Curtains, l'ultime cauchemar

Contrary to popular belief, good horror movies are still being made nowadays, but we can't really deny that the 1970's and 80's were the greatest and absolute most profitable decades for the genre. The 70's resulted in numberless amounts of nasty & experimental exploitation movies whereas the 80's pleased us with a wide variation of grotesque and often downright demented slasher movies. Richard Ciupka's "Curtains" is one of the prime examples to state why the insanity of the 80's horror industry will probably never be equaled ever again. It's a thoroughly weird and unconventional low-budget shocker, and even though the plot is full of holes and completely implausible, the film literally bathes in an atmosphere of genuine creepiness and morbidity. The script is poorly written and very incoherent, nearly forcing the viewers to link bits & pieces of the story together themselves, but somehow the far-fetched events featuring in "Curtains" are fascinating and suspenseful to behold. Horror-regular and utter cool guy John Vernon ("Killer Klowns from Outer Space", "Sweet Movie") stars as an eccentric and slightly crazy director who's about to realize his ultimate dream, namely a theater-adaptation of the famous "Audra"; the tale of a remarkable female psychiatric patient. His regular lead actress Samantha Sherwood is so obsessed with getting the titular part she even has herself committed in an actual asylum to research the role. While Samantha is stuck in the asylum, Jonathan Stryker – bastard that he is – recruits six young and inexperienced actresses to audition for the role instead of Samantha. They're all invited to spend the weekend up at Stryker's remote mansion in the hills, but naturally a maniacal killer joins the party as well and immediately begins to wipe out the six contenders for the part. Did Samanta escape the asylum for revenge? Is it one of the women who can't deal with competition very well? Or perhaps Stryker finally went totally berserk? You don't require an IQ of 150 to figure out the killer's identity rather quickly, but Ciupka manages to maintain a respectable level of tension until the very last sequences and particularly the deaths of the girls are memorably gruesome. Most notably, there's one scene where the killer skate-stalks his/her screaming victim over a frozen pond, menacingly waving around a sickle! The isolated filming locations add a great deal of claustrophobic atmosphere to the movie and it also features a lot of effectively sinister scenery, like creepy old dolls, secondhand theater attributes and – of course – the killer's uncanny mask; which shows the face of an old witch with protruding eyes and a wide-open mouth. With a slight bit of imagination, you could even say that the mask used in "Curtains" predates the one in Wes Craven's "Scream" with more than a decade! Even though the dialogs are laughably inept, John Vernon still manages to deliver an engaging performance and he even compensates for the actresses' lack of talent. Also, keep an eye open for the brief supportive role of Michael Wincott, who later moved on to better Hollywood films like "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves" and "The Three Musketeers". "Curtains" is once again a Canadian horror production, like so many other guilty pleasures of that decade. The list is nearly endless, with "Visiting Hours", "Prom Night", "Humongous", "Happy Birthday to Me", "Bells", "Funeral Home" and "The Pit". Essential viewing if you consider yourself a fans of cheesy 80's goodness, you can't afford to miss "Curtains".

Premise = Six actresses are invited to a cabin in the mountains to audition for the part of Audra. Well, all of these actresses are really good-looking (well or so they're supposed to be I guess) but one, there's someone running around in a hag mask killing people around the cabin. Anyone who gets in her way will die.

I watched this movie recently and found it very entertaining, quite different from the other slashers that came out during this era, and plus the acting is actually really good especially Samantha, there are many effective scenes like the ice skating murder scene which is really well done, the dream sequence with the doll at the beginning and the final chase scene which takes a rather unpredictable turn and last but not least the ending which has a bit of a twist which i never saw coming.

The killers mask is really creepy as well and the directing is rather sleek even though we know when the killer's going strike next. All in all this is a really entertaining slasher that deserves to be remembered.

As slasher movies go, this one is not too bad. It borrows liberally from other more famous Canadian slasher films (the wintry setting and actress Lynn Griffith from "Black Christmas", the killer's mask from "Terror Train"), but it's not a bad little film in its own right. It has a good set-up. Six young actresses are gathered together in an isolated house to compete for the same theatrical role (of an insane woman). As it turns out the treacherous director (John Vernon) had previously given the part to an older actress (Samantha Egger) who had gone so far as to fake her way into a mental institution to research the role and ended up being left there by the director. Soon the competitors start disappearing one-by-one. But is it the director, the bitter older actress, or has one the younger would-be thespians been driven over the edge by the competition? The movies falls apart a little in the middle (apparently there were directorial problems-- the director on record, "Johnathon Stryker", has the same name as the character in the movie, and, according to this website, they also had to replace a lead actress). The ending is good, however, and pretty surprising--and it definitely has some very spooky scenes.

This is one of the rare slasher movies that is more interested in creating a strong atmosphere and developing the characters than in showing 101 ways to carve up annoying, brain dead teenagers. If you're the proud owner of the "Sleepaway Camp" box set you might want to pass on this one, but if you like horror movies that are well-crafted and actually a little bit scary, this is worth a look

A number of good Canadian horror movies have made their way to the USA, to become cult classics. Bob Clark's outstanding 1974 horror-thriller Black Christmas remains a staple of the modern "scary" movie. Beloved Jamie Lee Curtis came to horror fame through the likes of Prom Night (1980) and Terror Train (also 1980). However, you may not have heard of this interesting little shocker...

Curtains is a better-than average slasher, despite some of its reviews. The movie is about six actresses who go to audition at a director's country house, where it seems someone is willing to kill for the role! While this may sound cliché, the film has enough creativity on it's side for one not to really notice. It sets up some pretty good shock sequences. Anyone who has read about this film will surely have seen mention of the infamous "ice skating" scene, which is very memorable.

Curtains was a troubled production though. It was to be filmed in 1980 and ended up taking years before completion. So, any of the films "loose ends" are more likely a product of this problem. But it does hold together. The cast is quite good; Eggar, Griffin, and Thorson are in especially top-form. The direction is well done with a touch of style. Paul Zaza's music score is an effective one. Last, but not least, the story itself is a gripper!

For horror fans, Curtains is a rare treat that is well worth seeking out. It ranks with some of the better slashers of the early '80s.

*** out of ****

Though fans of today's slam-bang gorefests will likely be let down, CURTAINS is worth a look for low-budget horror buffs. Actress Samantha Sherwood is so anxious to land the film role of a troubled woman she has herself committed to get a firsthand look at insanity. Things turn grisly when the director abandons her to host a casting session at his home. One by one the beautiful women he's invited are picked off. Is Samantha our killer or are things more complicated than they seem?

Despite is limitations, budgetary and otherwise, the Canadian-made CURTAINS is able to hold the viewer's attention while delivering a few thrills. The acting is surprisingly solid by genre standards, though you won't find very many people demanding a recount for the 1983 Oscars. It's clear the people behind this effort cared and wanted to bring something unique to the cinematic world, so nonsensical moments (what's with the doll??) are more easily forgiven.

In some ways, CURTAINS is reminiscent of an early Friday THE 13TH entry. Those involved put their best foot forward, accepted their limitations and tried to please a target audience. And like Jason Voorhees' adventures, CURTAINS will require a suspension of belief and acceptance of the fact not all the questions are answered.