The Curse of Sleeping Beauty - Dornröschens Fluch

I was a bit hesitant to watch this one but my GF insisted and hence the review. I was quite surprised with the initial plot which was a bit mysterious and had a touch of fantasy to it. The acting was great and I was really enjoying it but half way through the movie they just threw everything away.

The plot just gets weird around the last quarter of the movie and seemed like either the director was in a rush to wrap everything up and go home or one of the actors wanted to quit early or something. It just felt incomplete, leaving you with tons of questions and a poker face wondering what just happened .....

Why would I choose to watch this? The visionary and aesthetic pleasure of fantasy elements in the trailer, along with the take on a classic fairy tale peaked my interest.

The editing was very clunky and slow. Those SURPRISE and WATCH OUT moments were hidden by the lack of fast cutting and a fairly monotone performance by Ethan Peck. All of this in the opening sequence and then continued it's theme through out the film which ultimately led to a dull storyline. So what's left?

The most disappointing aspect was the aesthetic pleasures. This 'perfect' sleeping princess looked like a child in fancy dress. Her scenes were designed too flat. Her extravagant garments lacked UMFF as there was no lighting or exceptional colours on the background nor her dress. I was watching it, shouting at the colour correcter asking him/her why didn't they enhance the colour blue!

This film lacked depth in plot, acting and mise-en-scene. I'd say it's probably an entertaining film for younger teens, 13/14years.. but not for anyone else.

I went into watching this movie thinking it would be one of those movies that would be so horrible that it would make me laugh. It was not one of those. I found it quite compelling for what it was, and rather enjoyed it.

It's obviously a lower budget film. If you watch this knowing and accepting it for what it is, not expecting high quality effects, then it is enjoyable. I felt they did well at creating the suspense and creepiness with what they had.

The actors really brought this to life. They made it more believable. The main actor was great. He portrayed the pain and confusion well. Even when the sets were a touch lack-luster and less believable, he conveyed the emotions to make it seem more real than it looked.

The ending seems to be where most people have an issue. I won't go into detail as I would rather avoid spoilers. I can see how people would find it rushed. The beginning of the movie moves slower and builds suspense, then the end moves a bit faster. However, I liked the ending. I found it to be different, if this were a Hollywood movie it would have a Hollywood ending, it is not that, do not expect that.

Addition observation: The house was beautiful, imagine what that place looks like all cleaned up.

Given the title of the movie, then I must admit that I didn't really have much of any expectations for the movie. Believing it to be another mass produced low budget movie.

But it turned out that the 2016 "The Curse of Sleeping Beauty" from director Pearry Reginald Teo was actually surprisingly good. Just goes to prove that the cover, and by that I mean the title, of a movie doesn't necessarily reflect the contents of the actual movie.

I like this twist on the classic faerie tale, and I liked the fact that the movie wasn't all rosy red and happy days ever after. That was definitely a nice thing that the writers put into the storyline.

Ethan Peck, playing Thomas, actually carried the movie quite well with his performance. And I must admit that seeing Bruce Davison and Zack Ward on the cast list also did excite me somewhat. Bruce Davison was of course a very nice addition to the movie, just a shame that he didn't have a bigger role. And Zack Ward, well he was hardly there, which I think was a shame.

The movie actually had pretty good special effects and CGI, which definitely helped to carry the movie and added to the atmosphere very nicely. And speaking of the atmosphere, then director Pearry Reginald Teo did a phenomenal job of building up suspence and this was nicely accompanied by the dark and rundown atmosphere that the movie had, given the old house. The movie was nicely layered by adding more and more suspense and creepiness to it, and that was something that I tremendously enjoyed throughout the movie.

I thoroughly enjoyed "The Curse of Sleeping Beauty", and the twist to the tale was really nice. So I can warmly recommend that you take the time to sit down and watch the 2016 movie "The Curse of Sleeping Beauty" if you haven't already seen it. My rating for the movie is six stars out of ten.

"The Curse of Sleeping Beauty" is a strange fantasy-horror film with an intriguing and promising beginning. The mystery is increased with the confused screenplay and holds the attention of the viewer. The beauty of India Eisley is perfect for the role of the Sleeping Beauty and another attraction. Out of the blue, the mystery is solved, evil is unleashed and the movie ends. Actually the movie stops without an ending. Maybe the intention of the writer would be a cliffhanger for a sequel, but unfortunately the film does not have an ending certainly disappointing the viewer that might be enjoying the story. Why didn´t Thomas uncle explain the whole situation of the curse of his family and the secrets of the mansion in the letter he left to his nephew? My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "A Maldição da Bela Adormecida" ("The Curse of Sleeping Beauty")