To celebrate (or considering the genre, mourn?) the upcoming January 6th theatrical release of Rogue Pictures 'The Unborn' from writer/director David Goyer ('Batman Begins'), I've decided to put together a list of some of my own favorite pictures surrounding a curse.
With “The Unborn” arriving in theaters Friday, Jan. 9th, M&C decided it was time to take a look at the best films the “cursed” genre had to offer. Here is our list, feel free to add some of your own personal favorites in our talkback section!
‘The Unborn’ stars Gary Oldman and Odette Yustman and is about "one woman's survival as she fights a family curse and struggles to shut a doorway from beyond our world that has been pried open by someone who was never born."
Now this is a fairly broad category depending on your definition of a curse as it encapsulates hauntings, possessions, witches, etc.
To freshen it up, I've decided to stay away from most of the horror favorites that could arguably be thrown in there (i.e. ancient burial grounds which would rule out 'Poltergeist' and ‘Pet Semetary’) and stick with films that actually deal with 'curses' or feature curse in the title. As usual, this is my subjective list, so feel free to throw in your favs in the comments section below.
10. Thinner
Telling the story of a smug attorney who runs down the wrong elderly gypsy, he gets cursed with rapid weight loss regardless of how much he eats.
While I can't call this Stephen King adaptation a great film per se, the makeup effects from Greg Cannom are quite good and Robert John Burke as the attorney does a great job with a difficult role.
It's more fun that its reputation would lead you to think and it's one of few contemporary pictures that firmly fit in the 'curse' category.
9. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
Well, lookie there, it's got 'curse' right in the title. Obviously not horror, this gargantuan hit was fueled by Johnny Depp's wicked cool performance as Captain Sparrow with the curse itself used to great effect with skeleton pirates swashbuckling in the moonlight – fun stuff.
From producer Jerry Bruckheimer, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl is a thrilling high-seas adventure with a mysterious twist. The roguish yet charming Captain Jack Sparrow's idyllic pirate life capsizes after his nemesis, the wily Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush), steals his ship, the Black Pearl, and later attacks the town of Port Royal, kidnapping the governor's beautiful daughter Elizabeth (Keira Knightley).
In a gallant attempt to rescue her and recapture the Black Pearl, Elizabeth's childhood friend Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) joins forces with Jack. What Will doesn't know is that a cursed treasure has doomed Barbossa and his crew to live forever as the undead.
8. The Wallace and Grommit Movie: Curse of the Wererabbit
This one needs little explanation. Great animation, clever writing and a huge Wererabbit make this the sole comedy on the list and one of the few appropriate for kids.
When their towns prized produce starts disappearing, our cheese-loving inventor and his savvy canine companion must use all their wildly imaginative inventions to try to capture a mysterious beast of epic and fluffy proportions!
7. Don't Go Near the Park
This nasty pic is decidedly not for kids despite my seeing it as a kid. It's always stayed with me. Even though the film is arguably pretty bad, fans of exploitation schlock will settle right in.
The film tells the story of two Neanderthal’s cursed with aging for eternity for eating the tribe's children (the film's light spot...) where we cut to the present with the two cannibals still feasting on the young flesh that visit an L.A. park. Aldo Ray headlines.
6. Curse of the Cat People
Considered a disappointment by most that expected a straight sequel to Tourneur's great 'Cat People', this sequel, almost in name only, is a more contemplative film - more a children's fable about loneliness.
The film could be considered a precursor to 'Pan's Labyrinth' perhaps, and this pic gets better on each viewing.
5. Howl's Moving Castle
Not a horror film, but one of my favorite films to deal with a curse nonetheless. Hayao Miyazaki's most recent project (funnily enough - it lost to 'Curse of the Wererabbit' for Best Animated Picture in 2005) continues his amazing track record of captivating fantastical works.
Telling the story of a teenage girl who gets cursed by a wicked witch and turned into an old woman where she embarks on a journey to lift the curse, one should just sit back and let themselves be swept up into imagination at its finest.
4. Ringu
The original and best 'J-horror' movie with countless imitator's and rip-offs, see: 'One Missed Call', ‘Shutter’ that capitalized on cursed everyday objects (I'm waiting for 'Toaster').
The American remake wasn't bad but the lower-budget and Japanese setting of the original make it more effective in my opinion.
If you're late to the J-horror party, see 'Ringu' and call it the day - you're not missing anything.
3. The Wolf Man (1941)
The werewolf picture that started it all and that established most of the rules that werewolf pics still abide by today, Jack P. Pierce's revolutionary make-up effects on Lon Chaney Jr. inspired countless other make-up artists including Rick Baker who is part of the upcoming remake with Benecio Del Toro.
There's even a little political subtext with screenwriter Curt Sidomak acknowledging that the curse of the Wolf Man was a metaphor for Nazi Germany; German under Hitler transformed into vicious creatures.
2. Curse of Frankenstein (1957)
The film that built Hammer Films and forever established them as the second greatest horror studio ever, this reimagining of 'Frankenstein' from Hammer favorite Terence Fisher ushered in this second great era of classic monster movies with icons Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee as the Baron and the monster respectively.
While I wouldn't consider the mythos of Frankenstein technically a curse movie, the title of this particular take comfortably solidifies its place on this list.
1. Curse of the Demon
Also known as 'Night of the Demon' in the UK, 'Curse of the Demon' is the better 83-minute cut of this classic pic from one of my favorite directors Jacques Tourneur.
As soon as this 'curse' list was mentioned, this was the first pic that sprung to mind. The film is about psychologist Dr. John Holden who has set to expose devil worshipping cult leader Julian Karswell as a fraud. During his investigation, he becomes challenged by Karswell who secretly slips a parchment to Holden that contains a death curse.
He has to rid himself of this curse in three days or...A great amalgam of psychological and monster movie horror and even a precursor to 'Ringu' where a curse is established and then the mystery behind the curse needs to be solved; this film is one of Tourneur's best.
I resigned myself to two werewolf pics so honorable mentions to ‘Curse of the Werewolf’, ‘The Howling’ and ‘An American Werewolf in London’ and my wife was strongly campaigning for ‘The Skeleton Key’ which she liked and I was only lukewarm. So, there, I mentioned it. I’m sure I missed a lot of favorites, so let me have ‘em…
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