Cursed (Unrated Version)
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Movie Reviews of Cursed (Unrated Version)
Movie Review: I Liked It!
Summary: 4 Stars
I didn't think I would like this movie once I found out it was about werewolves but Wes Craven did it very well and I did like it. I have to admit I did jump a few times. Definitely worth watching!Movie Review: My, What Big Teeth You Have....
Summary: 3 Stars
If there is a film title that perfectly fits the goings on behind the scenes of a movie and it's production in general, it's "Cursed". Pretty much shot twice, with studio interference, script re-writes, cast changes, new characters, and pretty much everything changing, it's no wonder that director Wes Craven said this was the most unpleasant experience he has made making a movie. Surprisingly, it turned out a lot better than most would expect, and what a lot of people, critics and goregounds mostly, would make one believe. While it's far from being a really good movie without flaws, it is a decent little film that is easily watchable, and anyone could squeeze out some decent fun and entertainment from it. Brother and sister Ellie and teenaged Jimmy(Christina Ricci, Jesse Eisenberg), are two siblings living together in Los Angeles on their own as it seems their parents have died. She works for "The Craig Kilborn Show", and he is a geeky high schooler. One night driving on Mullohand Road, they hit an animal and are involved in a car wreck. Both bit and clawed from this mysterious animal, they begin to go through some changes. Jimmy is certain they were bitten by a werewolf, and as the changes set in, it appears that he is all too right and the brother and sister team must find the lead werewolf and kill it in order to restore themselves to their original nature. Written by "Scream" mastermind, Kevin Williamson, the movie seems to try to be a new and revolutionary type film the way "Scream" was, but fails. There is the modern, wink-wink type factor, and Williamson's witty, pop culture filled dialogue, but the film fails to deliver any real chills or scares. A lot of it is just the "Boo" shot with something running into someone and so on. It is a film that doesn't seem to be interested in being scary or suspenseful, but a film that lost it's edge with all of the backstage goings on, and now settles on just being a fun little ride with some deaths and a little mystery. Joshua Jackson co-stars as Ricci's boyfriend Jake, and he is one of the few cast members to pull their roles off in the film. Dark and mysterious, he was the best of the bunch. Eisenberg as Jimmy is as good. Easily likeable. Ricci does well with her role, and she looks great. And in the midst of everything, there's Chachi!. Scott Baio cameos. What?!, Donny Most ask for too much money?. And did anyone pick up that his publicist's name was Joanie?. Shannon Elizabeth, Mya, and "Smallville"'s Michael Rosenbaum round out the rest of the "Scream" like list of potential victims. I never saw the theatrical version, so I don't know what this unrated version has the original didn't. There is a decently gruesome first death, but everything else pretty much plays it safe. This was trimmed down to PG-13 after all, so it could be accessible to as many people as possible. Does that make sense?. The "Scream" movies were R, and the first was a hard R, and those movies were blockbusters for their genre. People, and kids, will see it no matter what. The werewolf itself is half campy/half affective. Sometimes it looks cartoony, but then has a slight hint of menace. You wonder what the original R rated version of the script was like, and if the movie would of succeeded with it's intention of being "Scream" for the werewolf set. It's unfortunate because there is obviously a lot of potential here. A solid ground base, fun cast, cool premise, and incredible pedigree with Craven and Williamson. In the end, it's not all that bad at all, but it shows that it is the lighter, hollowed out version of something that was originally better. You can't put the blame on Craven or Williamson either, because it sounded like they had something in the beginning, but studio interference and other suggestions seemed to turn it into something else(Halloween 6, anyone?). The movie is light and fun, and is not the complete disaster it has been made out to be. The biggest disappointment with the film was that it could of been so much more.Movie Review: "Cursed"--It's Not Just the Title.
Summary: 3 Stars
For years, vampires have been the darling of horror movies. I'm not quite sure why people are so fascinated by vampires, but there's about one vampire movie released every year. Zombies come in a close second and have been gaining an edge over vampires in recent years as can be seen by the popularity of such movies as LAND OF THE DEAD, SHAUN OF THE DEAD, the remake of DAWN OF THE DEAD, the RESIDENT EVIL series, etc. Of all the undead creatures that Hollywood makes movies about, it is werewolves that are probably respected the least. Traditionally, werewolves have been seen as stupid and savage creatures unable to reasonably think while in wolf form.
