Cursed (2005) User Reviews

Wes Craven gets "Cursed"

[dibot1 · 5/10 · 25 February 2005]

I went into "Cursed" with high expectations, I'll admit. But how could I resist the re-teaming of the "Scream" team, director Wes Craven and screenwriter Kevin Williamson? I should have known after re-shoots and delay upon delay of the film's release (It should have come out last November), that this would not be another masterpiece in the works. Though I tried to keep my hopes up, the results of this recombination are mixed at best.

Christina Ricci ("Monster") and Jessie Eisenberg ("Roger Dodger") star as siblings who are attacked by a mysterious animal in the Hollywood hills while trying to pull a woman from a wrecked car. Both are wounded by this animal and as the days go by, they begin to change. Eisenberg is most convincing as the younger brother who researches the animal that attacked them. He believes they were infected by a werewolf. The rest of the film chronicles their changes and quest to find the beast who infected them.

Aside from Ricci and Eisenberg the cast mainly consists of a smorgasbord of television actors, mostly from the WB. And I'm not sure that I'd call what they were doing acting. It seemed they mostly showed up and had a good time. Which can work, as long as the audience is enjoying it, too. However, I found myself groaning at much of the dialogue and wincing during emotional moments.

The film is slow to take off but does pick up the pace in the middle before falling off again towards the end. The computer graphics already look dated, and the werewolf makeup is most definitely sub par. A word to filmmakers everywhere, if you can't make a werewolf transformation look convincing, then don't show it at all. There's a lot to be said for implication.

Though there are several scenes where something pops up in the frame to make you jump in your seat, nothing haunts you as you leave the theater. There's no fear of bad dreams here.

Overall, the geniuses behind one of the classic fright films of the 90s (and possibly of all time) did not bring their best work into this decade. I hate to say it, but Wes Craven seems to be suffering from his own curse - the loss of fright.

For a smarter, more imaginative take on the werewolf theme, check out "Ginger Snaps" or "Dog Soldiers."

Predictable Collection of Clichés

[claudio_carvalho · 5/10 · 14 January 2006]

After five years without directing a film, I bought this DVD expecting a good return of Wes Craven to the genre horror teen movie. I like his last works in this genre ("Scream 1, 2 & 3") and also the drama "Music of the Heart", and Christina Ricci is very cool. Unfortunately, "Cursed" is a forgettable and predictable collection of clichés. It is amazing how the viewer can predict the next scene! Further, it is amazing how easy is to replace a fancy car in Hollywood: Ellie wrecks her car in the middle of the night, and on the next day she has a brandy new car. Jake breaks the window of the driver of the new car, and on the next sequence we see Ellie driving in a rainy night in high speed without disheveling her hair. Ellie's brother Jimmy unsuccessfully tries to be funny. If you want to see a great werewolf movie, there are many excellent options, but you can forget "Cursed", which is only recommended for killing time. My vote is five.

Title (Brazil): "Amaldiçoado" ("Cursed")

Bad reviewers have missed the point....

[stephendempsey · 6/10 · 10 September 2021]

I really enjoyed watching this movie in my teen years, it was funny, cheesy and doesn't take itself all that seriously which is the whole point in a horror/comedy. People that gave this movie a bad review obviously went into this expecting so much more, then were sorely disappointed. There were many cheesy horror/comedies during the 2000s, so this movie fits right in with the time, lol.

Seen Better, Seen Worse

[Gafke · 4/10 · 25 February 2005]

Ellie and kid brother Jimmy are driving home late one night through the Hollywood Hills when something huge and monstrous crosses their path. One nasty road accident later, the annoyingly whiny female passenger of the car they just hit is dragged off into the woods by a mostly unseen creature which rips the woman to shreds - and good riddance. Ellie and Jimmy do not escape unscathed themselves. The creature has mildly injured them both and soon, brother and sister are experiencing heightened senses and suffering the Mark of the Beast on the palm of their hands. For Jimmy, it's a blessing in disguise as he returns to high school and battles the school bully. For Ellie, it's the first step on the path towards discovering who the real monster is, and the suspects are numerous. Will she and her brother discover the identity of the beast in time to save themselves from the curse? Or will they too become full fledged werewolves at the next full moon?

"Cursed" doesn't take itself very seriously as a horror film, or as a comedy. It seems to be trying to decide which it wanted to be, and hadn't made up its mind in time for the closing credits. There are a few genuine laughs to be found throughout, and some nifty references to the bygone days of Universal Creature Features, but for the most part this is a silly, airbrushed effort, filled with Beautiful People acting stupidly. I should have considered myself warned when I saw Scott Baio's name in the opening credits. The werewolf itself has a few good scenes, but I was kind of disappointed to see the legendary Rick Baker's name in the credits, and then find myself face to face with a CGI beast later on. And what was Christina Ricci doing in this? Did she lose a bet with Wes Craven or something?

