theme with 16 year-old Julia Stiles After a murder at a gated community in California, a smooth, no-nonsense detective (Michael Parks) zeroes-in on the mostly likely suspect. William R. Moses plays the father, Julia Stiles the daughter and Patrick Muldoon the neighbor. "Wicked” (1998) is a crime drama involving a teenage girl, although the identity of the killer is sort of up in the air, which makes it a Whodunnit. It’s similar to other 90’s Lethal Lolita flicks, like "Poison Ivy" (1992), "The Crush" (1993) and "Devil in the Flesh" (1998), but there are enough nuances to set it apart. Julia was only 16 during shooting and so lacks the womanly curves she would later have. Blonde Louise Myrback in on hand as the potential stepmother. Meanwhile Vanessa Zima plays the younger sister. The movie has an artistic flair and droll verve, both welcome. It runs 1 hours, 28 minutes. GRADE: B

Production companies