Wretched
was shot in two days on a budget of 7,000 dollars in May of 2006
in Van Nuys, California. Written by horror film journalist Heidi
Martinuzzi and based on her own personal experiences with bulimia,
depression, and abusive relationships, Wretched is a very disturbing
short about a young woman's struggle to cope with her disintegrating
marriage by controlling her food intake.
According
to US estimates from The National Institute of Mental Health, between
5 per cent and 10 per cent of girls and women (i.e. 5-10 million
people) and 1 million boys and men suffer from eating disorders,
including anorexia, bulimia, binge eating disorder, or other associated
dietary conditions. Estimates suggest that as many as 15 percent
of young women adopt unhealthy attitudes and behaviors about food.
Bulimia (an eating disorder involving the purging, or throwing up,
of food after binging, can have serious mental and physical; side
effects including esophagus cancer, tooth decay, throat ulcers,
depression, starvation, and suicide.
Runtime:
20:29
Shot on HD miniDV
Jenny
(Jaime Andrews) and her husband Eric (Joe Bob Briggs) sit at a diner
eating a cheap meal of burgers, fries and chocolate cake. Through
their ever-increasing arguments and Jenny's constant visits to the
ladies room, the audience will start to learn how close to losing
her sanity Jenny really is, and how oblivious Eric is when it comes
to Jenny's disorder.
Though
it doesn't sound like a horror film, Wretched required blood
effects designed by special effects guru Gregory Nicotero (Land
of the Dead, Sin City, Hostel). Written by horror
film journalist Heidi Martinuzzi and directed by Leslie Delano (director
of the female-centric slasher film Deadly Lessons), Wretched
is an atypical horror story told in a very non-traditional fashion.
Other horror contributors include cinematographer Jessica Gallant
(Dimples, Make a Wish) and Brad Paulson (Evil Ever
After, The Van, The Bloodstained Bride).