This film might have fared better in the 80s, but it seems somewhat lifeless and unimaginative these days. I'm just glad I had a free pass, otherwise I would be feeling profoundly ripped off right about now.

Cursed? Should be retitled "Sucked."

[TheMovieMark · 4/10 · 25 February 2005]

Cursed, huh? Well, that appropriately describes what a lot of moviegoers did when the final credits started to roll. This has to be one of the most irrelevant, insignificant movies to come along in quite a while. There's not a single thing I can recommend about this movie. Not a single thing. It offers absolutely nothing new or original to the werewolf genre. Why even bother? The acting is bad, the special effects are unimpressive, I couldn't have cared less about any of the characters or their relationships... seriously, is there a less appealing screen couple than Pacey from Dawson's Creek and Christina Ricci? Wooo, look at Pacey! He's got a neatly trimmed beard! He's all grown up now! Whatever. All he did was spit out some cheesy lines about how Ricci, who he'd been dating for all of two months, was the one for him and he really wanted to make it work and BLAH BLAH BLAH! WHO CARES?!?!?!?! I just wanted to punch the guy in the face. Repeatedly. Until my knuckles bled. I couldn't care less if I never see this guy in another movie ever again.

If you're gonna have characters that I couldn't be less interested in, then please try to have a somewhat interesting story with a few good scares. Oh, you couldn't do that for this movie? Well, believe me, I could tell. The scariest thing about Cursed is Christina Ricci's bulbous forehead. Were those CGI werewolves actually supposed to be scary? Heck, if that's what werewolves were really like, then I'd have pretty good chances if I had to go up against one.

And was it completely impossible to have a semblance of a story? You call those plot twists? Folks, no one over the age of 5 will be surprised at who the main werewolf is. The story is so non-existent that it gives me a headache trying to figure out why. Did Kevin Williamson even try when writing this script? It's as if he asked himself, "How can I make this as clichéd as possible," and then ran with it. In case you forgot, Craven and Williamson teamed up on Scream, which was a very original, clever, and entertaining movie. What in the world has happened since then? How were these two movies written by the same guy? If nothing else, you've gotta at least love the irony in the fact that Cursed is exactly the kind of teen horror movie that Scream poked fun at.

It's pretty sad that Corey Feldman couldn't even keep his name attached to this film (his scenes were cut), but it's even sadder that this movie would've actually been better by having Feldman in it. Ouch. I think that's the true hallmark of a movie's failure. If someone tells you, "Man, you should've kept Feldman's scenes in there, it would've helped," then you need to do some serious soul searching before attempting another movie.

Cursed tries to take a Scream approach and not take itself too seriously, but man, that doesn't mean it had to be a complete joke. I admit that I laughed a few times, but most of the time I was laughing it was because what I was witnessing was just so stupid. Let me ask you something - if you're in the bathroom, and you friend is in the stall making weird noises, and you think he or she is sick, do you go OPEN THE STALL DOOR???? NO! Nobody does that! You may ask if the person's all right, but you don't put your ear to the stall and then open it unless you're just a freak. Sigh.

The most genuinely funny thing in the movie is Scott Baio's cameo as Scott Baio. The running joke is that he's supposed to be the third guest on The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn behind Ashton Kutcher and Carrot Top. But even this is pretty sad since Kilborn's been gone from the show for a few months now. Way to stay on top of things, guys! Looks like somebody has his finger directly on the pulse of today's pop culture! I can't think of a single person to recommend this to. Not even the biggest werewolf movie fan. But I can recommend they change the tagline. Here's my suggestion: A Werewolf Movie That Really Bites. There, I just wrote something more clever than anything found in the script of Cursed, and I wasn't given a $40 million budget to do it.

THE GIST You've been warned, so if you pay money to see Cursed then you've got nobody to blame but yourself. I tried to tell you. Cursed is nothing but a bad made-for-the-WB movie, and I can say without flinching or smirking that Michael Paré's Bad Moon is a better werewolf movie than this toilet log. If that doesn't tell you everything you need to know, then there's nothing else I can say.

Rating: 2 (out 5)

Decent film with expected editing problems

[BrandtSponseller · 7/10 · 27 February 2005]

Ellie (Christina Ricci) and her brother Jimmy (Jesse Eisenberg) are on their way home when they get into a car accident. While trying to help the other driver out of an overturned vehicle, the other driver is attacked by what Jimmy swears was a "huge man-like wolf". Both Jimmy and Ellie end up scratched and possibly bitten by the creature. When they begin noticing strange physical effects and behavior--including both of them suddenly becoming more assertive socially--they begin to wonder if a werewolf has bitten them. If so, will they turn into werewolves, too?

