The Cursed

Forests and meadows shrouded in fog are a great setting for a werewolf horror movie. The historical period with costumes to match give the film the mark of a solid drama. However, the viewer pretty much checks out by the time the horror scenes start to work at least a little. Those scenes are unusually badly directed at first and later evoke emotions only because we already know the characters better and we are experiencing the drama with them. I’m giving this a weak third star for the drama, not for the horror. (10/23/2022)

A weak four or a strong three. The strength of The Cursed is a really well-done period atmosphere – an old mansion, a gloomy countryside, a dense forest drowned in fog – it really feels like an old Hammer film. The whole thing is serious, there is not even a hint of humour, which is quite refreshing, and it has a couple of horror scenes that are downright brilliant (the autopsy). Unfortunately, there are also a few scenes where things get a bit wonky. The pseudo-werewolves sometimes look unconvincing, and the director uses such a stupid blurry filter in several attack scenes (probably just to cover up the poor visual effects) that doesn't fit the beautifully shot dark gothic splendour all around. And the fact that you can't establish any connection to the characters (I found the main pathologist/investigator unlikeable, and the rest are either assholes or have little space) doesn't make for a stronger experience. However, despite the rather generous runtime (and predictability), I wasn't bored for a minute and enjoyed how nicely atmospheric it was, so I'm leaning towards the weaker four. (03/16/2022)

A proper werewolf horror movie after a few years! The film is set in the lovely late 19th century and has an A24 studio feel to it. A small village begins to be consumed by a curse after a cruel Baron has a Romany clan massacred and unpleasant events begin to happen in the town. Boyd Holbrook (an excellent actor!) is a pathologist wo arrives in the town and helps the inhabitants avert the curse. The film doesn't get boring despite being over two hours long, it has chilling visuals full of fog and impressive set pieces, great actors (Kelly Reilly and Alistair Petrie alongside Holbrook are a terrific), a creepy scarecrow, a decent werewolf (here forget about the plush animals of the past five years), proper gore, a few scares, a solid brutal introduction set in the war, a final massacre in a church, the town curse – I really don't know what more to ask for, there's something for everyone and to a decent degree. Decent work for little money, a horror addition like this comes along once in a while and should be appreciated. Story 3/5, Action 3/5, Humor 0/5, Violence 4/5, Fun 4/5 Music 3/5, Visuals 4/5, Atmosphere 4/5, Suspense 3/5, Emotion 3/5, Actors 4/5. 8/10. (03/22/2022)

I rarely miss a werewolf horror film, and Eight for Silver won me over with its premise and its setting. In terms of production design, it's a decent atmospheric horror film where the foggy landscape evoked the dangerous swamps of “The Hound of the Baskervilles”. I also liked the concept in the direction of the gothic novel. Story-wise, however, I found the film somewhat confusing and jumbled. (Spoiler alert!) Sean Ellis rambles about the years between the frame story and the main story, and it would have been better not to refer to the Beast of Gévaudan, which had run rampant nearly 130 years earlier. The rescue of one of the beast's victims was also problematic from my perspective. If the film were unframed (and thus shorter) and Ellis didn't try to overdo the mythology, I'd easily give the film four stars - as it is, three is better. (05/04/2023)