The Curse (1987)

When a meteorite lands near his family farm during a storm in Tennessee, the son of a struggling farmer believes it's connected to strange plague-like events afflicting the crops, the farm animals and even the family themeselves.

Director:

David Keith

Writer:

David Chaskin (screenplay)

Stars:

Wil Wheaton, Claude Akins, Malcolm Danare

1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Wil Wheaton	...	Zack (as Will Wheaton)
Claude Akins	...	Nathan
Malcolm Danare	...	Cyrus
Cooper Huckabee	...	Forbes
John Schneider	...	Willis
Amy Wheaton	...	Alice
Steve Carlisle	...	Davidson
Kathleen Jordon Gregory	...	Frances
Hope North	...	Esther
Steve Davis	...	Mike

Storyline

Nathan Crane is a religious man trying to hold onto his farm and keep his family in line. A real estate developer is trying to buy most of the farm property in the area, including Mr. Crane's family farm, in the hope that the Tennesse Valley Authority will choose the town for the site of a new dam and recreational area. The night of a terrible storm, an unidentified, glowing object crashes on the Crane farm and with it comes a horrible curse for the Crane family and the members of the community.

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Plot Keywords:

farm | meteorite | religious fanatic | meteor | child in peril | 

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Taglines:

From the darkest part of the heavens, terror has arrived.

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Genres:

Horror | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

Producer Ovidio G. Assonitis says the film was inspired by the social crisis of the farmers during the Ronald Reagan administration in the United States during the 1980s.

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Goofs

When Zach is filling his canteen at Dr. Forbes house, Forbes and his wife are in their bedroom. A boom mic is visible in the mirror above their bed.

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Quotes

Frances Hayes: Where's Zachary?
Nathan Hayes: He'll be around.
Cyrus: He was stinking up the whole house.

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Alternate Versions

The MGM DVD features additional footage and an alternate ending previously missing from other versions.

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Connections

Featured in Cinemassacre's Monster Madness: Nightbeast (2012)

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Soundtracks

On Daddy's Farm
By Deborah H. Barkat
Courtesy of Barkst - Mac Kechnie

User Reviews

Bizarre 80's science-fiction...

This movie is about a family living on a farm in the country: a husband, wife, and two sons and a daughter. The father, being an EXTREMELY religious type, finds out that his wife is cheating on him. Not long after that, a meteor hits the backyard (how stereotypical can you get?) and begins to pollute the water and the vegetables. Those who eat the vegetables and drink the water slowly turn into hideous, slime-spewing homicidal mutants!!!

Duh-Duh-Duhhnn! I'm guessing that maybe this meteor is supposed to be a punishment from God (or so the husband says.)

Everyone but the younger brother and his sister eat the food and drink the water from the farm. First, the fruits and vegetables start to rot/become infested with insects/fill up with brownish fluid. Next, the chickens attack the daughter, and the horse kicks one of the brothers. After that, the cows become sick and start spewing up maggots. By this time, the mother, who was infected first I'm guessing, starts to break out in these nasty little blisters. Eventually, she starts talking in gibberish, eats with her fingers and tries to stitch a cloth to her hand, then she tries to kill her husband. The husband puts her in the shed for the next few days. The next person to show signs of infection is the brother, who starts acting like more of a buttmunch than usual. A dog on their farm kills a traveling salesman's assisstant, and the wife ends up munching the salesman's guts. When the husband finds out he moves his wife to the attic. Meanwhile, the main character (Will Wheaton) tries to figure out how to save his sister from his now-criminally insane family. That night, his father finds him in the shed looking for his mother. Then he notices that his son has a backpack filled with evil, sinful, store-bought food. His father tells him he's unappreciative and tries to beat him. When that fails, he tries to kill him. The brother is able to hold him off until the house starts collapsing. A friend of the family comes by to save Will Wheaton and his sister, but Will says he has to save his mother. He goes up to the attic, and in one of the most creepy scenes of the movie, he watches his mother rot away into a puddle of black goo. He escapes just in time to watch the house sink into the ground, sending his unholy kinfolk into redneck hell!

I liked this movie, it WAS poorly acted, but it was far-fetched to begin with. There are some genuinely nasty moments that will make your skin crawl. For instance, after the chickens attack the little girl the camera zooms in as their eyes collapse in the sockets and start bleeding this nasty yellow goop. Or the scene where the cow's udder splits open and locusts fly out. Or the scene where the mother cuts open a head of lettuce to reveal it's putrid, rotting innards (and lettuce doesn't even HAVE innards!). The film is very dark in atmosphere and there is a sense of impending doom throughout the whole film, not unlike that of Poltergeist. I give it 6 1/2 out of 10 because the acting, other than that of Wheaton and Akins, was horrendous.

Details

Country:

Italy USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 September 1988 (Spain)

Also Known As:

The Well

Filming Locations:

Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$1,169,922, 13 September 1987

Gross USA:

$1,930,001

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$1,930,001

Company Credits

Production Co:

Trans World Entertainment (TWE)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1