Cursed had a notoriously difficult time making it to the screen. It began production in 2002, then went through four major shoots with 90% of the material being tossed out at one point. Major characters, played by major actors--including Freddie Prinze, Jr. and Skeet Ulrich--were in and out of the film. Director Wes Craven even ended up abandoning the film altogether when Dimension Films chairman Bob Weinstein demanded a PG-13 cut rather than Craven's initial R. Someone else did the final PG-13 cut. As should be expected, these events appear to have harmed the film.

As the theatrical release stands, chunks of the film appear to be missing. For example, we see Jimmy and Ellie both pretty convinced that they're werewolves shortly after Jimmy first begins researching the symptoms and Ellie thinks he's being ridiculous. The transition is not convincing; there seems to be exposition missing. There are a number of such choppy, non sequitur moments. The film doesn't flow very well.

The most obvious material to be cut--during and after "attack" scenes--surely hurt the film, as well, although part of the problem with these scenes may have been Craven's fault. Like too many recent films, attack scenes are shot blurry, cut way too fast, and they're often too dark. Part of the idea might have been to make the CGI less obvious, but I'd rather have obvious CGI than incoherent scenes.

One final flaw was that the werewolf material in the film wasn't handled very clearly. Whether this was yet another editing problem or a script problem from screenwriter Kevin Williamson is difficult to say, but the film's werewolf "rules" are never well explained. For example, it's never quite clear why the werewolf would want to attack people again and why they wouldn't just be full-fledged lycanthropes the first time. Although this makes a bit more sense later in the film, werewolf "rules" are still implied that are never explained but needed to be.

But there are a number of positive aspects to the film. Craven shows that he hasn't lost his love of postmodernist reference and theatrical "wall breaking", the performances are good, occasionally the film is suspenseful (the car crash near the beginning is especially well done), and Williamson's story overall is intriguing in that Cursed is really a somewhat traditional thriller in which characters just happen to be werewolves.

Craven opens the film at a carnival, which is obviously theatrical, and quickly presents a psychic "performer" who happens to be a "real psychic", taking her job seriously rather than just providing entertainment. The parallel is to Craven as a horror filmmaker, which may often be seen as just an entertainer instead of a "real illusionist" approaching the job with serious intentions. Then he quickly takes us to a club, Tinsel, that's a veritable Madame Tussauds with a Hollywood theme, complete with full, detailed sets. There are numerous horror references in the club, including to Craven's own work, such as A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984). This emphasizes the artificiality of cinema in a way similar to the "real film in a film" conceit of Craven's New Nightmare (1994). To push this theatrical wall breaking further, many sets, such as the interior of Jimmy and Ellie's house, are lit and shot so as to emphasize their artificiality--almost as if the film were being made on the displays at the Tinsel club. Craven also has a number of characters working in the entertainment industry, and like New Nightmare, has celebrities playing themselves. As a humorous jab at filmic self-reference and comments about his use of the same in previous films, especially Scream (1996), a pivotal scene near Cursed's false climax is shot in a very artificial-looking hall of mirrors (and this is also literally reminiscent of a number of other horror films, including The Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977), Dr. Giggles (1992) and The Haunting (1999)).

The fact that Williamson has really constructed a thriller, and it just appears to be a werewolf film, is a kind of late-film twist that provides another level of "wall breaking". It's a clever idea that has some similarities to Williamson's I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997) script, which continually flirted with the gray area between thrillers and slasher flicks. Williamson also spends time exploring the dramatic consequences of Ellie and Jimmy's newfound power.

However, given the final result, at least with the cut I watched, these more intellectual touches from Craven and Williamson may have ended up being too hip for the film, which Dimension apparently wanted to sell as a more by-the-numbers horror flick geared to pull in younger teens (and a surprising amount of pre-teens in the showing I attended). I'm not usually one to complain about the existence of PG-13 (or even tamer) horror, as I do not think that gore, language, etc. are necessary for a good film. It's not that I dislike gore, but I love the first three Universal Frankenstein films, say, as much as I love the Evil Dead series, Romero's zombie films, or any of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre films (and certainly more than I like, say, Andreas Schnaas' work, which has the gore but not much else). But when the result of studios pushing for PG-13 results in such an apparent botch-job, I have to add my voice to the protesters.

Not all bad, but its weaknesses are all too apparent

[I_Ailurophile · 5/10 · 25 March 2023]

The very name of this movie seems all too appropriate. For all the reshoots, redesigns, and other creative decisions that were forced, and all the problems that hounded the production, it sounds like a horrid mess long before one ever sits to watch. Its reputation well precedes it, unfortunately, and still there comes a point where one just has to watch for themselves. To sit and do so, I'm not really sure that there was much chance of this coming out especially strong. I don't know what the dividing line is between the original vision and the rehashed material, and I don't know how much it matters. I think there are some terrific ideas here, some real cleverness - a little bit of the comedy earns a good laugh, some of the horror facets are well done - and I'm always up for a new werewolf movie. Yet so much of this film is heavy-handed, over the top, and maybe outright kitschy, such that whatever value 'Cursed' may have to offer, it's counterbalanced by many other qualities that are rather questionable.

