The Cursed

yu

I have mixed feelings for this film. I enjoyed the film for what it was, especially it being about werewolves, but felt it lacked in some areas. The main reasoning is that I feel it was just a *bit* too slow. But I think that could've been fixed by not making the film quite as long as it is. I think mainly why it felt too slow was that there were not characters to cling to. Everyone felt disposable and you barely got any info on the ones who were on screen most of the time. But it did grab my attention during all the wolf scenes and I appreciated all the gore. Didn't expect much but it's in there plenty. All in all I had a good time with this film. Probably wouldn't watch again but it was a nice horror film for Sundance 2021.

source: The Cursed

I wished they never changed the original title, Eight for Silver. That name had a unique identity of its own. An aesthetically pleasing horror drama, beautiful locations, peak cinematography, talented actors, a proper budget, brilliantly written and directed, realistic brutal scenes with outstanding performances. A unique take on lycanthropy that never ever seen before. I would've rated more if Sean Ellis carried the same momentum he had until the final act.

Grotesque body horror, creepy dream sequences, a few jump scares and that slow burn unease that is hinting at something bad just around the corner all made this a great theater watch for me. I'd also say that the cinematography and production design easily punch above its weight class as an historical horror film. This film kept me guessing until the end, with a pretty cool twist. HIGHLY recommend.

It's been quite some time since there has been some legitimate horror in this genre. This movie delivers on all the right aspects from the cinematography to the creature effects. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

The Good: This movie is freakin' GORGEOUS. I absolutely loved how this movie looked; I couldn't take my eyes off the screen. Everything from the depth of the images, to the saturated colours, the rolling fog, and the period appropriate costumes come together to transport you to a different world. While it's a relatively simple setting, it's imbued with a lot of character. As for the more fantastical elements, this film has some truly shocking images that I guarantee will lodge in your mind (if you're into that sort of thing). I also appreciated the period appropriate characters and sensibilities. This is more The With or The Nightingale then your typical historical horror film, with characters acting as people in Victorian Britain would act. That includes the good and the bad, with a heavy dose of class obsession that feels right for the era. I'm not opposed to movies taking liberties with history, but only if there's a point to the subversion. The Cursed is quite authentic in that regard, and it's awesome. But, let's be real, what we all want to know is if The Cursed delivers on the scares. I wouldn't say this is a particularly *scary* movie, but it is unique and inventive. It's take on the werewolf myth is pretty novel and rooted in trauma, injustice, and oppression (with some very clever Biblical connections as well). It's very interesting and I give Ellis credit for that. Horror movies don't often get praised for performances, but shout out to this movie's wonderful cast. Everyone felt transformed into late 19th century Britons, to the point where I almost forgot where I've seen these people before. Boyd Holbrook, Kelly Reilly, and Allistaire Petrie really shine. The Bad: This movie's worst aspect is its editing. The cuts are relentless (especially towards the beginning) and quite disorienting. There are scenes of truly striking imagery ultimately ruined by the constant cutting. It's an inexplicable decision for a movie that's ultimately quite slow paced. Moreover, while I really liked the performances, none of these characters had all that much depth. I kinda hoped for a subplot or something about class and land rights of the era, but despite the film's longer-than-average runtime, it never materialized. The characters, as such, don't get to really address or even mention the cruelty that sets the plot in motion. It just feels kind of weird that this wasn't used as an opportunity to further flesh out the story. The ending is also kind of underwhelming and abrupt. There's a connection to the first scene of the movie that doesn't really amount to anything either. The Ugly: After a few years of straight-to-streaming schlock, The Cursed is a celebration of the good ol fashioned, ornate gothic horror.

The cinematography here is gorgeous. Just watch it on mute like you're attending a gallery (well, skip the terrible CGI), and you'll probably enjoy it. The film begins to fall flat right after an honestly brilliantly shot wide scene with the gypsies. After that, the film increasingly felt like I was standing outside a group at a party catching snippets of the conversation that made less and less sense as the night went on. Like many poorly done horror films, it's apparent that what's being displayed makes sense to the production team, but is poorly conveyed to the viewer. About halfway through there had been so many factors introduced with little to no explanation that I found myself laughing at each one. This rises to fever pitch at the climax and had me wondering if it's actually a satire of werewolf films (which it may be). The highlight of the film for me is a moment where the pathologist scares the protagonist's wife with an annoyed-sounding "sorry". That entire scene is comedy gold (though, I don't think that was the intent). Either way, this seems like a pseudo-erudite attempt at werewolf genre satire that lost its way, returned to a half-hearted attempt at true horror, and ultimately became a disjointed smorgasbord of tired horror tropes, wasted talent, bad CGI, and dendritic storytelling. MST 3000 could have a field day with this one.

Sean Ellis wrote, directed, and co-produced this gothic horror, along with serving as it's cinematographer. This is 100% the vision of his single creative mind, and I have a tremendous amount of admiration for that, even if not all of it worked for me. The Cursed is a bizarre, unconventional monster movie. It has a heavy focus on tone and atmosphere with very little regard for establishing mythology. And it's a very refreshing take on the well-worn concept of werewolves. With this film, Ellis proves himself to be a more than capable director and cinematographer. He crafts a bleak environment in which no one is safe or truly morally just, and he keeps the horrifying creature out of the frame as often as possible so that when the gore does finally come, it's a shocking occurrence. The visual presentation is far more impressive than the writing, however. Ellis's script certainly isn't bad. It's just overstuffed, biting off a bit more than it can chew. There is an opening sequence that isn't mentioned again until the ending, and even then it feels disconnected from the actual narrative. There is no real reason for it to be here, and it's presence actually takes away from a more ambiguous ending that would have been far creepier. Additionally, there are quite a lot of characters, and none of them are really fleshed out beyond the positions they hold in society. There is quite a lot going on in this film in its first and final acts, and it could have been streamlined a lot by cutting the fat to make it as lean and suspenseful as the middle portion of this film is. Still, even with its faults, this is a thoroughly ambitious film that I think really does revitalise the werewolf mythos in a lot of ways, and I really hope that people go and support this film so that we can get more unique visions like this. I'd rather see unique but flawed movies that allow a creator to have free reign than simple competent movies that don't take risks and feel like studio-approved products.

The Cursed is a well made, well acted gothic horror story. I love this type of story involving mythic creatures; this time werewolves. No cheap tricks or big jump scares; just a liesurly unfolding of the curse of the Roma for what the French landowners did to them. I enjoy how it reworks the silver bullet theory first used in the original The Wolf Man. This time the silver is from the biblical story of Judas. The writer/director has done a terrific job of doling out the horror until the terrific and satisfying finish. The story comes full circle by the end.