There have not been many, if any great gothic werewolf films since the days of Hammer Horror and Universal before that. There have been some great gothic vampire films, but the good werewolf films normally have a more modern setting. Sure, there have been some subpar attempts at gothic werewolf movies. The remake of THE WOLFMAN being an example. THE CURSED is a period piece horror film, with some folk horror incorporated, with a different spin on the werewolf mythos. The film is well crafted, especially in its period piece aspects such as the costuming and production design. What I enjoyed most was the sociocultural ambiguity that lycanthropy exhibits in this film. In some ways being just as much of a body-horror film as a werewolf film. The werewolf is treated as a disease or an infection rather than a monster. I liked that interpretation. There is plenty of creature effects work and practical gore effects to go along with that. All of that being said, the pacing in this film is a little sluggish at times.
Synopsis: In rural 19th-century France, a mysterious, possibly supernatural menace threatens a small village. John McBride, a pathologist, comes to town to investigate the danger - and exercise some of his own demons in the process.
The WW1 opening was a pleasant surprise. I knew nothing about this film going in. I thought for a minute that we might be getting a WW1 horror movie. The transition to 1880s rural France was not disappointing, however. In a way that made me curious as to what happened in the opening, who those people were in the past and how did the events that befell them in the future actually happen. The folk horror aspect of this film comes courtesy of the Romani people who have a stake in the land that Seamus Laurent (Alistair Petrie) owns. Like any movie that is criticizing intolerance and colonialism, Laurent has his people slaughter the Romani people and burns their homes. The Gypsy Woman (Pascale Becouze) vows to curse Laurent and his people before her and her brother are killed. They bury dentures with silver teeth.
The townspeople start having nightmares about the Gypsy woman and some of them feel supernaturally drawn to the silver teeth. The Laurent family, Seamus, his wife Isabelle (Kelly Reilly), his son Edward (Max Mackintosh), and his daughter Charlotte (Amelia Crouch). This is all happening as the new pathologist, John McBride (Boyd Holbrook) arrives in town. McBride also hints at having a past with Gypsy (Romani) curses. There are some interesting things going on after the massacre sequence. The haunting moment from the sequence itself is the end when the Gypsy Woman's brother is literally turned into a scarecrow. The whole sequence is filmed in a beautiful, wide, long shot so you can see the entirety of the slaughter.
When the nightmares start happening that is when the social commentary starts in a way. The kids in this film are similar to those in A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET. They cannot help the sins of their parents. They are cursed to a horrible fate because of it. Yet I couldn't help but think, especially with the way the werewolves are depicted later that there is a degree of post-colonial criticism here. Every single historical power, be it England, France, America slaughtered and destroyed the homes of different native civilizations or those having a claim to land. I do wonder how much this film is pointing the finger at kids not being educated about such things and being doomed to repeat the same wrongdoings. Or, just don't do the wrong thing in the first place and you won't be punished. Timmy (Tommy Rodger), the first kid to put on the wolf teeth and bite Edward, is drawn to the power of the fangs. Sometimes privileged kids like Timmy, don't know their own power in such a society. I could just be reading too much into this but this film indulged these thoughts in me. It seems as though the filmmakers are trying to put modern socio political ideas and culture into a period piece film.
Edward quickly turns into a creature after being infected and unlike most werewolf transformations this monster truly is a beast. Rivaling transformations of Lovecraftian creatures in films like Alien, or John Carpenter's The Thing. Great gore is seen throughout. First off the scarecrow scene, an axe is used to sever all limbs on someone. Timmy's body, seen later all slashed up, looks amazing. Later there is an autopsy scene, similar to THE THING where the creature mutates further into human form with some amazing effects. Edward proceeds to bite and kill Timmy and later preys on a family, transforming more into werewolves.
A look at one of the beastly werewolves in the film
What slowed this film down for me was some of the talky scenes and the characters not being great. The characters here are good though, they just don't get to the point of really being memorable. This is one of Boyd Holbrook's best performances in anything. He gives off the energy of a classic Hammer horror lead here. I like Kelly Reilly in anything. I just thought some of the scenes of people just sitting around talking slowed the film down. Seamus talked to all the townspeople both before and after the slaughter. The arguments between Seamus and John as Seamus refuses to believe the supernatural goings on becomes a little repetitive.
SPOILER SECTION
As much as I've ragged on the characters a bit I still enjoyed the werewolf action in this film. The creatures looked amazing. I could have used a little less shaky cam in the attack scenes. One of the few technological elements of this film I didn't love. McBride does become a great werewolf hunter, first taking the initiative to get the rifle, then setting a spike-in-the-ground trap for one of the werewolves, killing one of them with said trap. Later he melts the dentures into silver bullets. It is eventually revealed another Gypsy cursed wolf killed 13 people in his village including his wife and daughter.
Boyd Holbrook, an actor I've been on the fence about, was really enjoyable in this film as John McBride
The werewolves in this film, assimilate their victims, similar to THE THING. Once again to the allegories. I think this film rather than being a metaphor for addiction, like many werewolf films this, one is about being trapped in society. The modern world is so driven by technology, that it is inescapable. It was invented by generations before the kids that use it. Just like the curse and who is responsible for it in this movie. Like Scott Cooper's films, a lot of themes are either too cliche or too ambiguous. The characters are likable, well performed, but they don't transcend the film. The criticism of rich white men killing someone less fortunate with a stake on their land has been done before. I don't know how much of my reading of the film is what they were going for but it was interesting to think about. I enjoyed the creature and gore effects. That final attack scene on the church was awesome. Once again though, the mother sacrificing herself for her kid has been done before. I enjoyed many technological aspects of this film along with the creature design and gore effects to help get through the shortcomings of the thematic elements.
Rating: 7.5/10
Trivia: Sean Ellis has said he took inspiration from the story THE BEAST OF GEVAUDIN for this film. Boyd Holbrook convinced Sean Ellis he could do a British accent for this film.
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