The Cursed: How scary is it and what other movies is it like?

In the movie, The Cursed, Boyd Holbrook plays pathologist John McBride. Except, no one knows what a pathologist is in the 1800s. All the elders of a struggling French village know is that this McBride guy has come to help them. Hopefully. A child is missing. Another one has been found dead. Things are not right. Danger looms large amongst them. Perhaps he has answers to set things right.

“Our body speaks even after our death,” McBride answers when they ask him about his profession. “I listen.”

I loved the poetic simplicity of that explanation. But what about the rest of The Cursed? Was there anything else to love about it?

Yes.

Although, love may be too strong of a declaration. I did like it a lot though. It’s a decent addition to the werewolf horror movie genre.

I’ll expand on that in the Review section below. First, for those who may not be familiar with the movie, I’ve included the storyline and trailer.

The Cursed Storyline

Here’s the synopsis from IMDB:

In rural 19th-century France, a mysterious, possibly supernatural menace threatens a small village. John McBride, a pathologist, comes to town to investigate the danger — and exorcise some of his own demons in the process.

The Cursed Trailer

The Cursed Review

I’m a sucker for so many of the components this movie had, such as a period setting, gypsies and a gypsy curse, a town suffering from the same nightmares every night, and werewolves. It was also incredibly atmospheric and well-acted.

Overall, I really liked it but I didn’t love it because it took too long to get going and meandered in a few parts. Also, what the gypsies were protecting didn’t make a whole lot of sense to me.

I don’t want to give away any spoilers, but let’s just say they had something in their possession that they’d guarded for generations. Something that was supposed to protect them. I’m not sure it did them much good, though.

Also, early on I felt like it was a movie we’d seen before. For whatever reason, at first the gypsy storyline reminded me a bit of Drag Me to Hell. Sort of. (It’s really nothing like that.)

It also evoked a touch of Sleepy Hollow. Except with more gore and horror and less romance. There were also shades of Brotherhood of the Wolf, although more from the standpoint that it drew inspiration from the same source, the real-life incident of the Beast of Gévaudan. (Something I’ll be examining in a post of its own.)

However, that said, I enjoyed both of those movies so it didn’t ruin the experience of The Cursed. It just conjured them up in my mind.

On the plus side, along with an overall engaging plot, there was some terrifying imagery. Is it the scariest movie I’ve ever seen? No. But it has some of the scarier moments that I’ve seen in a while in any horror movie, including a creepy AF scarecrow. Which comes about due to a horrendous event. Again, I don’t want to give away any spoilers, but that scarecrow lives up to its name: SCARY! (Scary in both how it was created and when it comes alive in the dreams of the villagers.)

The Cursed also had some clever new ways of reimagining familiar werewolf tropes and stereotypes, which made it feel fresh. That’s why I give it four out of five skulls.

Where to Watch

The Cursed is available to rent on Google Play Movies & TV, Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video, and YouTube.

Check-In

Have you seen The Cursed? If so, share your thoughts! If not, what is (are) your favorite werewolf movie(s)?