The Cursed is a new gothic horror film that I’ve been looking forward to for the past few weeks after the enticing trailer dropped, and it was better than I expected, exceeding my expectations. As expected, this film is a slow burn that won’t be for everybody. It’s the type of horror film that relies a lot on mood. I was a bit scared that this might be the type of slow burn that was plain boring, but thankfully that wasn’t the case as the story was gripping, engaging, and well-paced.
The Cursed is set in rural 19th-century France, when a mysterious, possibly supernatural menace threatens a small village. John McBride is a pathologist who comes to town to investigate the danger and exorcise some of his demons in the process.
The film is written and directed by Sean Ellis, who is best known for his underrated Nazi film Anthropoid, which was even better. I was interested in the lore the story was telling. He crafted a very engaging film that knew when to be violent. There were some moments that legit had me saying, “Oh shit!” I wasn’t expecting as much violence as we got and how in your face it was. It was an excellent use of practical effects that I’ve missed very dearly and reminded me why I enjoy indie horror so much. Being a low-budget feature, the money wasn’t there for convincing CGI, so I loved that Ellis was smart enough to know when to perfectly cut away from the creature to where he looked menacing for the most part.
His camera work is excellent. There’s a recurring theme of nightmares, and he framed them so well, showing how you do jump scares appropriately. The use of sound in this film is excellent. It adds to the mysterious nature enhanced by mesmerizing cinematography that beautifully captures the haunting vibe of the film. I especially love the way the film is lit at night in the house using candles.
It’s always great to see my guy Boyd Holbrook in a lead role, and he does a great job. He comes off very believable in his part and does some excellent face work, especially when being scared or mystified. If you only know him from Narcos or Logan, this is a whole different side. I’ve been watching Yellowstone lately, so I tend to forget that Kelly Reilly is British. She does solid work here, especially in the final stretch.
If ever there was a horror film that would benefit from being 90 minutes, it’s this one. I don’t mind slow burns, but there was no reason for this to run almost two hours at 113 minutes, and there’s a handful of scenes that came off very aimless for me. I expect this to be one of the more lesser seen horror films of the year, but if you’re a fan of slow-burn horror, I highly recommend it. Thematically, this goes perfect as a double feature with The Witch.