The root concept of most notions here are fine. As in many genre flicks, the characters oscillate between struggling with the changes they're undergoing, and reveling in them, and that's a great dynamic to play with. The narrative is fundamentally strong, the dialogue is mostly just fine, and much of the characterizations and scene writing are splendid. Yet some of those rounding facets of the shooting script are nonetheless far less witty or humorous than they're intended to be, just frankly feeling cheap; other little details throughout, meant to help give shape to the end product, just don't come off well. Some choices even of hair or makeup raise a skeptical eyebrow, and select instances of cinematography are needlessly embellished. In execution some moments or decisions of direction are entirely too on the nose (even the opening scene), and others are altogether tiresome. And all this is to say nothing of the CGI. If only seen at a glance, the digital creations are okay. The more they are emphasized in a sequence, however, the more glaring and awful they appear, and this is never more true than when we get a detailed look at a transformation - to be honest, The Asylum has done better work. Even some blood and gore is transparently inauthentic.

Truthfully, this isn't altogether rotten. 'Cursed' is actually better than I thought it was going to be. The cast make an earnest effort, and it quite seems like they're having a good time for the most part. Judy Greer is especially having a blast, and Christina Ricci probably turns in the single best performance of the film. The end product is, to my surprise, modestly enjoyable. It's just so unfortunate that the movie overexerts itself in trying to be slick, cool, fun, and modern, when all it actually had to do was tell a compelling story. The harder it tries, the worse it fails, and it's almost certainly longer than it needed to be. For whatever aspects of horror or comedy are done well, at large these are not nearly sufficient enough to genuinely inculcate broad feelings of thrills or amusement. At length the result to greet us is a somewhat middling affair that constantly rides a line between welcome and boorish, and that occasionally places one foot on either side of that divide. I see what this could have been, but that's just not what we ultimately get. There are definitely worse things one could watch (Wes Craven himself has made some of them), but unless you're a diehard fan of someone involved, the need to check this out is minimal.

Better than one might expect.

[Ky-D · 7/10 · 23 June 2005]

'Cursed' has already earned a place in Hollywood history for it's infamous production problems. Massive re-shoots (rumored up to 75% of the movie), recasts, rewrites, over a year of delays, basically any and everything that could possibly go wrong. Pass this off as credit to Craven as a director and Williamson as a writer that they were still able to pull off something of a fun movie.

A pair of siblings are bitten by a werewolf following a car crash that leaves one woman dead. Amidst their sudden development of new powers they must contend with the traumas the curse brings. Discovering that the only way to lift the curse is to kill the cause of the infection, they must now find out whom the beast is.

On the evolutionary ladder of Craven's films, this is above 'Shocker', below 'Scream', right about on par with 'People Under the Strairs'. Meaning there is some good, gory fun to be had if one doesn't take it too seriously. Those in the market for some blood and laughs ought to have a fine time.

What hurts so much about this, and is the source of much of the films bashing, is that it could have been so much better. While the talents involved worked hard to salvage as much as they could it still feels like an overall missed opportunity. The scares are OK, but not great; the jokes are OK, but not great; the pacing is OK, but not great; noticing a pattern? Technically it's a mixed bag. Great, energetic camera work with some lively stunt work adds a lot of energy, but on/off pacing slows things down again. Characters and scenarios are OK, but dialogue lacks pizazz. And while there is some good gore being tossed around, the creature itself never looks all that believable (neither in CG or costume incarnations).

In the end this is not the ultimate failure fan-boys have tried to pass it off as; time will be kind to Craven's unfortunate child and horror fans should too.

7/10 (Note: review based on R-rated version of film)

Pretty Cool Little Werewolf Movie.

[BraveHawk · 8/10 · 23 March 2005]

Every once in a while, Wes Craven comes out with something new that I enjoy. Scream was the last noteworthy movie I can recall (and that I have seen) that was good. While Cursed was no Scream, it was a pretty good little werewolf movie, despite what Wes, himself, thinks of it. I think it would have been better if it was left uncut, but I still thought pretty highly of it, even if most do not agree.

Cursed is about a brother and sister named Ellie and Jimmy (Christina Ricci & Jesse Eisenberg) who get into a car accident and end up getting bit by something while helping the other motorist. Neither knows what it was, but Jimmy saw the creature directly and describes it as a wolf-like creature. Slowly, they begin to feel the changes one makes when turning into a werewolf and they have to solve the mystery of how to stop it.

