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We go from classic Wes Craven, to is he still relevant Wes Craven. After the success of the Scream franchise, Craven was looking for another teen flick that could possibly get a series going. Written by Scream scribe Kevin Williamson, this horror comedy stars Christina Ricci, Joshua Jackson and a pre famous Jesse Eisenberg.
What makes this film interesting is the "what If" scenario that comes with it. Cursed was pitched as an R-rated horror comedy, a murder mystery with werewolves. This is apparently, what Wes Craven delivered. The studio decided to cut the film into what we have today; a PG-13 flick with an almost different storyline. One of the main characters was cut out of the film for crying out loud. Skeet Ulrich, Mandy Moore, Omar Epps, and Corey Feldman are just a few of the actors who had to drop out, were cut out, or had their roles recast during the extremely long process.
Alas, we only have the film before our eyes to judge and boy is it a mess. The special effects are cringe worthy, the brother-sister relationship between Ricci and Eisenberg is weak and the reveal of who the werewolves are is laughably predictable. Watching the film you get the sense that they are trying hard to recapture that lightning in a bottle that made Scream such a hit. It sounds the same, looks the same but is nowhere near the same level of awesomeness.
The comedy aspects are awkward and don't work, weird subplots emerge and leave with little effect to the story. Why do we care that the one character is a homosexual? It's forced and disingenuous. Cursed is a black eye on the tail end of a successful film career for Craven. I'm glad he managed to finish off on a higher note than this though.
October 15th
Cursed
Directed By: Wes Craven
Cursed
Directed By: Wes Craven
We go from classic Wes Craven, to is he still relevant Wes Craven. After the success of the Scream franchise, Craven was looking for another teen flick that could possibly get a series going. Written by Scream scribe Kevin Williamson, this horror comedy stars Christina Ricci, Joshua Jackson and a pre famous Jesse Eisenberg.
What makes this film interesting is the "what If" scenario that comes with it. Cursed was pitched as an R-rated horror comedy, a murder mystery with werewolves. This is apparently, what Wes Craven delivered. The studio decided to cut the film into what we have today; a PG-13 flick with an almost different storyline. One of the main characters was cut out of the film for crying out loud. Skeet Ulrich, Mandy Moore, Omar Epps, and Corey Feldman are just a few of the actors who had to drop out, were cut out, or had their roles recast during the extremely long process.
Alas, we only have the film before our eyes to judge and boy is it a mess. The special effects are cringe worthy, the brother-sister relationship between Ricci and Eisenberg is weak and the reveal of who the werewolves are is laughably predictable. Watching the film you get the sense that they are trying hard to recapture that lightning in a bottle that made Scream such a hit. It sounds the same, looks the same but is nowhere near the same level of awesomeness.
The comedy aspects are awkward and don't work, weird subplots emerge and leave with little effect to the story. Why do we care that the one character is a homosexual? It's forced and disingenuous. Cursed is a black eye on the tail end of a successful film career for Craven. I'm glad he managed to finish off on a higher note than this though.