The Cursed (2010)

A supernatural thriller set in a cozy Tennessee town where Sheriff Jimmy Muldoon and younger brother, Deputy Lloyd Muldoon, have a firm grasp of law and order until a stranger, Denny White,... See full summary »

Director:

Joel Bender

Writer:

Devin Watson (as D. Martin Watson)

Stars:

Louis Mandylor, Brad Thornton, Costas Mandylor

Cast

Credited cast:
Louis Mandylor	...	Lloyd Muldoon
Brad Thornton	...	Denny White
Costas Mandylor	...	Jimmy Muldoon
Francesca Cecil	...	Sara Belmont
James Marshall	...	Bill Fisher
Tom Wright	...	Willie Gar
Holt Boggs	...	Charlie
Josie Davis	...	Mrs. Jimmy Muldoon
Christie Lynn Smith	...	Marlene Muldoon
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Irish Ann Burch	...	Nurse
Steel Chambers	...	Dark Figure #2
Samuel Doak	...	Marty Sheck
Adam Doench	...	Police Officer
Dwayne Doud	...	Bartender
Steve Effler	...	Funeral Extra

Storyline

A supernatural thriller set in a cozy Tennessee town where Sheriff Jimmy Muldoon and younger brother, Deputy Lloyd Muldoon, have a firm grasp of law and order until a stranger, Denny White, comes to town and horrible things begin to happen. - James Clark, Southern Standard

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Plot Keywords:

psychotronic film | southeastern united states | tennessee | sheriff | strangulation | 

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Taglines:

A small town, a dark history, when a stranger wakens a hundred-year curse, evil is unleashed on the edge of darkness.

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Genres:

Horror | Romance | Thriller

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Did You Know?

Trivia

The film was originally going to be named "Tenebrous," meaning dark and shadowy.

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Goofs

When Denny sees the figure run across the road, he stops his truck and gets out to look around. Frightened, he gets back in and starts the engine. After the figure appears and puts the cow's head on his hood then disappears, he starts the (already running) engine again before driving away.

User Reviews

Low-budget, but serious and atmospheric

Although "The Cursed" was shot in 2007 it wasn't released until early 2010 on Syfy.

THE PLOT: A writer (Brad Thornton) comes to a small Tennessee town to complete a book and strange things start happening – animals and people mysteriously disappear or are slaughtered. He hooks up with a good-looking librarian (Francesca Cecil) and they trace the problem to a satanic curse from the post-Civil War era. Meanwhile the sheriff (Louis Mandylor) is at his wits end trying to figure out what's going on and increasingly suspects the writer's involvement.

Although this is a low-budget, independent film it's considerably better than Syfy's usual fare, e.g. "Gatorade vs. Mega-Cleavage." How so? For one, it maintains a serious vibe, which is important in an age when most mystery/horror films belong in the comedy section. Secondly, the film creates a mysterious ambiance throughout, akin to "The Fog" but with a Stephen King plot minus the cartoony characters.

Speaking of the atmosphere, I really liked how you can hear the distinctive Eastern forest sounds, like the crickets and peepers, etc. I realize it's odd to point this out but the movie did this better than any that I can remember. The film was shot in McMinnville, Tennessee, by the way (and it's nice to see a film of this ilk shot somewhere other than Bulgaria, Romania or British Columbia).

Another positive is the monster's appearance, particularly when it opens its mouth (when it's closed it doesn't look very impressive).

Negatives include too much obvious dubbing and plot elements that simply don't make sense (why would the killer of the demon become the monster? And how would the old black guy know this with any certainty?); in addition, I disapprove of two important people biting the dust and the very end is lame.

FINAL WORD: Although it's nothing to get overly excited about, "The Cursed" is effective for a TV horror film. The filmmakers and actors take the material seriously and the film evokes a cool creepy atmosphere, but the negatives cited above force me to give it a fairly mediocre rating or "almost good".

GRADE: C+.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

6 February 2010 (USA)

Also Known As:

Tenebrous

Filming Locations:

McMinnville, Tennessee, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,750,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Chain Gang Films, Proton Entertainment, Melfi & Associates

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min

Sound Mix:

DTS (5.1 surround)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1