Chad

clckworang

I'm quite surprised at how much I liked this one. I wasn't expecting much from it, but I really liked a slightly different take on the werewolf mythos. The creation of the scarecrow was pretty brutal. It had a bit of slow stretch, but once the hunt really began, I was into it. Good choice.

Undeadcow

The Cursed is supremely atmospheric and excels at period horror. The silver fang imagery and scarecrow scene are examples of the brilliant imagery showing the best potential The Cursed has to offer. The wartime cold open is a sweeping epic that kicks off a lean efficient pacing. Some of the CGI was distracting, like the vines, in large part because it conflicted with the otherwise well established tone and epic scenery. The Cursed is different enough to stand out but at times it feels like someone threw a few extra puzzle pieces into the box than were necessary - 'silver fangs with a gypsy curse that possess a kid to bit his friend and kickstart turning people into not just werewolves but vined creatures that evolve into werewolves with the original victim housed within it's belly yet they are mad unless the creature is shot with a silver bullet then ok plus there is a haunted scarecrow surrounding a land dispute' - there seems to be an un-necessary amount of stretching going on, even if it's well painted over with excellent sets and directing.

The scarecrow scene seems necessary to establish comeuppance and I suppose justify the 'cursed' title; however does the film explain how the hunter's family was caught up in the silver fangs and beasts originally?

clckworang

I thought the hunter's family was killed from a similar curse. When he was arguing with Seamus, I think he said something along the lines of people forced to pay for actions of men like him. I thought the implication was his wife was an innocent victim from a curse that resulted from the actions of a different rich guy. Is that what you're asking about?

Undeadcow

That makes sense and matches with the sometimes poetic nature of the film; thank you. It is the community that becomes Cursed rather than an individual or family and the hunter was collateral damage.

Spiderbite

I thought this movie had promise but just went on way too long. It reminded me of gothic horror stories from the old Universal horror movies or Hammer films. The difference is if it had been Universal, the film would have been 70 minutes long and if Hammer, it would have 80 to 90 minutes tops. This movie should have been around the 80-to-90-minute mark, and I feel it would have been more effective.

It had some great gore, fantastic make-ups, and the practical effects were top notch. But then suddenly you would have some terrible CG that would completely remove the good will of the aforementioned practical effects. And by terrible CG, I mean TERRIBLE! As in, ut would completely take you out of the scene.

The scarecrow creation was particularly gruesome, and I thought the "wagon train" attack was quite effective the way it was filmed from afar. The final twist was fine, but not really necessary to the story. Actually, the entire WWI timeline could be excised as I felt it padded this already bloated film. It is a shame because I really wanted to like this film.

My rating: **1/2 out of *****

And fuck you HULU for having commercials during the movie. I can forgive making me watch several before a movie but having commercial breaks during a film like this completely sucks. Yeah, I have the ad-induced subscription, but I thought they only showed ads at the beginning of movies and during TV shows but not DURING movies. Assholes.

Trevor

I almost signed up for a Hulu trial to watch this, but as I was researching my options there got a pop-up notification that my Amazon order with The Cursed was enroute! Great timing, can save that trial for next time.

Agree that the CGI was bad and distracting, and the plot a little convoluted, but I still loved it. Keep me engaged the whole time, which is becoming harder as I cross over the 50 films watched threshold.

brainee

Was anyone else expecting him to turn back into a werewolf after they removed the silver bullet on the operating table?

WillieMLF

One of my social media feeds was on fire over the summer about this movie. I watched it a few months ago, and thought this was done very well. I just got the blu from Amazon Friday, which was cutting it close. Agree that some of the imagery is fantastic, but the the CGI truly blows.

jholmes

I love this film. A historical werewolf movie hits the sweet spot for me. This one had some iconic images. The silver teeth that starts the curse? So cool. Though where gypsies would have gotten Judas's silver was never explained (it was supposed to be Judas's actual silver?). The scarecrow was indeed brutal and memorable. Scarecrows always creep me out anyway. The attacks in the field and at the clothesline were gnarly and cool. I half expected Seamus's poor, ignored wife to end up with the hunter but, no. He shoots her. Didn't see that coming.

And, yes, you'd think he would have turned into a werewolf on the operating table. If that wasn't going to happen, I agree that the entire WWII framing could have been cut.

I love werewolf movies and keep a short list of ones I'd rewatch anytime. This one goes on it. It's my second viewing since I had to see it when it first came out. I liked it just as much this time.

numbercrunch

I thought this was a solid period horror film with alot of gothic atmosphere ala Hammer. I thought the cgi was okay, not horrible, but ultimately i would have preferred a guy in a suit werewolf - What the heck were they thinking going with a hairless werewolf?? I also thought the ending was too fast cut action like a marvel flick. Other than that, I gave it a 7/10

Toddarino

This was just too fucking long. Between that and the wonky cg, this was a miss for me overall.

wishbone

Agreed on both points. I thought about all of the rehearsals to choreograph that scene and the horror played out as intended. I enjoyed the gothic setting but the CGI was odd as mentioned.