CURSED is a movie that attempts to give werewolves some respect. In the film, siblings Ellie (Christina Ricci) and Jimmy Myers (Jesse Eisenberg) are driving home from downtown L.A. when they are involved in a car accident after a wolf jumps on top of their car causing them to swerve and hit another vehicle. They attempt to rescue the woman in the other vehicle from her entrapment, but in the process the woman is dragged away by a huge wolf and Ellie and Jimmy are both injured in the attack. As the siblings are attempting to escape, the half-devoured carcass of the injured woman is thrown towards them just as emergency personnel arrive on the scene.
Jimmy knows that the creature that attacked them was a wolf, but no one else seems to believe him and even Ellie can't support his claim. Jimmy begins doing some research and becomes convinced that the creature that attacked them was a werewolf. He tells Ellie this, but she doesn't believe him, despite a night of bizarre dreams and Jimmy waking up naked in the bushes outside.
As the day progresses, both Ellie and Jimmy become aware of changes occurring within them: heightened senses of smell, stronger sexual attraction, an increase of physical strength. Jimmy also discovers that a pentagram is forming on both he and Ellie's right palm. Eventually, Ellie comes to believe Jimmy's wild claim and together they try to uncover who the creature was that attacked them so that they can kill it and reverse the curse.
CURSED was plagued with problems during its production. At one point, over half the cast was replaced for one reason or another. The script was re-written several times and as a result the movie wasn't released until nearly a year-and-a-half after its original release date. Therefore, the final version of the film is completely different from the one that was originally envisioned and filmed. The movie was directed by Wes Craven and written by Kevin Williamson and together this talented duo was able to salvage a film that could have been a total disaster. The movie isn't as interesting as it could have been, but it still contains some comedy and is tied together rather nicely. CURSED doesn't quite resurrect the sub-genre of werewolf movies, but it does treat werewolves better than many other films (for instance werewolves in this movie are quite intelligent) and provides for an entertaining, but far from chilling movie-watching experience.
The unrated DVD version of the film really isn't that different from the rated version of the movie. There's just a little more blood and guts. Extra features on the DVD include selected scenes commentary with the special effects makeup supervisor and three behind the scenes featurettes. The highlight of the extra features is a short "documentary" by Jesse Eisenberg entitled BECOMING A WEREWOLF. This short film is fun with a little bit of wit and has Wes Craven in it acting as himself.
Movie Review: The Unrated Cut Is A Fun-Filled Gorefest...
Summary: 3 Stars
I could make all kinds of jokes about the title and the movie's long history in development hell and sordid shoot. But I won't. I could even talk about how it got castrated at the movie theater by getting slapped with a PG-13 rating and bombed financially. But I won't.
Instead I'll simply talk about what's being presented on this disc. Simply put, the unrated (and originally intended) version of Cursed is a gleefully over-the-top gorefest with some hammy acting and decent special effects. All in all, it's an easy Saturday night with some friends enjoying the gruesome spectacle that Wes Craven tried so hard to keep control of, but seemingly failed on a couple of levels.
It's not a bad film at all. But lots and lots of "legit" critics will swear up and down that it's awful and terrible and all kinds of things. It isn't. It's not great by any stretch of the imagination, for sure. However, it's not the crapfest most reviewers are making it out to be (I'm talking about the unrated version).
I'll agree that dumping a PG-13 rating on it and sending it off to fend for itself in the wilds of the box office jungle was a pretty bad idea. I mean, true horror fans want their gore, well, gory...Right? By cutting out what drives people to these movies in the first place, they in turn shot themselves in the foot (they being Miramax/Dimension).
The cast is loaded with talent and recognizable faces, but the key factor that adds negative points to the movie is that the script feels forced, rushed and worse: dated. It kind of feels like this should have been released two or three years ago and not in 2005. The long shoot for the movie and constant reshoots and edits are to blame for that, but it still leaves a stinging effect on your lasting impression of Cursed. Christina Ricci and Joshua Jackson are passable as the leads, but Jesse Eisenberg as Ricci's brother steals the movie with an often amusing and interesting character who's coming to terms with his own "curse" much differently (and much more fun) than his sister.
