There was a great idea for 'The Curse of Sleeping Beauty', one of the more intriguing ones for a less-than-high-budget film, and there was a good, or at least halfway decent, film in it somewhere that had great potential to come out and should have done.
Which is why it is so frustrating and such a big shame that 'The Curse of Sleeping Beauty' was so disjointed and uneven, as someone who was really rooting for the film to work. Do have to agree with the general consensus that 'The Curse of Sleeping Beauty' started off well and promisingly, was really thinking that it would be surprisingly good, but fell apart completely in the second half and kept getting worse. There are definitely far worse wastes of potential and good concepts, but 'The Curse of Sleeping Beauty' was definitely a definition of a waste of potential and a waste of a great idea.
It, as aforementioned, starts off well. Throughout the production values generally were atmospherically Gothic and nicely shot with eerie make-up. The music also has a haunting eeriness that doesn't feel intrusive, one-note or repetitive. Mostly the acting was better than average, having seen some very bad to terrible acting in modest to low budget films recently so that was refreshing.
Atmosphere generated is genuinely creepy, wonderful mysterious and suspenseful going at a deliberate but assured pace.
Sadly, again as already said, the second half sees 'The Curse of Sleeping Beauty' falling apart. And not just slightly, we're talking significantly. Not that the film was perfect already. There was some choppy editing, cheap costuming and Ethan Peck doesn't always look comfortable or engaged in his role.
Really, it is frustrating that the more the second half progressed, the duller, more confused, more clichéd and more predictable it got, and the mystery, creepiness and suspense got lost and instead was replaced by dreariness, ridiculousness and a draggy pace. All capped off by an ending that was far too abrupt and incomplete.
Overall, good first half, disappointing second half with a bad non-event ending. 5/10 Bethany Cox
Which is why it is so frustrating and such a big shame that 'The Curse of Sleeping Beauty' was so disjointed and uneven, as someone who was really rooting for the film to work. Do have to agree with the general consensus that 'The Curse of Sleeping Beauty' started off well and promisingly, was really thinking that it would be surprisingly good, but fell apart completely in the second half and kept getting worse. There are definitely far worse wastes of potential and good concepts, but 'The Curse of Sleeping Beauty' was definitely a definition of a waste of potential and a waste of a great idea.
It, as aforementioned, starts off well. Throughout the production values generally were atmospherically Gothic and nicely shot with eerie make-up. The music also has a haunting eeriness that doesn't feel intrusive, one-note or repetitive. Mostly the acting was better than average, having seen some very bad to terrible acting in modest to low budget films recently so that was refreshing.
Atmosphere generated is genuinely creepy, wonderful mysterious and suspenseful going at a deliberate but assured pace.
Sadly, again as already said, the second half sees 'The Curse of Sleeping Beauty' falling apart. And not just slightly, we're talking significantly. Not that the film was perfect already. There was some choppy editing, cheap costuming and Ethan Peck doesn't always look comfortable or engaged in his role.
Really, it is frustrating that the more the second half progressed, the duller, more confused, more clichéd and more predictable it got, and the mystery, creepiness and suspense got lost and instead was replaced by dreariness, ridiculousness and a draggy pace. All capped off by an ending that was far too abrupt and incomplete.
Overall, good first half, disappointing second half with a bad non-event ending. 5/10 Bethany Cox