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).