I do have to say that Christina Ricci was absolutely stunning. I love the way she looks with her hair down. Also, Kristina Anapau as Brooke was also quite a knock-out.

The plot does take a few turns, some of them not so good but overall, not too bad. The good far outweighed the bad with me. The werewolf itself was awesome, with the exception of the one time you get to watch the transformation. It was OK but could have used a little flair or a bit of violence in the change- maybe something along the lines of Van Helsing's vampire change would have suited me better. Also, the little gay sub-plot thrown in for no apparent reason could have been left out. I realize this sounds weird to say about a horror film, but coming out of the closet in the way shown in this movie was completely unrealistic. Even more so than the fact they were running from werewolves.

I was also a bit disappointed with the ending but I was truly entertained throughout the film and can recommend it with an 8 out of 10.

Remember, Werewolf movies are almost never scary...

[mfuson77 · 7/10 · 26 February 2005]

I've been waiting to see Cursed for a very long time, probably more than a year, since the first time I heard about it. I expected a great movie, with Wes Craven at the helm why wouldn't it be a great film? I went to the opening day matinée showing and this is how I sum it up.

Cursed fails to capture the audience's attention for a few main reasons. First and foremost, it follows too much standardized formula and fails to think outside the box. Watching Cursed, you can almost predict exactly what will happen and when it will happen. The script could have been improved with a few minor changes which would have changed the entire direction of the film. Instead you have an A-Typical werewolf film with the protagonists fighting to save them selves from the "curse". Sorry folks, this story has been done in other horror films more times than I can count, and not just in werewolf films!

One element I didn't care for was when the brother, Jimmy, suggests being a werewolf could be cool. This is exactly where the story should have gone from that point onwards. But as quickly as he says being a werewolf could be cool, he falls back to the standard "gotta kill the head werewolf and end this curse" attitude. The movie would have been better if Jimmy had welcomed his "curse". Had that one change in plot occurred the story could have gone off in several darker and more interesting plot lines.

I can't fault the CGI effects for a change. I am strong opponent of CGI technology as the effects usually look awful.In Cursed the effects are better than normal, although they are still no where near the traditional "An American Werewolf in London" make-up and prosthetics quality.

I did enjoy the humor in the film. Cursed does offer several very funny moments and a few corny ones too. Without the humor the movie would have been an utter waste of time. The humor helps detract from the poor plot line which you can tell was attempting to be clever like Scream, but failing miserably.

I wonder if Wes Craven was even on the set when this film was made. It seemed to lack of the trademark qualities of a Craven film. Whatever the case may be it is obvious he did not do his research in what makes a great werewolf film.

Werewolf films, to be effective, must have several good transformation scenes, graphic mauling and mutilations and an innocent protagonist who is seduced by the curse. Cursed really has none of these qualities.

Overall I did enjoy the film, but I also expected the movie would fail to "wow me", which it did. It seems to me that the problems with Cursed were mostly script and plot related. Don't expect to be scared, but try to have a little fun with what it is.

Remember, werewolf movies are almost never scary...especially if they throw in a happy ending!

More Wes Craven/Kevin Williamson horror rubbish!

[Coventry · 2/10 · 30 April 2005]

"Cursed" is another new and horrible excuse for a horror movie from the talentless pen of Kevin Williamson. He proves (again) that he's the worst thing that could happen to the horror-industry, while director Wes Craven enlarges his list of embarrassingly bad movies (that actually started right after his 1977 film "The Hills have Eyes"). Craven and Williamson's previous collaboration "Scream" actually is a masterpiece compared with this piece of garbage that messes with the – once marvelous – myth of werewolves. Set in Hollywood and revolving on characters you couldn't feel less connected with, this movie feels like another dreadful episode of "Dawson's Creek", only with a wolf instead of James Vander Beek. All the rest is the same: high school popularity contests, glamour-girls battling over the same stud and we even have the classic case of siblings looking after each other due to their parents' sudden death! Sigh...I'm a great fan of classic atmospheric werewolf-tales and witnessing how these legendary creatures are abused here to serve for childish purposes makes me furious. Werewolves don't care for eliminating sexual competition! They don't care about how cute boys look!! There's absolutely no tension in "Cursed", the script is predictable and the attempts to scare the audience are lame. The gore-factor is weak and the werewolf-transformation sequences are downright pitiful. Movies like "An American werewolf in London" and "the Howling" are almost 25 years older but the special effects team of "Cursed" surely could have learned something from them on how making a transformation creepy instead of laughable. Christina Ricci looks yummy in her heroine-role but her boring performance definitely can't make this turkey any more appealing. My humble opinion is that you avoid watching "Cursed" like you would avoid getting Syphillys! There are good recent movies handling about werewolves, like "Dog Soilders" or the "Ginger Snaps"-trilogy, that you can watch instead. Those are good movies, mainly because nor Wes Craven, nor Kevin Williamson had anything to do with them.

