Written and directed by Ellis, The Cursed is bar none the most unique take on the werewolf subgenre of horror films that I’ve ever seen. But it is so much more than that! The plot starts 35 years prior to the film’s events with the mystery of a Capt in the French army in WWI being treated for multiple bullet wounds before transitioning into the past to tell the story of how a silver bullet is found inside this man.
Ellis has crafted with this film a story that stems from the legendary tale of the Beast of Gevaudan. An enormous “wolf” that was responsible for slaying so many locals that the army was called in to kill it. A fantasy rendition of this can be seen in the excellent movie The Brotherhood of the Wolf by Christopher Gans. Unlike that action/fantasy/mystery/horror The Cursed is pure gothic horror and mystery. The creators keep the mood grim and the action brutal from start to finish. This is no fairy tale or if so more in line with the original stories collected by the Brothers Grimm.
Conflict stems from a local land Baron Seamus Laurent, removing a Romani clan from his land with lethal force, in spite of the gypsies having a fair claim to where they have settled. A death curse is placed against those who have wronged them by means of a set of silver jaws. Coming to the rescue is police pathologist John McBride, who is summoned by Seamus when his son Edward goes missing. The curse involves several nightmare sequences that plague any living in the area as both the baron and the land itself have been cursed and Moliere suspects this curse is similar to something he saw play out in Gevaudan as he investigated the wolf attacks there.
The lycanthropy in this film is transmissible by bite, should the victim survive but seems to have elements of a fairly-like hex to it as part of the transformation included being cocooned in vines and behaving almost like a changeling in some ways. It’s a very interesting bit of lore Ellis has developed for the film. I also find the lycanthrope design unsettling as it again comes across as something fey in nature but also like an alternative evolutionary path for a human being, something rising from canids instead of primates. It’s close enough to human to be eerier and far enough away to be horrific.
The film is sumptuously shot with what appears to be natural light to my eye throughout. From the stark light of day, to dappled shadows in the woods and deep contrasts of Seamus’s manor exposed only by flickering candle light. This is film at its highest as an art in my estimation, without the need for color grading. The choice of lenses, aperture and focal length do all the heavy lifting without the need for processing. Because of this The Cursed is less like watching a film and more like being in the scene.
Ellis paces his film beautifully, he slowly unveils the mystery, letting the tension build and for both character and story arcs to pay off with maximum impact. You never feel the 113 minute run time as you wait with baited breath to see what will happen next, wondering if the curse will be completely and tragically fulfilled or if those innocent of the terrible crimes against the Romani will be spared by the efforts of McBride. Production wise this film is very grounded in its period. The clothes, architecture, props all perfectly set the stage. In many ways it reminds me of the authenticity I experienced while watching the movie The Witch in 2015 in which the fantastical and the horrific are a working part of a very realistic world.
The performances from the cast are stellar and each is appropriate to the time and culture of the setting. Everyone plays their parts with appropriate restraint until the characters’ societal civilites are broken down by the mounting fear and horror. Everything is played straight to a tee here and adds to the building dread. Again I feel like I’m watching people and not characters.
The Cursed is an exceptional piece of period horror/drama and should not be missed.
5 out of 5