Becky is a 2020 American action thriller film directed by Jonathan Milott and Cary Murnion, from a screenplay by Nick Morris, Lane Skye and Ruckus Skye. It stars Lulu Wilson, Kevin James and Joel McHale, and follows a young girl who must defend her home from a group of escaped convicts. Becky was scheduled to have its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival in April 2020, but the festival was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was released on video-on-demand, digital platforms and in select drive-in theaters on June 5, 2020, by Quiver Distribution and Redbox Entertainment. The film received mixed reviews from critics.
Plot
Thirteen-year-old Becky Hooper is being questioned regarding an event that recently took place at her family's house. She gives vague answers and does not seem to remember what they are discussing. Two weeks earlier, Becky was a bullied high school student whose mother passed away a year ago. She has a strained relationship with her father Jeff, who attempts to reconnect with her with a trip to their lakefront home. Meanwhile, prisoner Dominick, a Neo-Nazi, and his men Apex, Cole and Hammond are riding in a transport van. Dominick has an inmate killed to get the guards to pull over, using the opportunity to kill them and pose as policemen. They stop a man and his two children on the street, kill them, and take their car. Jeff's girlfriend Kayla and her young son Ty arrive at the house, upsetting Becky. Jeff announces that he and Kayla are engaged. Hurt, Becky runs out of the house, followed by one of her dogs, Diego. At her small fort in the woods, she finds a mysterious key inside a tin box. Dominick and his men show up at the house, demanding the key and holding everyone hostage. Kayla and Ty try to escape but are caught by Apex, who tries to help them while Cole kills Dora, one of the family's dogs. Jeff lies about Becky's presence to protect her, but Dominick catches on and shoots Kayla in the leg to get the truth out of them. Becky, still in the woods, becomes aware of the intruders' presence and talks over a walkie-talkie, lying about calling the cops; Dominick calls her bluff and brings Jeff outside to lure Becky out. He begins to torture Jeff with a fire poker. Becky relents and says she will give him the key. Dominick allows Jeff to talk through the talkie, but he orders Becky to run. Jeff breaks free and finds Becky, telling her he loves her before being shot dead. Dominick demands the key and Becky gouges out his left eye with it before fleeing with Diego. Dominick goes back into the house to cut off the dangling eye and sends Cole and Hammond out to retrieve the key. Cole finds Becky and Diego in her fort. Before Cole can negotiate, Becky stabs him repeatedly with a sharp ruler and kills him. Apex shows Kayla and Ty compassion and Dominick realizes Apex is going soft. He tries to have Apex reaffirm his loyalty to him since he has been planning this job for years while in prison. After finding Cole's corpse, Hammond chases Becky down to the lake, where she makes him trip and land on a wooden plank of nails. Hammond falls in the lake and Becky uses a nearby boat to violently shred Hammond's chest with its motor, killing him. She is found by Apex, who incapacitates Diego. Not wanting to hurt Becky after his guilt over killing the two children earlier, Apex urges her to flee. Becky makes her presence known to Kayla and Ty; Kayla tries to distract Dominick by asking of the key's purpose. Becky sets off the car alarm to lure Dominick out as Kayla tries to free herself. Apex fends off Dominick long enough for Becky to use a lawnmower to run over Dominick's head, killing him. Apex thinks he will be redeemed for saving her but Becky shoots him in the head instead. Kayla and Ty come out with Diego and sit beside Becky as they wait for the police. In the present, Becky denies murdering the Neo-Nazi gang, even though they know she did it. The sheriff expresses concern over the fact.
In May 2019, it was announced Simon Pegg and Lulu Wilson had joined the cast of the film, with Jonathan Milott and Cary Murnion directing from a screenplay by Nick Morris, Lane Skye and Ruckus Skye. In July 2019, it was announced Kevin James had joined the cast of the film, replacing Pegg who dropped out due to a scheduling conflict. In August 2019, Joel McHale, Amanda Brugel and Robert Maillet joined the cast of the film.
Release
The film was scheduled to have its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 20, 2020. However, the festival was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. That same month, Quiver Distribution acquired distribution rights to the film and set it for a June 5, 2020, release. Through its first 10 days of release, the film ranked as high as 8th on Spectrum's rental charts and 12th at the iTunes Store.
Reception
Box office
Becky made $205,797 from 45 theaters in its opening weekend, finishing second among reported films. It made $192,138 from 50 theaters in its second weekend, becoming the first film to officially top The Wretched at the box office. It made $85,056 the following week but was itself dethroned by newcomer Followed, before returning to first in its fourth weekend.
Critical response
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 70% based on 99 reviews, with an average rating of 5.87/10. The site's critics consensus reads: "Becky isn't quite able to sustain enough intensity to fully take advantage of its premise, though it serves up entertainingly nasty thrills for genre fans." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 53 out of 100, based on 19 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews." Dennis Harvey of Variety called the film an "over-the-top yet effectively taut thriller" and "Wilson's nimble half-brat, half-she-devil performance is key to our buying the basic premise, aided by solid supporting cast contributions. James grows less intimidating the more dialogue he's given in an otherwise trim script by marital duo Ruckus and Lane Skye." Jordan Mintzer of The Hollywood Reporter wrote: "Becky tends to work best when it revels in the blood-splattered set pieces of its script, going that extra mile and a half in the gore department to create some truly disgusting moments, albeit ones that are laced with a grim sense of humor."
