I saw THE CURSED when it was still titled Eight For Silver at Sundance 2021. Since then, the writer/director Sean Ellis has made some significant changes to the edit of the film and I am happy to say that the slight problems that I had with the film at Sundance have been remedied. The narrative flow of the film is much smoother and it flows forward in a way that enhances the storytelling and engages the viewer more. It doesn’t compromise the filmmaker’s approach to the story and its themes but is presented in a way that draws the viewer in a much stronger way.

Yes, there is a bit more exposition in the film, but it’s more of the visual kind, with different choices made in scenes that make the intent of each scene stronger. It’s not so much that Ellis changed up the entire film, he made choices that gave clarity to the viewer and committed very strongly to the central theme of the piece and the usage of the archetype of the werewolf to express a specific state of being in our society.

Normally, the werewolf metaphorically represents the outsider, a person who is othered by chance or because of who they are. It was Ellis’ intention to find a new expression for the werewolf in cinema and he has done it. Rather than the lonely outsider turning into a wolf because of who they were in a small town, the werewolf curse is inflicted on a town for the crimes committed against fellow human beings.

But still, the terror of becoming the werewolf and becoming the thing that everyone fears still exists in the film. But repeatedly, the tendency that men in power have to sacrifice others for what they perceive as the greater good or for their own profit is central to the horror that the characters feel. The werewolf is usually a fear, like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, of the evil within ourselves, but in THE CURSED the innocent are made to pay for the evil of greedy old men as the werewolf takes them over.

I thought about this as I watched the prelude to the main part of the film that is set at the Battle of Somme during World War I. I suspected that it was not an extraneous addition and when I looked up Somme, I found that it was one of the bloodiest battles in WWI. The costumes are accurate. Again, the main theme of innocents being sacrificed for the goal of leaders who don’t consider the real cost of their decision became clear.  Incidentally, during the first day of Somme, the 20,000 British soldiers died, but their leaders just kept sending them into the hail of machine gunfire. This went on from July 1 to November 18 of 1916. The British and French forces only advanced six miles and never broke the German defense line. The soldiers never had a chance.

One of the things that most impressed me about the film when it was called Eight For Silver was its attempt to make a new version of the myth of the werewolf and the edits that transformed the film into THE CURSED have made the film even more successful in this aim. The tradition of silver being used against werewolves is still present but used in more than one way that brings new ideas to the myth.

Is there more gore? Yes, I believe so. The beautiful cinematography that is built on the mist shadowed land, where the film was set, is still there. Sean Ellis is a very good cinematographer and he not only wrote the film and directed it, but he took on that job as well. The wonderful performances that I noted in my first review are still there, but the film itself has morphed into an even more powerful statement that is entertaining, thrilling, and horrifying.

THE CURSED is a very good werewolf film with great imagery and strong performances with a central metaphor of the evil of powerful men. The fresh mythology of the werewolf was well done and thoughtful. THE CURSED is a strong addition to the werewolf canon that is also beautiful to look at. Those fangs! I would also like to single out the performances of two of the ensemble, Roxane Duran as Anais and Aine Rose Daly as Anne-Marie. I felt terror for both of them and that’s good direction and terrific acting. Boyd Holbrook holds his own as the hero as well. He’s not Van Helsing, but he’s as driven a monster hunter in a believable and sympathetic way.

The werewolves are a mix of practical animatronic effects and CGI/CGV and the beasts look different from most werewolf designs which fit the intent of the filmmaker to make the myth fresh and I think works very well. It’s the pale and icky fleshiness that envelops its victims that I found to be different and very effective and scary.

In this version, Kelly Reilly’s (Sherlock Holmes) performance as Isabelle Laurent is sympathetic and she is believable as a dedicated mother who feels abandoned by her husband. Alistair Petrie (“The Terror”, Rogue One) does an admirable job as the main antagonist Seamus Laurent, a man whose lust for power betrays everyone. Tommy Rodger (“The Alienist”) as Timmy has a great face and a gravity that a lot of younger actors don’t have. Max Mackintosh (Rocketman) and Amelia Crouch (The Huntsman: Winter’s War) both have a great presence as young actors and do really good work. Pascale Becouze is unforgettable as The Gypsy Woman and Jicey Carina does good work as the Gypsy Blacksmith. As a whole, the ensemble was really well cast. The casting director for the film, Elaine Grainger deserves notice for her great work as does Madeline Fontaine’s (Jackie) lovely costume design.

Robin Foster’s (Metro Manila) music is very well done, it swells like a storm front coming over the horizon and is pleasing to the ear. Film editing by Yorgos Mavropsaridis (The Lobster, Dogtooth) and Richard Mettler (Anthropoid) has done the job and made the film capable of firing on all cylinders.

If you love a good werewolf film, I recommend THE CURSED. It’s different in setting from most werewolf films. Period werewolf films are even rarer than werewolf films in general and it does have scenes and images that strike terror in the heart. It definitely has the most frightening straw man since Dark Night of the Scarecrow. I’m glad that the filmmakers had the time to work on the film and make it even more effective and make the storytelling even stronger.

Sean Ellis’ gothic thriller THE CURSED is now in theaters from LD Entertainment. Stay tuned for updates regarding VOD and Digital releases.

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Dolores Quintana

Dolores Quintana is an actor and writer living in Los Angeles. She has written for blogs as diverse as Buddyhead, Pocho.com, and The Theatre @ Boston Court. She works as an actor in independent film and both immersive and traditional theatre with Alone: an Existential Haunting, Screenshot Productions, and Native Voices at The Autry.

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