THE CURSED (2021) – Atmospheric but not scary enough!

Written, directed and cinematographed by Sean Ellis, The Cursed is atmospheric and suitably eerie visually. This is done old fashioned style at a slow pace that may put many of today’s impatient audience off. The story takes place in rural France in the 19th century although it looked and felt like America. The curse that is referred to is the one that was bestowed upon the rural people by the native clan that claims original ownership of the land to which the farmers had forcefully taken over. Their claims were met with violence and killing but not before a curse was placed onto the people and land.

All sounds like the right stuff to make a horror movie. Unfortunately, The Curse may look the part but it failed to rise to the occasion when the horror finally kicks in, in the form of a werewolf like creature. The makeup and CGI for this monster was tacky and not well defined since it was often shown in quick cuts and dark surroundings. There is also little explanations offered as to how the monster “works”. How and what triggered its presence, and who or what controls its action? Why the effectiveness of silver bullets? Apart from our own reference of horror movies that silver bullets were key in killing vampires and monsters. It just comes across as a monster that appears in regulated intervals to progress the story to its inevitable conclusion.

The other issue I had with the story was that there was no strong main character for us to root for. Most of the characters are there merely as victims of the circumstances. The main ”hero” is a visiting pathologist (played by Boyd Holbrook) who helps capture the beast while wrestling with his own past encounters. His character is strangely not kept in the forefront enough and often felt more like a supporting role than a main one.

The Curse is a decent watch but one that is plagued by too many unanswered questions to small details that may seem unimportantly but distracting to the discerning viewers who expect most if not all potholes to be filled.