A fun, entertaining, and sometimes clever and funny film!

[Red_Identity · 29 November 2009]

I did not expect much, and while the film is not great or anything, I was very entertained. I enjoyed the performances, some of the dialogue was clever and funny. I wanted more gore, but I did like the film a good amount. It did not take itself as seriously as I thought it would, so that was a good thing. I also very much expected a twist ending, or it to end unhappily, but surprise, surprise, it ended happily. I do not know why the film was as critically-bombed as it was, I expect trashy, cheesy, but fun films like these to get at least mixed reviews (like Jennifer's Body). But I very much enjoyed this film, and I expect it to age well with time (as comedic, trashy films like these most of the times do).

"Cursed" or is it "Charmed"...?? Yikes

[Hllywdbrit · 5/10 · 27 February 2005]

Perhaps the genre of this movie should be reconsidered...because "horror" and "thriller" are the last two words I would use to describe Cursed. Perhaps, "Comedy" and "Spoof" might fit this flick a little better. Luckily I didn't go into this movie with too high of hopes to be on the edge of my seat, because this film fails miserably to even slightly frighten. I found myself and my friend, whom I practically had to beg to come with me, laughing rather hysterically at the movie- sometimes because it was just so cheesy and pathetic that we couldn't help but crack up...and sometimes because it was actually funny. Certain points in the film reminded me of some of the chick-flick favorites... She's All That was the one I kept thinking of, I'm not exactly sure why. There were several points where the story line suddenly became so extreme that we were almost positive it had to be a dream sequence...or at least not what it seemed...but oh no...bizarre as it was getting, it was still real... The graphics were lame, the "mutilization" of people was obviously edited in extreme to make the PG-13 rating...and well... even as the credits were rolling I was still giggling. It honestly reminded of the TV show "Charmed"... cheesy script... bad acting... humorous graphics... and off-the-wall explanations and a strange acceptance for all the bizarre happenings. I don't really like that show...

All in all... I didn't leave the movie wanting my money back because in all truth, I was entertained. It seems to me like the movie tried to succeed with the teen/horror category such as I Know What You Did Last Summer... but sadly to say it fell very short. If you go into the movie looking for a few cheap laughs, you might actually enjoy Cursed. But don't take a date hoping for an excuse to grab onto them... haha... I doubt my three year old brother would even be phased by the scare-tactics in this film!

Fun. Does not take itself too seriously.

[djburnham · 7/10 · 5 September 2023]

A fun Christina Ricci film. Not overly dramatic. Original storyline. Not the greatest film ever, just fun and entertaining.

Of course Hollywood can't avoid putting in some of its typical unpopular ideological tropes. Just doesn't belong in entertainment.

Hollywood: how about you just make entertaining films and leave the preaching out of it.

Good twist at the end.

Fun comedy horror.

Just a fun quick flick without your having to get to involved in a long drawn out character history or development. Some times that is just not necessary in a quick rollercoaster ride type story. Enjoyable if you dont expect too much.

A fresh, steaming pile of stinky, worthless crap.

[KingM21 · 3/10 · 2 September 2005]

This is the worst film I've seen in recent memory (and that includes Zombie Lake!). It's annoying, noisy, and feels like the whole production was rushed and slopped together. It's simply just a fresh, steaming pile of stinky, worthless crap. Add to that poor CGI, absurdity and predictability in your face all over the place, embarrassing acting, Williamson's forced and clichéd "political" views, and a total lack of depth, and you have the worst horror film of the year already. It wasn't even fun to laugh at. Wes Craven, this was your darkest hour…hang your head in shame. While we're at it, you too, Ricci.

Wes Craven strikes out

[djvampira · 1/10 · 2 September 2005]

This is one terrible movie. So terrible that I feel sorry for my boyfriend who rented it for us to watch.

Everything about this movie stinks. The dialog is horrible,the acting wooden,the CGI effects fake looking and the whole story premise tired and boring.How am I supposed to care about what happens to the characters when,by the end of the movie, I wish that they would just shut up and die already? This film did not to be made because everything it in has been done before by better directors. If you like werewolves see American Werewolf In London.....it's better.

This movie is a terrific example of what is wrong with horror movies these days.Directors stick a bunch of crappy young actors together,show some gore, and expect us to fall for their awful screenplays. I'll stick with watching Hammer Studio horror movies from now on......at least those were made well and had good actors.

I liked this movie!

