CURFEW

Ray and Bob, two brothers convicted of raping and murdering a girl, escape from prison with the intention of taking revenge on those who caused their conviction. First stop is at the judge's house who issued the sentence; second stop at the doctor who deemed them capable of understanding and willing at the time of the crime; to conclude with the visit to the district attorney. Once arrived at the latter, the two brothers decide to hold the entire family hostage, consisting, in addition to the district attorney, of his wife and teenage daughter, for whom Bob develops a crush. For the family, it will be a night of fear! Unlikely thriller from the late 1980s, presented as a true story and labeled with a threatening (and promising) ban for minors under 18. "Curfew" is actually a shoddy and laughable little film, no more frightening than any episode of the "Harry Potter" saga, enhanced by a disarming underlying stupidity. Numerous are the scenes that provoke laughter rather than scaring the viewer; the dialogues appear ridiculous and highly demented (perhaps penalized also by a questionable Italian adaptation) and the characters are all constructed in a non-credible way, starting with the two murderous brothers who appear as two demented boys suitable to be victims to Jason Voorhees in any "Friday the 13th". The members of the kidnapped family, then, appear too calm to be in a situation of great danger like the one shown. Furthermore, some sequences appear out of place, as if they were inserted to stretch the broth, such as the long and unlikely sequence in which the protagonist's friends enter her house (according to them, to play a trick on her) and are killed by the two crazies. It is worth noting that, however, there is not even a shadow of blood and displayed violence, making the ban on minors under 18 with which the film debuted in Italy at the time of its VHS distribution seem totally unfounded. The director Gary Winick, here in his debut, will later become the author of blockbuster comedies like "30 Years in a Second" and "Charlotte's Web". Therefore, flat and amateur direction, a script that often descends into useless and ridiculous situations, approximate dialogues, wrong actors, and total absence of violence and tension make "Curfew" a film to fail and avoid. Forewarned man...