CURSED

Christina Ricci finds herself in a hairy situation in Wes Craven’s CURSED. Ellie, Ricci, and her brother Jimmy are involved in a freak car accident on Hollywood’s Mullholland Drive. While tending to another of the car accident’s victims, a wolf-like animal attacks the victim and leaves his mark on both Ellie and Jimmy. The following day neither of the siblings are quite themselves, and both begin to bear certain carnal attributes.

Real B-movies are a rarity in today’s cinema, but CURSED certainly classifies as one. As much as I admired the films campy nature, its climatic missteps are too detrimental to make up for much of the film’s hokey fun. The screenplay, written by SCREAM’s Kevin Williamson, has plenty of fun with the Hollywood backdrop, but culminates with conclusions that make any of the SCREAM payoffs seem logical. Craven keeps the film moving with a couple of genuinely scary moments, on an elevator and in a room of mirrors, but doesn’t know when to say when. At only 96 minutes, CURSED feels drawn out thanks to one anti-climatic conclusion after the next. Outside of a few goofy cameos, CURSED doesn’t provide anything new.

Grade: C