The Curse

The Curse (1987) was a film that was loosely based upon the short story "The Colour from Outer Space". This seminal horror/science fiction prose was written by the master of horror H.P. Lovecraft. The problem with adapting his original material is that the film makers tinker with success. Whilst a few directors such as Stuart Gordon and Dan O'Bannon have been successful in translating his stories for the silver screen, most of them are pure nonsensical tripe that's best avoided (except for John Carpenter's trilogy of the apocalypse that captures the aura of Lovecraft perfectly).

The Curse had all the makings of being a decent film. But the director and writers just don't fully understand the works of H.P. Lovecraft. Dumbingt down the man's work for a pedestrian horror film just doesn't cut it. Whilst it get's an A for effort it get's an F minus in execution. Bad acting, sloppy direction and lousy dialog dooms this movie from the get go. Better luck next time.

Not recommended, unless you're a H.P. Lovecraft completist.

At first when I saw it at the movie store I thought it was gonna be lame and boring, but something told me to rent it. When I saw it I was suprised. It was an enjoyable film to watch. Now it's not the best horror movie ever made but it was good enough to buy and put in my movie collection. So if you want a good creepy movie, rent it, it's worth it!

The Curse is a grotesque vision of H. P. Lovecraft's "Colour out of Space." Most Lovecraft adaptions suck (save the Gordon-Yuzna-Combs collaborations), but I happened to like this one. And it looks like I'm in the minority on that. Why do people hate this movie so much? Yes, it has flaws. David Keith's direction isn't great. He's an extremely likable actor and he should stick to what he's good at. I feel like the prologue part should have been saved for the epilogue. It would have been a fitting end, it was not a place to start. Some of the acting is also hammy, mostly the supporting cast. As actors go, Wil Wheaton does a fine job, as does his sister. And they're the only characters you are supposed to care about. The mother character freaks me out as she changes during the film. Horror Director Lucio Fulci produced, and maybe influenced, this one. There are scenes of gore present that rival Fulci's own. Not of the "flesh-ripping" variety, but of the "lets see what disgusting things we can do to food" type of gore. The Curse is not a film to eat during. I suggest that you ignore most of the comments, see the movie, and make your own decision as to whether it's good or bad.

while i give this an "average" score, it is a pretty good version of the story. in fact i was driven to write this review because i am currently reading "the colour out of space" (and yes, that is how the title is spelled) . i saw this movie a few years ago, but some of the parts will be stuck in my mind forever. the acting is par, (it isn't that bad, but isn't that good), the film work is par, but it does what Lovecraft's story did, it has turns in it that will stay in your mind for a very long time. perhaps the most disturbing thing i saw in it (other then their use of meal worms for certain effects) was the melting effect, if you watch this movie, that will stay with you for a very long time indeed, especially when the movie comes to its climax. it was a very good scare, and i recommend seeing it like i did, at 2:00 in the morning with no lights on, after all that is the best way to experience Lovecraft and his works. though it does not match the book by any stretch in terms of dialog, or even setting and writing, it is still very close to the original in terms of the way the plot develops. and after all what movie has been totally true to its literary counterpart? anyway, if you want a bit of a scare, and don't have a weak stomach, or are in to a "Twighlight Zone" type of scenario, this movie is for you.

This movie is about a family living on a farm in the country: a husband, wife, and two sons and a daughter. The father, being an EXTREMELY religious type, finds out that his wife is cheating on him. Not long after that, a meteor hits the backyard (how stereotypical can you get?) and begins to pollute the water and the vegetables. Those who eat the vegetables and drink the water slowly turn into hideous, slime-spewing homicidal mutants!!!

Duh-Duh-Duhhnn! I'm guessing that maybe this meteor is supposed to be a punishment from God (or so the husband says.)

Everyone but the younger brother and his sister eat the food and drink the water from the farm. First, the fruits and vegetables start to rot/become infested with insects/fill up with brownish fluid. Next, the chickens attack the daughter, and the horse kicks one of the brothers. After that, the cows become sick and start spewing up maggots. By this time, the mother, who was infected first I'm guessing, starts to break out in these nasty little blisters. Eventually, she starts talking in gibberish, eats with her fingers and tries to stitch a cloth to her hand, then she tries to kill her husband. The husband puts her in the shed for the next few days. The next person to show signs of infection is the brother, who starts acting like more of a buttmunch than usual. A dog on their farm kills a traveling salesman's assisstant, and the wife ends up munching the salesman's guts. When the husband finds out he moves his wife to the attic. Meanwhile, the main character (Will Wheaton) tries to figure out how to save his sister from his now-criminally insane family. That night, his father finds him in the shed looking for his mother. Then he notices that his son has a backpack filled with evil, sinful, store-bought food. His father tells him he's unappreciative and tries to beat him. When that fails, he tries to kill him. The brother is able to hold him off until the house starts collapsing. A friend of the family comes by to save Will Wheaton and his sister, but Will says he has to save his mother. He goes up to the attic, and in one of the most creepy scenes of the movie, he watches his mother rot away into a puddle of black goo. He escapes just in time to watch the house sink into the ground, sending his unholy kinfolk into redneck hell!

I liked this movie, it WAS poorly acted, but it was far-fetched to begin with. There are some genuinely nasty moments that will make your skin crawl. For instance, after the chickens attack the little girl the camera zooms in as their eyes collapse in the sockets and start bleeding this nasty yellow goop. Or the scene where the cow's udder splits open and locusts fly out. Or the scene where the mother cuts open a head of lettuce to reveal it's putrid, rotting innards (and lettuce doesn't even HAVE innards!). The film is very dark in atmosphere and there is a sense of impending doom throughout the whole film, not unlike that of Poltergeist. I give it 6 1/2 out of 10 because the acting, other than that of Wheaton and Akins, was horrendous.