Written and directed by Sean Ellis
Starring Boyd Holbrook, Kelly Reilly, Alistair Petrie
Runtime: 1 hour 53 minutes
Unrated
In Theaters February 18th

by A. Freedman, Staff Writer

Ever since The VVitch made its huge splash at Sundance, filmmakers and audiences alike have been hungry for more historically based folk horror. Those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it, and we as a species are creatures of repetition. Looking into the long ago past and the stories we have told can sometimes help put our modern horrors in a better context. After all, there's nothing new under the sun, it just changes shape. The Cursed, directed by Sean Ellis (Anthropoid, Cashback) debuted at the 2021 Sundance Festival under the title Eight For Silver, and is set primarily in the late 19th century in England. It concerns the violence that befalls the family and underlings of cruel land baron Seamus Laurent (Alistair Petrie) after he oversees a ghastly crime. As bodies start to drop, it seems that someone–something–is hunting down his kin, and won't stop until they are all dead.

Coated in the gloriously spooky atmosphere often utilized by Hammer Films (the classic British horror studio), The Cursed is a scary treat for the senses, and rooted in actual folklore. A misty fog envelops the manor, a rainy mist covers the fields, and the sun never breaks through the cloud cover. Flaming torches light the nighttime and daytime alike, as Laurent leads his people on a search through the woods for his son Edward (Max Mackintosh), who has gone missing after a mysterious encounter with a buried artifact. On the scene arrives John McBride (Boyd Holbrook, a Kentuckian doing a decent enough English/Irish/something accent) an Ichabod Crane-ish pathologist who suspects the missing boy has something to do with the fate that befell a traveling clan of Romani people.

Despite the fact that The Cursed wrapped filming before the pandemic, much of the last few years feels present in the story. A Cholera pandemic has ravaged the country, anti-Immigrant fervor is the norm, and the windows of the manor are boarded up every night as the malevolent presence begins to step more confidently out of the shadows.

Recent years have seen the term "elevated horror" used to describe this newer style of A24 influenced horror films. Movies where the subtext is the text, and the filmmakers seem hesitant to embrace the traditional genre tropes. The scary stuff seems like it belongs more on a museum wall than in the horror section of yesterday's video stores. Yet The Cursed admirably splits the difference between the two polarities. Plenty of gory sights are to be found, including some top notch looking effects work that will remind horror heads of one of their favorite movies. Concurrently, there is a clear evocation of the traumatic horror show that is the legacy of white supremacy.

There are two shots in particular which have stuck in my mind since I watched The Cursed. Both are longer-than-usual single shots on acts of violence. Ellis (who also did the cinematography) refuses to cut away for the viewer's sake of comfort, forcing us to bear witness. Both shots also ask to focus on those doing the violence, committing monstrous acts in the name of king or country, despite being noticeably human.

The Cursed is in a bit of a hurry to tell its story, and doesn't feel as neatly structured as it could be. With so many details to unpack and a clear message to send, accelerating events happen quickly while key information for the characters to have seems withheld for too long. There is a framing device that immediately pulled me in at the beginning, which doesn't pack as much of a punch by the end as I hoped. The Cursed definitely feels like a movie that gets released in the dry territory of February, but at the same time, its basic and gnarly thrills are a welcome presence after being inundated by several months of awards season.