The Cursed
There are slow burn films, and then there are ones that feel like watching an entire candle melt down to nothingness.
While The Cursed isn’t quite that kind of waxy endurance test, the werewolf flick’s turgid pace and repetitive action with minimal payoffs makes it a tough sell beyond viewers for whom atmosphere is sufficient.
Consistent with his WWII thriller Anthropoid, writer/director Sean Ellis’ latest film feels twice as long as its roughly two-hour runtime, but is peppered with enough redeeming elements to keep viewers from nodding off, particularly early on.
A grisly WWI-set opening and gore-packed scenes of limbs being hacked off set a high starting bar, and the removal of a large silver bullet from a dying soldier sends the mind whirring as to how such an object might have become lodged in the man’s chest. And while the shift to a French manor and a sudden flashback to 35 years prior is a bit jarring, the sense of mystery remains as thick as the estate’s surrounding fog thanks to a band of gypsies that camps out on the land, their mystical practices, and their claim on the property.
Seamus Laurent (Alistair Petrie, Rogue One), however, isn’t having it and dispatches mercenaries to rid his grounds of these trespassers — a scene that Ellis (also the film’s cinematographer) presents as a single shot from a distance to effectively depict the widespread loss.
The brutal fates that meet the final two gypsies (Pascale Becouze and Jicey Carina) and the recurring dream of a scarecrow that plagues Seamus’ daughter Charlotte (Amelia Crouch, Kate) and others further crank up the creepiness, but Ellis proves less assured when the film’s werewolf element is introduced.
Though the concept of ancient silver with potentially Biblical roots is intriguing and the vine-like effect of the malady taking hold of young Edward Laurent (Max Mackintosh) is a nice new twist on familiar material, the cycle of characters being hunted by the beast lacks variety and gradually bogs down The Cursed’s flow.
An increased need for staying inside paired with Ellis’ commitment to using natural light likewise proves problematic as it turns the interiors into a squint-fest for viewers, though the sound design nearly compensates for the murky visuals as creeks and whispers abound in 360-degrees of potential terror.
Still, the story feels half-cooked, from the motivation of pathologist John McBride (Boyd Holbrook, Logan) to hunt the creature, to a failure to develop Seamus, his wife Isabelle (Kelly Reilly, Calvary), and their children into multi-dimensional characters. And once the silver bullet is reintroduced heading into the home stretch, it deflates Ellis’ “big reveal,” which he nevertheless trots out like he’s M. Night Shyamalan in his prime.
The dopey ending further dilutes an already compromised effort, suggesting that, as with an increasing amount of recent horror films — including Relic and Saint Maud — The Cursed missed its calling as a short film.
Grade: C. Rated R. Now playing at AMC River Hills 10, Carolina Cinemark, and Regal Biltmore Grande.
(Photo: LD Entertainment)
