The Cursed

BRAD THORNTON and LOUIS MANDYLOR star in what feels like a Stephen King story about a sheriff (Mandylor) trying to solve the mysterious deaths of townspeople and farm animals in Tennessee who have fallen prey to a blurry dark figure who seems to be impossible to kill.

With phony Southern accents for some cast members and CGI effects that are unworthy of even a made-for-TV thriller, none of it appears to be the least bit convincing. It doesn't help that none of the principal roles are played with any distinction.

Director Joe Bender must be partly to blame but the script is trite, shallow stuff with cardboard characters that have no dimension whatsoever.

Apparently, the scriptwriter ran out of ideas for the ending and leaves everything pretty much unresolved as to the fates of our hero (Thornton) and the town sheriff.

The snarling is probably the best part of the movie, followed closely by the smoke screen and screams of horror. Combined, they create a suspenseful atmosphere that requires frequent visits to the washroom and/or hiding under the blanket. The script, camera work, acting and directing are typical of the low budget project. The only thing outstanding is the number of 10 star votes, suggesting of possible computer glitch or heavy shilling (I seriously suspect the later). Overall, 3 stars, minus one for the voting offense.

The Mandylor brothers, Louis and Costas, who aren't getting any younger or better in the acting department, costar in this no-budget demon-hunting tale set in a Steven King-type small town. The demon has been awakened from a long sleep by the arrival of a young writer, whose family was from the town and who is connected to it somehow. It starts off by killing some cattle and then tears up a whole bunch of people, including most of the cast, which isn't all that large. The script is pretty bad, the acting is wooden, and the special effects are just so-so. The demon itself isn't all that bad-looking and wisely is kept in shadow most of the time -- and frankly it could just as easily have been a werewolf. I think the filmmakers were influenced by the TV show, SUPERNATURAL. The ending is lifted from both John Carpenter's THE THING and THE FALLEN.

After losing his job and his girlfriend Denny travels to Tennesee to spend some time with a friend and do some research on some of it's history; specifically matters concerning unsolved murders of people and animals. Shortly after his arrival, more murders of people and animals occur. The sheriff is suspicious of him (never mind that the town has had a history long before Denny showed up) but at this point it's only an "interesting coincidence".

More stuff happens, and it turns out that all of it is connected to an ancestor of Denny's, Charles Dellington, who was a former slave owner in Tennessee. Seems that after the slaves were liberated old man Dellington couldn't get anyone to work for him because of his bad reputation. So he tried to work the land himself, but that failed. He tried raising cattle; that too failed. He prayed to God for help, but it seems God was busy, or something. Desperate, Dellington tried "the other guy" (yeah, the Devil). He draws a large pentagram, strips down to his underwear, and lies down at it's center and offers the devil his soul. This is some old guy, folks, so we know the Devil couldn't have been too pleased with that maneuver. He cursed the poor bastard.

In my mind this is at best a 4 star movie. The acting could have been a little better on the part of some of the cast members. And the story (as usually is the case) could have been more imaginative though I did like the form the ghost took. There's also some very bad "old man" make-up in here so the make-up artist should go back to school. Lastly, I never really understood the reason for all the killings; animals, people, WTF?!!! If you see the movie let me know. Love, Boloxxxi.

Nothing new here. Low budget so the acting is mediocre at best. Standard plot line of a "curse" with some additions that are pointless but culminate to give some unsettled quality up to the end. Nothing special but not awful either. A 4 (instead of 6) due to the lack of creativity to the storyline.