Directed By Sean Ellis

Starring – Boyd Holbrook, Kelly Reilly, Alistair Petrie

The Plot – In rural 19th-century France, a mysterious, possibly supernatural menace threatens a small village. John McBride (Holbrook), a pathologist, comes to town to investigate the danger and exorcise some of his own demons in the process.

Rated R for scenes of violence and gore, as well as adult language

the cursed trailer – YouTube

POSITIVES

If one thing is for certain about this film and Ellis’ richly atmospheric direction, it’s that no budgetary cent was spared in fleshing out the creative aspects of the presentation that make this a generally unnerving experience. Most notably, the production, with all of expansive extras donning dated threads of wardrobe, and various timely set designs, speak volumes about the attention to detail that vividly brings it to life before our very eyes, making much of the mental investment of this being a period piece feel seamlessly believable in all of its ominously decadent execution. On top of this, the hypnotic cinematography also from Sean transpires a haunting, gothic sheik to the hypnotic visuals and decaying backdrops, made all the more intoxicating with patient photography in scenes of impact, which afford audiences complete interpretation in what they’re seeing, regardless of how far and wide it stretches. Beyond these aspects, the technical merits too bring a vivid depth in the appeal of their creature constructs, which in turn make this werewolf as mystically magnifying in its minimalist depiction. Instead of revealing too much and taking away from the intrigue that affords very few moments of candid depiction, the editing is tightly precise, cutting at just the right moment where lunging impact can be prominently felt, while overindulgence can be prominently sacrificed. This, in turn with the magnified intensity of the movie’s intricate sound design, prescribe an inescapable heft and influence in the werewolf’s outlining design, allowing audiences the capability and freedom of mentally conjuring up a grimly presence of unstoppable carnage, long before we receive the same opportunity of shot that the townsfolk also lack in hunting it down. Speaking of said creature, the concepts and genetic make-up of its design inspires something freshly innovative to an otherwise ages-old concept, initiating with it a depth in humanity that we physically can see and interpret while this evil presence has quite literally taken over its body. Finally, the story itself, while periodically flawed in a few stalled instances of transition, feels unlike anything from the werewolf subgenre that has been unfortunately dwindling in recent decades. This is mainly because of the dual linear structure of the narrative that springs occasionally between respective timelines and gives the storytelling an abundance of unforeseen depth that not only evolve the characters naturally, but also doesn’t take away from the mystique of the creature itself with an unnecessary backstory in materializing. Of those mentioned characters, Holbrook’s performance certainly steals the show with a fearless eagerness in career objective that eventually gives way to an underlining layer of melancholy hitting just below the surface. His tie to werewolves affords the audience a predictable-but-effective backstory for the character of its own, allowing Holbrook to flex his dramatic chops in ways that very few previous films have afforded him thus far. Kelly Reilly’s watery-eyed resonance is also effectively channeled here, bearing the brunt of this family’s tragic misfortunes in ways that feel emphatically deeper because of the subdued emotionality she affords the role, and giving her once prosperous outlook for the future a damning disturbance that alludes to bad things happening to innocent victims.

NEGATIVES

Though the film isn’t afraid to get its hands dirty with the practical effects of gunshot wounds or momentary gore that attains merit in inescapable stakes for these characters, the mostly dominant C.G usage of the creature’s design here does stick out like the sorest of thumbs in a film with so much simplicity to its production. This is mainly because of the movements of the creature in motion, which when rarely focused upon feel as detectably lifeless in the most obviously foreign of compromising movements, taking away anything diversely endearing about everything previously applauded about the originality of its construct. Beyond this, the title itself does feel more than blandly forgettable, especially in the context of its previous title, “Eight for Silver”, sounding so much more synthetic to the context of what transpires here. “The Cursed”, with all of its ambiguity in definition, doesn’t exactly trigger instances of reminder to the climactic bulk of its story, and in tow dooms its post-box office appeal to the limitations of an audience with little to no insight on what kind of story it entails. Finally, while I did commend the film for its unorthodox approach in trying to shape a story of this magnitude slightly different from its predecessors, the outline of its structure feels a bit too clunky for my personal appeal. This is mainly in the opening instance of the film, where a few throwaway sequences play out before our focused narrative takes shape, and we’re left to wonder why until the third act reveal. When it finally does hit, the profound punch isn’t remotely stimulating or shocking with what it manufactured, and instead took a bit longer than I would’ve liked in piecing it all together as sloppily as the script did.

OVERALL

“The Cursed” is untypical February fodder with a surprisingly endearing level of creature mythology and creative heft to its appeal. Though that same creative inspiration periodically diminishes the appeal of the storytelling with a few underwhelming decisions, the atmospheric dread here simply can’t be understated, giving Ellis a bold bite in his fearless direction that snarls and stalks before it sternly slashes.

My Grade: 7/10 or B-