{"id":2048885,"date":"2025-09-25T11:09:31","date_gmt":"2025-09-25T11:09:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2048885"},"modified":"2025-09-25T11:09:31","modified_gmt":"2025-09-25T11:09:31","slug":"netflixs-creepy-thriller-might-be-the-wicker-man-for-a-new-generation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/netflixs-creepy-thriller-might-be-the-wicker-man-for-a-new-generation\/","title":{"rendered":"Netflix\u2019s creepy thriller might be The Wicker Man for a new generation"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div data-article-body=\"true\">\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><em>Wayward <\/em>is a <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"link \" href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/netflix\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Netflix;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\">Netflix<\/a> thriller in which a couple moves to a small community where everyone knows each other and the residents walk around looking blissfully happy. Idiots. Hasn\u2019t television taught them that these places are creepy? At least in the big city you can ignore the psychopaths on the street. Here in Tall Pines, you are forced to have them over for dinner. It will not surprise you to learn that this is a drama with overtones of horror, but what it lacks in originality it makes up for in engaging performances.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">At the heart of this pretty <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"link \" href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/travel\/destinations\/north-america\/united-states\/vermont\/hotels\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Vermont;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\">Vermont<\/a> town is a \u201ctherapeutic school\u201d for troubled adolescents, run by Evelyn Wade (Toni Collette). She\u2019s the smiliest Tall Pines resident, and therefore the most sinister. The place is essentially a prison, complete with dehumanising rules and brutal staff. But it also has expensive fees, because it\u2019s a place where strict middle-class parents send their kids for smoking pot and answering back. In the US, these facilities come under the banner of the \u201ctroubled teen industry\u201d, of which there have been a number of real-life horror stories.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-3 right-3 size-10 md:size-[50px] lg:inset-0 lg:size-full lg:bg-transparent\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-0 right-0 rounded-full bg-white p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-white\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg viewbox=\"0 0 22 22\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"size-4 lg:size-6\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\"><path d=\"M12.372.92c0-.506.41-.916.915-.916L21 0l-.004 7.712a.917.917 0 0 1-1.832 0V3.183l-6.827 6.828-1.349-1.348 6.828-6.828h-4.529a.915.915 0 0 1-.915-.915M1.835 17.816l6.828-6.828 1.349 1.349-6.829 6.827h4.529a.915.915 0 0 1 0 1.831L0 21l.004-7.713a.916.916 0 0 1 1.831 0z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed inset-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-white hidden\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<p>Toni Collette (left) plays Evelyn Wade, who runs a \u2018therapeutic school\u2019 for troubled adolescents &#8211; Michael Gibson\/Netflix<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The show begins with an escapee stumbling into the path of new arrivals Laura (Sarah Gadon) and Alex (Mae Martin, who also wrote the show). Laura spent some of her childhood in Tall Pines and wanted to return there to have the couple\u2019s first child. Alex has taken a job as a local police officer and before long is investigating the goings-on at Evelyn\u2019s establishment.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Teenagers are the target audience for <em>Wayward<\/em>, so most of the adults are awful, but the two youngest leads are rebellious characters to root for: best friends Abbie and Leila (Sydney Topliffe and Alyvia Alyn Lind), who are held at the facility against their will and are determined to break out. The show acknowledges its debt to <em>One Flew Over the Cuckoo\u2019s Nest <\/em>with a Gen-Z joke. \u201cWork the system and stop <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"link \" href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/films\/2025\/09\/17\/one-battle-after-another-thriller-leonardo-dicaprio\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:trying to be Jack Nicholson;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\">trying to be Jack Nicholson<\/a>,\u201d someone tells Leila. \u201cIs Jack Nicholson that old guy from <em>As Good as It Gets<\/em>?\u201d she replies.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The horror tropes are well worn to anyone who has ever watched films, but will probably seem fresh to a young audience: echoes of <em>The Stepford Wives<\/em>, <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"link \" href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/films\/0\/the-wicker-man-true-story-murder-charles-walton\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:The Wicker Man;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\"><em>The Wicker Man<\/em><\/a> and <em>Rosemary\u2019s Baby<\/em>; the familiar plot points of secrets hidden in the cellar and things that go bump in the night. Collette\u2019s character is underwritten, with nothing to explain her evilness save for a weak backstory that comes towards the end of the eight episodes. There are plot weaknesses too \u2013 what\u2019s to stop Alex calling in help from an outside force, rather than remaining trapped in this community? And if there\u2019s a reason for recurring motifs of toads and doors, I must have missed it.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Acting-wise, though, the show is elevated by Martin, who is best known as a comedian but fully commits to a serious role. Alex is an immensely likeable character, earnest and empathetic, and gets the audience fully onside.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><em>Streaming on Netflix now<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/customer\/subscribe\/01doysa\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \"><b>Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.yahoo.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Wayward is a Netflix thriller in which a couple moves to a small community where everyone knows each other and the residents walk around looking blissfully happy. Idiots. Hasn\u2019t television taught them that these places are creepy? At least in the big city you can ignore the psychopaths on the street. Here in Tall Pines, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2048886,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[367591,367593,23191,367594,380215,356327,380214],"class_list":["post-2048885","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","tag-alex-dempsey","tag-mae-martin","tag-netflix","tag-tall-pines","tag-therapeutic-school","tag-toni-collette","tag-troubled-adolescents"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Netflixs-creepy-thriller-might-be-The-Wicker-Man-for-a.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2048885","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2048885"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2048885\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2048886"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2048885"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2048885"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2048885"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}