[OXRandyyXO · 10/10 · 26 February 2005]

I'm sad that so many people have not liked this movie! It was a total parody of every werewolf movie you have ever seen. I thought it was hilarious and I think that's what Kevin Williamson wanted (but who am I to speculate?). I thought of the movie in the same way I thought of Scream... a lot of people saw Scream as just a cheesy horror movie, but those that are huge horror fans and have a sense of humor, got the joke.

Lighten up.

My advice to those who haven't seen the movie: Don't take it so seriously! It's supposed to be fun. The obvious jokes aren't the only ones you are supposed to laugh at ;)

Tongue in Cheek Horror Movie

[Jalea · 7/10 · 16 April 2006]

**possible spoilers**

I saw this movie on cable, it's not bad. I thought it was kind of quirky. When I read the trivia and saw the changes that they went through to make the movie, it made sense. The plot is underdeveloped and seems to be a foil for the horror scenes. The character development was scanty and the relationships were sketchy. But somehow you manage to feel for Ellie and her brother Jimmy who was having a "pathetic" high school experience. Becoming a werewolf (temporarily) got him cool points (and the girl). The funniest parts are the scenes between Ellie (Ricci) and Joanie (Greer)who sees Ellie as a rival for Jake the werewolf (Jackson).

This movie maintains a quirky tone to the end. The special effects overall are okay with the exception of the metamorphosis of Joanie into a werewolf, which was a bit cartoonish. The creature makeup was good though. Although this is not one of Wes's best movies, it was entertaining.

What happened?

[pizowell · 1/10 · 3 April 2006]

Okay, I understand that there were production problems and script issues and the movie needed to be re-shot and re-cast and its release date was pushed back for over a year. Still, I rented this movie with fairly low expectations thinking: Hey, it could at least be goofy. I might be able to laugh at the movie. And besides its Kevin Williamson and Wes Craven and Christina Ricci and doesn't she have indie cred? But alas even with lowered expectations - and I'm talking the cellar here, subterranean, tomb-like expectations - Cursed is a debacle. The original script, as I have read, centered on three strangers coming together via a car accident and are subsequently attacked by a werewolf. Sounds cool. I'll bite. How the story of Cursed evolved from that premise to this one is the real question. Forget the lightening Williamson and Craven caught with their first collaboration, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that that original script was probably pretty good. Now, how does a good script get turned into this sludge factory of a boring, repetitive, contrived, laughable, plodding, dim-witted piece of schlock? Dimension Films is infamous for doing just this, taking a descent original idea and pissing all over it. So, if blame must be ascribed, blame Dimension Films. Craig Kilborn and Scott Baio, both playing themselves, and a fine job of doing so on, are the only rays of light in this bleak soulless abyss of a film. Half way through, you can actually feel Wes Craven's spirits broken and hear him saying: To hell with it. Just shoot the thing. Finish it. Put me out of my misery. I couldn't agree more. Rubbish.

Werewolves in Hollywood

[dbdumonteil · 30 June 2008]

Wes Craven gave the teenage horror movie a new lease of life with his brilliant "scream" trilogy .He did not do the same with the vampire flick (the characters are youngsters or young people)which borrows lots of its components from many works of the past.A good example is given by the young brother who takes his revenge like De Palma's Carrie.The human/beast metamorphosis has been showed and showed and showed so often it is no longer exciting (see "a werewolf in London" "howling" "cat people" and more).

Too bad Wes Craven has almost lost his sense of black humor he displayed so masterfully in his trilogy:this script is totally humorless,with the exceptions of one or two scenes:for instance,the breakfast when the sister and the brother are eating raw meat as if it were cornflakes or toasts ;or this line when the brother says to the girl in her car that it might explode.

Wes Craven on Set

[brand_toby · 3/10 · 1 March 2005]

I have not seen the film yet, but was on set for the re-taping. Wes Craven was on set, however many of the scenes that were to make it in the final cut were taken out due to the ratings slash. As you read above many actors were cast and some taped and then were all cut. There were several scenes that were cut that included gore that were later changed to the ratings slashed. I think this movie just wasn't getting the performance it needed from the smaller actors. In one scene were mya is attacked in the elevator there was a flip shot showing the discovery of the body and aftermath of the attack. This was canned. That is an example of the troubles Wes craven was having during the filming. I think for these reasons Wes craven lost film and spent a long time trying to get the film to work. If you recall or didn't know the film was delayed once for re-taping majority of the film. It was set to release in October of 2004, however the end of the movie was re shot.That brings the movie to 2 years of making a film that truly was cursed from the start.

Full of everything

[KLR_defyinggravity · 3/10 · 11 March 2005]

This movie is awesome it has scary scene, humor, and is always entertaining. This is my favorite movie. I can't believe that the critics hated this movie. I would recommend this movie to everyone. When you see it do not take it seriously. Seeing this movie was the most fun i have ever had at the movies. If you will not see this just because i is PG-13 then i would just to see it because this movie is excellent. If you aren't seeing it because of the box office total then just go see it because it has that total because you aren't seeing it. If you won't see it because the critics don't like then i would say never trust the critics. The critics don't like any movie. They are just jealous that they can't write good movies.

