Cursed (2005)

A werewolf loose in Los Angeles changes the lives of three young adults who, after being mauled by the beast, learn they must kill it in order to avoid becoming werewolves themselves.

Director:

Wes Craven

Writer:

Kevin Williamson

Stars:

Christina Ricci, Jesse Eisenberg, Portia de Rossi

3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Portia de Rossi	...	Zela
Mya	...	Jenny
Shannon Elizabeth	...	Becky
Kristina Anapau	...	Brooke
Daniel Edward Mora	...	Jose (as Daniel Mora)
Solar	...	Zipper
Jesse Eisenberg	...	Jimmy
Milo Ventimiglia	...	Bo
Jonny Acker	...	Earl
Eric Ladin	...	Louie
Christina Ricci	...	Ellie
Joshua Jackson	...	Jake
Derek Mears	...	Werewolf
Nick Offerman	...	Officer
Ken Rudulph	...	Newscaster

Storyline

Ellie has been taking care of her younger brother Jimmy since their parents death. One night after picking him up from a party they are involved in a car accident on Mullholland Drive. While trying to rescue a woman from the other car a creature attacks and kills her, also injuring both Ellie and Jimmy. After some research Jimmy realizes the creature could only have been a werewolf.

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Plot Keywords:

gay athlete | gay | los angeles california | creature | werewolf | 

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Taglines:

Have you ever felt like you're not human anymore?

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Genres:

Comedy | Horror

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for horror violence/terror, some sexual references, nudity, language and a brief drug reference

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

Germany USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 February 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

Wes Craven's Cursed

Filming Locations:

Hollywood Center Studios - 1040 N. Las Palmas Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$38,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$9,633,085, 27 February 2005, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$19,297,522

Company Credits

Production Co:

Dimension Films, Outerbanks Entertainment, Craven-Maddalena Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min 99 min (unrated)

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In 2008, Wes Craven was quoted saying; "... the Cursed experience was so screwed up. I mean, that went on for two-and-a-half years of my life for a film that wasn't anything close to what it should have been. And another film that I was about to shoot having the plug pulled - Pulse - so it was like, I did learn from the Cursed experience not to do something for money. They said, 'We know you want to do another film, we'll pay you double.' And we were 10 days from shooting, and I said fine. But I ended up working two-and-a-half years for double my fee, but I could have done two-and-a-half movies, and done movies that were out there making money. In general, I think it's not worth it and part of the reason my phone hasn't rung is that that story is pretty well known.

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Goofs

When Christina Ricci picks up the silver knife off the floor in her house and her hand starts to smoke, pay attention to the shadow. You can see smoke coming from her wrist before her hand touches the knife.

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Quotes

Joanie: [Jimmy has just asked to fight one-one-one with Joanie, but Joanie sends him flying] Fair fight? This is Hollywood!

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Alternate Versions

The original R rated version has been cut in order to receive a PG-13.

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Connections

References Hellraiser (1987)

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Soundtracks

Let Me Out
Written by Marco Beltrami, Buck Sanders and Dillon Dixon
Performed by MBD
Lyrics by Dillon Dixon
Mixed by Noah Scot Snyder

User Reviews

Better than one might expect.

'Cursed' has already earned a place in Hollywood history for it's infamous production problems. Massive re-shoots (rumored up to 75% of the movie), recasts, rewrites, over a year of delays, basically any and everything that could possibly go wrong. Pass this off as credit to Craven as a director and Williamson as a writer that they were still able to pull off something of a fun movie.

A pair of siblings are bitten by a werewolf following a car crash that leaves one woman dead. Amidst their sudden development of new powers they must contend with the traumas the curse brings. Discovering that the only way to lift the curse is to kill the cause of the infection, they must now find out whom the beast is.

On the evolutionary ladder of Craven's films, this is above 'Shocker', below 'Scream', right about on par with 'People Under the Strairs'. Meaning there is some good, gory fun to be had if one doesn't take it too seriously. Those in the market for some blood and laughs ought to have a fine time.

What hurts so much about this, and is the source of much of the films bashing, is that it could have been so much better. While the talents involved worked hard to salvage as much as they could it still feels like an overall missed opportunity. The scares are OK, but not great; the jokes are OK, but not great; the pacing is OK, but not great; noticing a pattern? Technically it's a mixed bag. Great, energetic camera work with some lively stunt work adds a lot of energy, but on/off pacing slows things down again. Characters and scenarios are OK, but dialogue lacks pizazz. And while there is some good gore being tossed around, the creature itself never looks all that believable (neither in CG or costume incarnations).

In the end this is not the ultimate failure fan-boys have tried to pass it off as; time will be kind to Craven's unfortunate child and horror fans should too.

7/10 (Note: review based on R-rated version of film)