CURSED

Outskirts of Los Angeles, evening: two beautiful girls go to an amusement park where, as a joke, they consult a palm reader to solve one of their romantic problems. Instead of answering their questions, the psychic prophesies a danger for the two girls symbolized by blood seen on their hands… naturally the young women do not take the prophecy seriously, but a few days later, during the full moon, one of them will be involved in a strange car accident in the Hollywood hills. The passengers in the other car, a brother and sister, stop to help her, unaware of what bizarre and shocking adventure they will become entangled in. Finally, the last troubled film by Wes Craven (one of the most important directors in the horror landscape of the 1980s and 1990s) has been released, probably one of the most difficult productions in the history of the genre, so much so that at the film's presentation the director himself seemed relieved by the conclusion of filming. Unfortunately, the first thing to say about it is that such "gestation" problems are evident even on first viewing, given that the film's editing seems very fast, almost televisual; the Computer Graphics are evidently not keeping pace with the most recent results in this field, and the screenplay also suffers from the various revisions that alternated during pre-production and production. So much for the bad news, but beyond all these tribulations the film also has qualities that counterbalance what has been seen so far: the plot, while not being very original (but all films in the werewolf genre are very conventional, just think of "An American Werewolf in London") is proven and reserves a couple of variations on the theme worthy of note. The acting, particularly that of Christina Ricci, is appreciable. Wes Craven's direction, while being "hurried," is immediately recognizable, while the film's story follows the teen-movies of the 1980s and shows the influence of Craven's works of the 1990s, particularly the first "Scream." Moreover, in keeping with the director's tradition, the film does not lack a measured dose of humor, never annoying, contrived or intrusive as in other films, but extremely enjoyable (the dialogue about homosexuality is truly funny!). Also worth noting is that the story is vaguely meta-cinematic, which recalls "Nightmare on Elm Street: The Dream Child": the plot is set in Hollywood (the accident occurs on Mulholland Road, the road that leads from Los Angeles to the hills of the cinema capital), a (irreverent) portrait of the world that revolves around the film industry, with its parties and neuroses, and much of the story takes place in a club decorated with a theme: in this case the horror of the "Golden Age" of black and white cinema is Craven's obvious choice! In fact, in most of the action in the club, the wax statue of the werewolf (protagonist of the first film of the genre, "The Wolf Man" from 1951) looms in the background: a fitting tribute to the progenitor of a long series of werewolf films of which "Cursed" is only the latest arrival on screen. The soundtrack is mainly based on hard rock pieces that contribute to the vague 1980s flavor of the film ("I Was a Teenage Werewolf" from 1985 with Michael J. Fox immediately comes to mind), very well related to the scenes on screen (especially in the gymnasium fight sequence) but never "intrusive" in a way that disturbs or distracts the viewer from the action. It appears unfortunately that "Cursed," despite the film's qualities, was sabotaged by its own production, and indeed the release was very low-key, almost at the level of an attempt to bury it, with very little publicity, especially on television, and rather limited theatrical distribution: this major studio policy can partially justify the film's poor box office success, both in the United States and in Italy. The critical reception, bordering on total panning, can be explained by the abnormal climate of anticipation that had been generated around the latest film by someone who for some is considered one of the greatest masters of Horror, while for others is an overrated director: the result, a very conventional but solid film, disappointed just about everyone. Moreover, as already noted, much of the problems that occurred during pre-production and filming compromised the original result envisioned by Craven, and the tensions on set and off were such that the film's release was welcomed as a liberation: in fact the theatrical release was postponed by a full year, with cast changes (Mya instead of Mandy Moore for the role of Jenny), the elimination of characters and entire scenes already filmed by the director (it seems that at one point 90% of the footage was considered "unusable" in light of the script changes underway) and the departure of key actors such as Skeet Ulrich, dissatisfied after the rewriting of his character. All this evidently undermined the relationship between those involved in making the film, generating frustration even in Craven himself. Apart from that, if you watch "Cursed" without expecting too much (like a milestone in cinema history) you will be able to leave the theater satisfied, having appreciated the product for what it is: a pleasant genre film, with its good moments of tension, but never really surprising. If, on the other hand, when the lights go down, expectations remain high (which often happens with the works of famous directors) a panning at the end of the screening will be inevitable.