THE CURSE OF EL CHARRO

Maria has just lost her sister, who died by suicide for unclear reasons. Three of Maria's university friends organize a pleasure trip, and one of them insists on bringing along their depressed friend to distract her from the event. During the journey, they decide to spend the night in a small town in Mexico where one of the girls has a house. Maria is continuously haunted by terrifying visions and nightmares in which she sees her dead sister trying to warn her about an imminent danger: indeed, a demon from Mexican folklore, El Charro, is hunting her because she is the descendant of the woman who rejected his love and forced him to transform into a bloodthirsty monster. Distributed in Italy exclusively for the home video market with the questionable title 'The Curse – La maledizione' (probably to capitalize on the success of 'Cursed – Il maleficio' by Craven, released for rent in the same days), this film is an unusual horror-western that is very well crafted in terms of formal aspects, although not very original in its content and plot development. The producers' intentions were probably to launch with El Carro a new boogeyman to be serialized alongside icons like Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees, but given the film's poor success both domestically and internationally, the operation can be considered a commercial failure. However, the villain of this film is quite suggestive: a tall and dusty man, wearing a poncho like Clint Eastwood, a cowboy hat covering his skeletal face, and a sort of machete in his hand; although from a distance he looks physically very similar to the Creeper from 'Jeepers Creepers' and in the dramatic love story that forged him, he can vaguely remind one of Candyman. Andrew Bryniarski plays this dusty character, who could become a new icon of horror cinema, as he had already played Leatherface in the remake of 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre' and will return to wield the chainsaw in the upcoming prequel. In terms of formal aspects, 'The Curse' has nothing to envy from high-budget Hollywood productions; in fact, it is very well crafted in its suggestive photography (preferring warm tones ranging from yellow to ochre) and in some original visual and editing choices (the long flashback sequence that tells the origins of El Charro, shot in the style of a 1910s silent film with subtitles) that give a touch of freshness in the monotonous landscape of homogenized horror productions of recent years. The criticism that can be leveled at this film concerns the uneven pacing that director Rich Ragsdale has given it: indeed, before getting into the heart of the story, you have to wait about forty minutes, and to see El Charro in action, you have to wait until the last half hour of the film. Furthermore, some narrative choices are rather questionable (such as the entry into action of angelic forces) and not very functional to the plot of the story. However, overall, it is worth dedicating an hour and a half to watching this well-made film, and if it were not for some considerable drops in pacing, it would have deserved half a point more. There are also some gore scenes.