Howl for me

[ctomvelu1 · 7/10 · 20 December 2009]

With CURSED, Wes Craven has made an exciting if not terribly scary werewolf movie, and pays plenty of tribute to such past horror flicks as THE WOLFMAN, A WEREWOLF IN London, THE HOWLING, SILVER BULLET, TEEN WOLF and even FRIGHT NIGHT. A young woman (Ricci) and her kid brother (Eisenberg) fall afoul of a werewolf and must do something to keep themselves from becoming werewolves themselves. The flick adds a touch of mystery as the siblings attempt to determine who among their acquaintances is the true villain. The primary werewolf is impressive looking, but appears to be almost 100 percent a CGI creation, which harms the overall effect. The delightful Judy Greer plays a p.r. flunky, and steals every scene she is in. Hardly Craven's best, but certainly entertaining.

A fairly generic werewolf movie...

[paul_haakonsen · 5/10 · 3 May 2022]

I remember watching the 2005 movie "Cursed" back in the day when it was just newly released. But truth be told, then I had entirely forgotten about the movie, aside from the title, here in 2022, as I stumbled upon the movie once again. So of course, I opted to sit down and watch writer Kevin Williamson's 2005 movie a second time.

I will say that "Cursed" is certainly watchable. But when that it is said, then I also have to say that the storyline is very generic, even for a werewolf movie. So you know what you are getting here, provided you are familiar with the various and numerous werewolf movies out there, for better or worse.

Visually then "Cursed" was and is actually quite adequate. The creature special effects, especially the practical ones are quite good, and actually still hold their ground today, 17 years after the movie came out. As for the CGI effects, well they are somewhat outdated and doesn't come off all that well when you watch the movie today.

I remember that Christina Ricci was in the movie, but that was actually the only one of all the casted performers that I remembered here. The movie also have the likes of Jesse Eisenberg, Joshua Jackson, Judy Greer and Milo Ventimiglia on the cast list. It was nice to find out that it was actually Derek Mears that played the part of the werewolf in the movie, that was something I just found out now that I am reviewing the movie on IMDb.

"Cursed" is a watchable werewolf movie, but not a particularly outstanding or memorable one, truth be told. It is worth a watch if you enjoy a traditional old-fashioned werewolf movie.

My rating of "Cursed" lands on a five out of ten stars.

Grisly horror and gore in this formulaic terror film by the duo Craven and Williamson

[ma-cortes · 6/10 · 22 November 2006]

From creators ¨Scream¨,bring us this ¨Cursed¨,a creepy terror movie that have you breathless.After an appointment with her boyfriend(Joshua Jackson), a publicist(Christina Ricci) along with his brother,a geeky high school student named Jimmy(Jesse Eisenberg) are going at home.But they have an accident against the occupant(Shannon Elizabeth) another car in Mulholland road,Hollywood,Los Angeles.An strange animal spontaneously bites to the driver and the brothers. Later they are developing an extraordinary force and aware themselves which there happened more than an accident and they have a terrible curse who cannot to control.Then they undergo a dental and hirsute transformation at the night and going on a murderous rampage every time the moon is full.They increased strength,heightened senses and unnatural sexual allure and they sprout hair and pointy ears,their hands have a five-pointed star like a pentagram,but it's the mark of the beast and pretty freaks occur them.They've been infected,there're cursed ,they've got to sever the line of the beast.They bear the marking of the beast,the only way to break the curse is to find the werewolf which attack them.The problem is how to kill the werewolf , no with silver but actually have to separate the head from the heart ,silver just hurts a lot.

The motion picture displays action,suspense,terror with fun touches and is quite amusing.It's a crossover with a little of the classic version Lon Chaney Werewolf,John Landis' Werewolf in London and Michael J Fox's Teenwolf and wrapped in a postmodern style.It's some different but with clear reference to previous films.The transformation of man into werewolf is complex and is made by computer generator FX,and a device under remote control ,thus the radio-control moves the eyes,ears,nose, lips werewolf ,besides an actor into the suit brings the life and of course a magnificent make up by the master Rick Baker and Greg Nicotero. The story contains various versions Nc 13 parents guide and Nc 17 with more or less gore.The famous screenwriter Kevin Williamson provided a well-knit plot with mystery and horror,giving full rein to Wes Craven natural talent for the terror genre.The film is dedicated to the producer movie Dan Arredondo.It's a standard terror and sometimes graphically gory and turns out to be an average attempt to cash in the werewolf sub-genre.