The main draw of Becky is the magnificent Lulu Wilson, who marquees a movie and out-acts the cast around her time and time again.

The Annabelle: Creation star is a bad-ass, like a foul-mouthed Macauley Culkin, bludgeoning her home invaders with knives and blunt instruments instead of marbles.

A father (Community’s Joel McHale, impressively playing against type) takes his daughter Becky to the lake house to get the tragic death of her mother off her mind.

Things go bonkers when a group of escaped convicts and members of the Aryan brotherhood hold the family hostage as they search for a missing key, hidden years earlier.

Fronting the criminals is Kevin James: Yes, Mr. King Of Queens and frequent Adam Sandler collaborator James appears bald, with a swastika tattooed on the back of his skull, and a grizzly man beard.

While hardly menacing or groundbreaking, James is neither incredible nor embarrassing. But he does prove in his first dramatic role that he can take on drama and horror with a certain prowess. Though I never forgot I was watching James, his muted, brooding and imposing performance did give me hope he can make a career transition.

A major surprise was New Brunswicker Robert Maillet. The giant actor has been playing onscreen monsters and menacing fighters for years in big budget fare like 300, Sherlock Holmes and Pacific Rim.

But here, the beating heart is Maillet, who gives an honest, intense and layered performance in an otherwise B-movie horror flick. He’s a huge credit to the film, and this man needs bigger roles immediately.

In the end, though it leaves some big unanswered questions, Becky will please gorehounds plenty, has some shocking surprises and is one of the biggest surprises of 2020 so far.

3.5/5 Stars