The Cursed: The Year’s Best Horror Film?
The Cursed (2022)
Directed by Sean Ellis
Starring Boyd Holbrook, Kelly Reilly and Alistair Petrie
By Tim Basaraba
One of my guilty pleasures is watching horror films that come out in January, February or March. Studios front load the year with films that have little hope of making money. Nine out of ten usually aren’t very good, but there’s always one that exceeds expectations and can be considered a high-quality film regardless of its genre label. The Cursed is one of these rare films that “exceeds expectations” and transcends the horror genre.
A period piece, this latest film from director Sean Ellis opens on the battlefields of World War I before the story quickly jettisons the viewer 35 years into the past. As an opening, it feels far more realistic and visceral than another recent period piece, 1917 (2019), which cost ten times as much to make.
The realism in The Cursed doesn’t stop with the familiar depiction of “No Man’s Land,” either. The film shines with its overall depiction of the late 1800s; the production team’s attention to detail on a relatively small budget is a testament to their craft and dedication. The world they created feels lived in and anything but sterile. Some horror period pieces skimp on this attention to historical context and detail, opting instead to spend budget on gore and special effects.
But don’t worry, there is no skimping with The Cursed. The gore is there, but only as a tool to shock the viewer and drive home the peril that faces the story’s compelling, empathetic characters. And even though it is a period piece, it delivers a modern flair to the Werewolf mythos—mixing mysticism and science to help us, the viewer, believe its logic.
Boyd Holbrook, (Pierce, from everyone’s favorite X-men film Logan), plays pathologist John McBride who’s evaluating a body that appears to have been killed by a wild animal. While at the scene, he learns that the local community is looking for a missing child. Intrigued by the mystery, McBride decides to stay and help with the search after the parents of the missing child, Mr. and Mrs. Laurent (played by Alistair Petrie and Kelly Reilly), offer up their home. Petrie and Reilly play their parts with a subtle sadness that blends beautifully with Boyd’s manic Mcbride.
Is there something the Laurent’s are hiding? Yes, and the viewer knows what it is long before McBride does. This Hitchcockian approach to building tension building is a great example of the legendary director’s techniques living on through thoughtful films like The Cursed.
The first and second acts meander slowly, but they are integral to the plot and character development and do a masterful job of creating tension and mystery around the beast that serves as the film’s antagonist. This leads to a big pay-off in the third act, where the film really shines. Unlike most horror films, The Cursed also employs the perfect mixture of practical footage effects and CGI to make our rare glimpses of this monstrosity all the more terrifying.
This has been a good year for the horror genre. Is The Cursed the best of 2023? At an A- it’s close, but I’ve got The Hatching and Watcher (review coming soon) both at an A and the amazing You Won’t Be Alone and Smile at an A+.