Many comparisons will be made to the Scream movies, since some of the same people (director, writer) that brought you that trlogy are responsible for Cursed. The film screams (no pun intended) more of Kevin Williamson than Wes Craven most of the way. In fact, you can hardly tell this is a Wes Craven work at all. Whether that's a positive or negative in your eyes is solely up to you.
The special effects for the werewolf transformation sequences are quite effective and there is plenty of gore to be found throughout the film, all well done and squeam-inducing to boot. This is not a realistic film by any means. Nor is it believable even one bit. But if you can set your differences aside with the back-story behind the creation of the movie and just take it at face value, I'm sure you will see it for what it actually is: a fast-paced, bloody, silly, sometimes campy werewolf movie with an above average cast and some neat gore and effects. That's all it is...Nothing more, nothing less...Bon Appetit...
Bottom Line: Cursed is not worth going to the theater to see, but the uncensored cut of the film on DVD is worth a rent for sure. It's an entertaining but very slight horror flick that doesn't try to reinvent to wheel but won't put anyone to sleep either. Silly, dumb horror-iffic fun. Period.
Movie Review: You would expect a better werwolf movie from Williamson and Craven
Summary: 3 Stars
If Kevin Williamson and Wes Craven want to write and direct an R-rated werewolf movie, then you would think with their respective track records they should be allowed to do it. But that is not what happened with "Cursed," and the studio edited it down to a PG-13 version. Whatever their motivation, I am inclined to think that avoiding having a hit like the R-rated "Scream" trilogy was not their goal. Still, the film Williamson and Craven created was butchered, they washed their hands of the film, and "Cursed" ended up on the shelf for a while.
Ellie Myers (Christina Ricca) is a segment producer for Craig Kilborn (Craig Kilborn), who is driving home with her brother, Jimmy (Jesse Eisenberg) when there is an accident. While trying to rescue a woman (Shannon Elizabeth), they are attacked by a werewolf. The woman ends up dead, while Ellie and Jimmy are now at risk for turning into beasts. We know this and Jimmy suspects it, but Ellie is going to take some convincing. After all, it was dark and there was a forest, so who knows what is really out there in the night. Then there is the question of who is the werewolf, because you know it has to be somebody that Ellie knows and there is either an obvious suspect or one of the more blatant red herrings in horror movie history (take your pick).
I did not see "Cursed" in the theater and I have no interest in seeing the "rated" version, so I cannot speak to how big of a crime against humanity can be pinned on the studio. For that matter, I am not absolutely sure that this unrated version reflects the vision of Williamson and Craven. What I can say is that I do not find "Cursed" to be an inventive revitalization of the werewolf film, which, I assume, was supposed to be the goal here. The problem is that Jimmy is a lot more interesting than Ellie, and is the main character. What happens between Jimmy and Bo (Milo Ventimiglia) the school bully is a lot more interesting than what anything happening with Ellie. If anything, she is a bit denser than most movie heroines, even when things are laid out for her. Another part of the problem is that since we are talking Kevin Williamson we are expecting the script to play with the rules of the werewolf game a bit more than this one. Instead, the pivotal issue in the film has to do with the metallic composition of a picture frame (then again, if you had to find something silver in your household right this very minute, what could YOU come up with?).
But the two key elements of any werewolf movie are, first, what does the beast look like, and, second, how tragic the target human happens to be. The werewolf in "Cursed" is okay looking, but Ellie is not a particularly tragic figure and that ends up being more important. I know because after watching this circa 2005 film the recommendation I want to make is for fans of the werewolf genre to go check out the "Ginger Snaps" trilogy, where the Fitzgerald sisters are a lot more interesting. Or if you really want something innovative involving werewolves go check out "Brotherhood of the Wolf" ("Le Pacte des loups"). Because whether you compare "Cursed" to other werewolf films or the "Scream" trilogy, you are going to be disappointed.