In the past 20 years or so, we've gotten a good chunk of werewolf movie. Some are big studio films like Cursed (2005), which I've already covered here on this blog and The Wolfman Remake from 2010. Some are more independent films like Howl or Wolfcop or Darkwolf.
One thing that's for sure though is the fact that the quality of these werewolf movies has been like a yo-yo. Up and down and up and down the quality has gone from film to film and it feels like every time we get one good one, we get about 2 to 3 bad ones in-between. Well today, I'm here to tell you about a werewolf movie that I don't just think is good, oh no...I think it's the greatest werewolf movie of the past 20 years.
That movie is The Cursed, not to be confused with Wes Craven's film which definitely lives up to it's name. This film takes a classic monster in the werewolf and makes a movie that is mostly unique and creative, which is something that this subgenre has needed for a long time.
The Cursed is a story about a peaceful remote village in late 19th century France that starts to suffer from attacks by a mysterious force that's rumored to be the result of a cursed land. This film does a lot of things that most major movie studios tell you not to do when making a horror movie. Those being: don't make a werewolf movie and don't make a period piece.
The reason for that is simple. Nine times out of ten, both werewolf movies and period pieces tend to flop at the box office nowadays. I attribute the failures of werewolf films to the poor reputation werewolves gained with the twilight films, and the fact that it hasn't been given a proper chance to get rid of that stigma.
The downfall of period pieces though is a different story altogether, I attribute that to modern audiences wanting stories to be set in modern settings as opposed to periods like the 18th or 19th century for example. But this film? Throw all of those stigmas out the window, I'm gonna do BOTH, and I'm gonna do them both better than anybody has done in the last two decades.
This film accomplishes that by taking the werewolf subgenre and doing brand new things with it that we've never seen before now. Creating it's own werewolf mythology, not over relying on the titular monster to appear on-screen, not making silver the only way to kill the beast are just a few examples.
Let me go into more detail for you. You see, werewolf lore typically goes as follows: you get bit or scratched by a werewolf, you become infected, then you start to show more of a feral side. Heightened senses, increased strength, and not being satisfied with anything but raw meat are what goes on during the transition period. And typically to kill a werewolf you need silver of any kind, mainly a Silver Bullet will do the trick.
This film however does some new things with the transition period. When you're bitten in The Cursed, your body is taken over from the inside out and it's done in some gnarly body horror effects that would mildly impress Mr. David Cronenburg. The design of the werewolf is also unique in this film compared to other werewolf movies. You know how typically in a werewolf movie, the werewolf is wolf like in design and they usually go for a bipedal method of movement??
Not in this film, director Sean Ellis went for a four-legged hound design ala An American Werewolf In London. But unlike that film, The Cursed goes for not putting a whole lot of hair on the creature, which I feel is a nice change of pace in the design department. This film also goes for more natural lighting than studio lighting, which adds to the tension and the atmosphere in the film.
Speaking of atmosphere, this film is PACKED to the brim with it, perfectly building to the next scare and not feeling cheap with its jump scares. Another thing that this film does that not a lot of werewolf films do or want to do is it doesn't show the werewolf all that much in the film. It takes around thirty minutes or so for the first bite to occur and then another ten minutes for the first full fledged werewolf attack and even then the creature isn't on the screen.
This is something that studios across the world, big studios being the worst offenders, struggle with. They think that the werewolf is supposed to be on screen as often as possible during it's attacks and this film is solid proof to prove the exact opposite.
Another thing that this film is unapologetic about is its use of blood and gore. The opening of the film sets the tone for this as there is a good amount of blood and gore during that section of the movie. There's not extreme levels of it of course, but there is a good amount of it regardless and there are moments throughout the film where the blood and gore is gnarly so if you're sensitive to blood and gore, be aware of that when watching this film.
Now even though The Cursed does a lot of things that make it fresh and unique in this subgenre, it does do some things that make it feel just familiar enough to be comfortable. Examples being using silver bullets to effectively kill the werewolf (although that's not the only way to do it). Another example being that you become a werewolf through getting scratched and/or bitten. It's these familiarities mixed with the new stuff that makes this film click and be as great as it is.
And those are the reasons as to why I feel The Cursed is the absolute best werewolf movie of the past 20 years. Do you agree with me? Do you disagree?? If so, what are your reasons?? Be sure to let me know in the comments below!
I hope you enjoyed this issue and I'll see you in the next one.
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