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The Cursed (2021)
Jun. 12th, 2022 11:07 amThe trailers for this movie interested me enough that when my sister told me it was pretty good, I decided to go ahead and watch it, even though lately my attention span for movies has been questionable. And boy, am I glad I did, because while I don't think this is quite a perfect movie, it's most definitely a perfect movie for me--historical horror with a heart, some surprise found family elements, and gross, gnarly, very memorable monsters. The Cursed is a werewolf movie, but mostly for lack of a better term; the curse is transferred through bites and can be cured by a silver bullet, but otherwise the monsters don't much resemble werewolves at all.
It's set in 19th century France, in a settlement where most of the people seem to have at least some British ancestry (Main Evil Landowner is named Seamus Laurent), and where the kids have lately all been plagued by nightmares of a spooky scarecrow in a field. Actually, the scarecrow is the body of a murdered Romani man, and when one of the kids, Timmy, digs up a set of silver dentures, he sets a grisly curse in motion: first Seamus's son Edward disappears. Then it's Timmy himself. Next comes a local woman, who's found, but not in the shape she once had.
Meanwhile, a pathologist named John McBride (another not-French name, though he apparently comes from Gévaudan) arrives in town searching for the Romani, and ends up sticking around since clearly something dangerous is afoot. He tells Seamus--but doesn't believe himself--that Edward was taken by a wolf. He sets traps and advises the Laurents to board up all their downstairs windows as a precaution. He also bonds with Seamus's wife, Isabelle, and to a lesser extent with their daughter, Charlotte, who knows more about the disappearances than she first lets on. Soon, the villagers are barricaded into the town church for their own protection, and John is casting silver bullets. Meanwhile, the Laurent's maid, Anais, is attacked by a mysterious creature and begins to undergo a gory transformation.
This is one of those movies that's more atmospheric and moody than really scary, and as long as you have a strong stomach for gore and some brutal violence, it probably won't haunt your worst nightmares. But it's very character-focused, and the growing dread pitted against John's sort of inherent but world-weary goodness got to me--he's been through all this before, and doesn't expect a happy outcome, but he keeps setting traps and protecting people--even people who don't necessarily deserve it--because it's the right thing to do.
There's also a strong strain of Gothic and/or folk horror running through the story. The curse was cast thanks to a land dispute that ended with the massacre of a Romani clan, so colonialism, generational guilt, and a mysterious, unwelcoming landscape all factor into the movie's spookiness. Supporting characters are pretty much all well-drawn and interesting to watch; I was especially intrigued by Anais, the maid who's mauled by a monster and gets right back to work, presumable because a.) she suspects she'll be the next one hunted and b.) she suspects she'll be fired if she tries calling out sick.
If I can get my life together enough to participate in Yuletide this year, I'm definitely requesting and offering this one. It's a fascinating and tense and very human monsters movie. Also just under two hours and feels much shorter, which these days is a big plus.
It's set in 19th century France, in a settlement where most of the people seem to have at least some British ancestry (Main Evil Landowner is named Seamus Laurent), and where the kids have lately all been plagued by nightmares of a spooky scarecrow in a field. Actually, the scarecrow is the body of a murdered Romani man, and when one of the kids, Timmy, digs up a set of silver dentures, he sets a grisly curse in motion: first Seamus's son Edward disappears. Then it's Timmy himself. Next comes a local woman, who's found, but not in the shape she once had.
Meanwhile, a pathologist named John McBride (another not-French name, though he apparently comes from Gévaudan) arrives in town searching for the Romani, and ends up sticking around since clearly something dangerous is afoot. He tells Seamus--but doesn't believe himself--that Edward was taken by a wolf. He sets traps and advises the Laurents to board up all their downstairs windows as a precaution. He also bonds with Seamus's wife, Isabelle, and to a lesser extent with their daughter, Charlotte, who knows more about the disappearances than she first lets on. Soon, the villagers are barricaded into the town church for their own protection, and John is casting silver bullets. Meanwhile, the Laurent's maid, Anais, is attacked by a mysterious creature and begins to undergo a gory transformation.
This is one of those movies that's more atmospheric and moody than really scary, and as long as you have a strong stomach for gore and some brutal violence, it probably won't haunt your worst nightmares. But it's very character-focused, and the growing dread pitted against John's sort of inherent but world-weary goodness got to me--he's been through all this before, and doesn't expect a happy outcome, but he keeps setting traps and protecting people--even people who don't necessarily deserve it--because it's the right thing to do.
There's also a strong strain of Gothic and/or folk horror running through the story. The curse was cast thanks to a land dispute that ended with the massacre of a Romani clan, so colonialism, generational guilt, and a mysterious, unwelcoming landscape all factor into the movie's spookiness. Supporting characters are pretty much all well-drawn and interesting to watch; I was especially intrigued by Anais, the maid who's mauled by a monster and gets right back to work, presumable because a.) she suspects she'll be the next one hunted and b.) she suspects she'll be fired if she tries calling out sick.
If I can get my life together enough to participate in Yuletide this year, I'm definitely requesting and offering this one. It's a fascinating and tense and very human monsters movie. Also just under two hours and feels much shorter, which these days is a big plus.