The Cursed Review: Lack Of Depth & Momentum Sink Werewolf Horror
The Cursed (previously titled Eight For Silver) is a story about consequences. Steeped in historical context, the film follows the inhabitants of a small village suffering from a curse after a group of landowners murder a Roma clan. The vitriol and atrocity hurled at these innocent people come back to bite land baron Seamus Laurent (Alistair Petrie) in the ass when his son and daughter become victims of this curse, as well as his whole town. Enter pathologist John McBride (Boyd Holbrook), who has been following the Roma clan in hopes of finding the truth behind the death of his family, who also aids this plagued town against the sinister evil that lurks within the woods.
The curse comes from the land baron's desire to keep “his” land and in doing so the Roma people, who possess spiritual power, curse their oppressors. The Baron and his town face the consequences by slowly being picked off by a vengeful creature. The film begins with a brutal opening sequence set during World War I. It's here that writer-director Sean Ellis sets the tone. The Cursed is a slow march through the violence humans inflict upon each other and his approach is unflinchingly honest. There is a soldier hoisted into an infirmary tent where a doctor pulls out three bullets, one of which is a fang-shaped silver bullet. The film then flashes back to Seamus Laurent’s humble estate where his sweet children play and his wife, Isabelle (Kelly Reilly), dotes on her family. Ellis, who is also the cinematographer, doesn’t contrast the tone of the film with this shift in time. Rather, the dark and sombre atmosphere is an extension of his cinematography as he shrouds the Laurents under a heavy layer of fog and gray skies that spell trouble.
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