The Cursed: An Interesting and Atmospheric Approach to Werewolves
I’ve been meaning to watch Sean Ellis’s 2021 film The Cursed and caught a screening at 10:20 PM last night, and the film did not disappoint. The movie was a combination of period horror, gothic horror, and werewolf; it hit all right buttons. Overall, I immensely enjoyed Ellis’s take on the werewolf mythology and crafted a work that utilizes atmosphere and tension while setting it against the cholera outbreak of late 19th Century England. It’s a slow burn in the best way possible that mostly kept me invested in its story and world-building.
Written, directed, and cinematography by Sean Ellis, the movie begins at the battle of the Somme in World War I, where a British captain gets fatally wounded by Germain machine gunfire. While the medics remove those bullets, they also find a mysterious older silver bullet that’s been within his body length. Thirty-five years earlier, Seamus Laurent (Alistair Petrie) murders a Romany clan in response to them claiming the land that his house stands on. He and his group dismember one man, make him into a scarecrow, and bury one of the leaders alive with a pair of haunting silver fangs, leaving a particularly nasty curse to both Seamus and the village. He hides the event from his wife Isabelle (Kelly Reilly) and his children Charlotte (Amelia Crouch) and Edward (Mackintosh). Yet, it proves fruitless due to the kids having nightmares about events, unleashing the curse. As soon as the werewolf begins killing people, pathologist John McBride (Boyd Holbrook) visits due to having a similar experience with the creature in his past.
Particular praise of the film goes towards Ellis’s direction. With cinematography and story, he embraces gothic horror exceptionally well and does a fantastic job of building atmosphere. The Cursed feels like a different beast compared to most other werewolf films. I’m a sucker for significant period gothic horror, and Ellis nailed it. The sets and costumes are gorgeous and sell the tone he’s going for.
I am also a big fan of how Ellis created his werewolf mythology. It’s more similar to a virus than similar curses in past werewolf media. By posing it against the cholera outbreak, the movie makes exciting parallels with the curse. Outside of a werewolf film, it becomes a movie about the disease, and the practices used to combat it. John even examines how the contaminated blood interacts with healthy human blood in one scene. Also, the decision grounds the movie within some historical background as well.
I also really liked the werewolf designs. These are not hairy creatures but ferocious humanoid wolves with insatiable blood lust. The kills are gnarly but come slowly before an explosive climax. Also, the process of how a werewolf turns is fascinating and horrifying. The transformation feels akin to Cronenberg to traditional werewolf stories. The silver fangs’ designs are fantastic and instantly iconic.
The VFX is pretty good, but it did call attention to itself in some moments. Interestingly enough, we never see the cursed person as a human after turning. Sometimes, I did get taken out of the film due to the VFX of the creatures. They were pretty solid, but I wished they used practically.
Due to many characters, it became difficult to keep track of characters and their relationships. Sometimes I had to remind myself who a specific character was or their relationship to another. I enjoyed the dynamics of the central family, but it was hard to keep invested in the broader cast. All cast members are talented, yet some roles could be removed or expanded upon. I only wish the central characters were more defined and stood out from the more extensive cast. It just felt like some of them did not need to be included or could be combined.
The Cursed stands as one of the strongest horror films premiering at the beginning of 2022. I became entranced by its mythology, atmosphere, and tone Ellis crafts a fascinating adaption of the werewolf mythology and successfully makes it his own Granted, not every piece of it works, but when it does, it does. It’s a visually stunning film that horror fans should check out.
Thanks again for reading. You can keep with the blog and get updates by following it on Instagram @thebloginthewoods or by following/subscribing to The Blog in the Woods via Medium.
My review for Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2022) went live on Slay Away so check that. Also I will be releasing my review of Studio 666 on Slay Away as well.
As for “Monster March” I will be discussing Malignant tomorrow and Annihilation on Sunday.
