To say that the movie “Cursed” is bad is equivalent to saying that all Don King needs is a comb. It’s a grand understatement.
Director Wes Craven’s newest horror film eclipses the normal “bad Hollywood movie” and catapults itself into the realm of Hollywood films that are so atrocious, the viewer ponders on whether or not they should ever return to the cinema.
This film’s failing is due to the fact that it attempts to be like (while at the same time pay homage to) the classic, campy, B-rated horror films. The concept is good, and Craven has had success with such movies before (“Scream”), but this film has absolutely no vision.
“Cursed” is about Ellie (Christina Ricci), a producer for “The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn” who is trying to juggle her job with raising her teenage brother Jimmy (Jesse Eisenberg) and spending time with her new boyfriend Jake (Joshua Jackson). Ellie’s life becomes even more complex when she and Jimmy witness the death of a woman, via an attack by a “wolf-like creature.”
Jimmy is not willing to accept the police reports that a bear or mountain lion killed the woman, and he begins to do research, finding out that what killed the woman was actually a werewolf. To make matters worse, Jake was attacked when trying to save the woman, meaning he could become a werewolf himself. Things only get more complicated for Ellie when she finds out that the woman she watched die used to date Jake.
Not even Shakespeare could save this weak storyline. This film tries too hard to be so-bad-that-it’s-good, but never gets beyond the bad. The special effects are meant to look campy and cheesy but just look overdone and cartoonish. When Craven is not using special effects for his monsters, he is using werewolf costumes that are less convincing then the one used in Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” music video.
“Cursed” does have a few highlights. Craven is still a master at startling the audience. He is able to do this and get them to jump out of their seats, despite them knowing exactly what is going to happen. His timing and use of the soundtrack are perfect. The film also does a good job with its cameos; in fact, Scott Baio and Craig Kilborn give the best performances in the film- portraying themselves.
A veteran like Craven should know when to give up, and he did for a little while. This film actually stopped shooting so that the script could be rewritten. It still turned out to be a celluloid abomination. If Craven wanted to make good, campy horror, he should have paid more attention to the “Evil Dead” trilogy or last year’s “Shaun of the Dead” and ignored Hollywood.
