When the film Becky came out in 2020, it was surprising in many ways. First, there was then-14-year-old Lulu Wilson gouging out eyeballs and being an all-around vicious killer in a hard-R thriller. Second, there was funnyman Kevin James, known for his cheesy sitcoms, playing a bearded neo-Nazi felon trying to kill a child. It was unexpected, and it worked. The new sequel, The Wrath of Becky, doubles down on these elements, and while it isn't as much of a surprise this time around, the formula is certainly perfected.
Now, the very funny Seann William Scott is in the violent neo-Nazi role, and Wilson is a little bit older and a lot more devilish. Kevin James has his charms, but Scott is a much better actor; anyone who has seen Goon knows that. He's able to completely shed that irksome Stifler disposition from the American Pie movies and completely become the character of Daryl, the extremely competent and intimidating leader of a hate group known as The Noble Men.
When three of its members kill someone close to Becky and take her dog, the young murderess hunts them down at their compound and eliminates them one by one. Scott spoke with MovieWeb about his character ahead of the film's premiere at South by Southwest; the full interview, featuring Lulu Wilson and filmmakers Suzanne Coote and Matt Angel, will run prior to Wrath of Becky's theatrical release.
Seann William Scott Gets Dark for Becky Sequel
"I loved the first Becky," said Scott, "and when I heard that Suzanne and Matt were interested in me for their movie, I read the script and just loved it. They had some ideas for the character, so we got on the phone, and it was such an awesome conversation. You can have ideas for a character and share them to a director, and they can really piss them off [...] It wasn't like that at all here. They were just like, 'Oh, that's interesting!' Then the character sort of evolved."
Scott has certainly flirted with more violent and serious roles, as in Bloodline, but the quietly intimidating and dangerously brutal Daryl in The Wrath of Becky is arguably the most distinct in his career thus far. "It was a totally different character than I've played, and I have played some darker guys," explained Scott. "This was just different, because the movie was different. I shot a TV show, and we were kind of in this holding pattern that kind of prevented me from taking some projects on, so I hadn't worked in a while. So all of a sudden, I had this opportunity to do something totally different, and really sink my teeth into it. It was just exciting."
Everyone has sung Scott's praises for his work here, which is as complicated as it is disturbing. The gory violence which surrounds him can be heightened in an almost comical or cartoonish way, but whenever Scott is in the picture, the viewer is reminded of the actual stakes, tension, and menace lurking beneath the extremely fun, albeit nasty, revenge fantasy on display. From Quiver Distribution, The Wrath of Becky will be screening at SXSW for the next week.