A werewolf loose in L.A. changes the lives of three young adults (Christina Ricci, Joshua Jackson and Jesse Eisenberg), who after being mauled by the beast, learn that the only way to break the curse is to kill the one who started it all!

CRITIQUE

Cursed attempts to resurrect the classic horror sub genre of werewolves. An admirable attempt for sure, and it's been a long time since the subject has been tackled on the big screen in its original horror capacity. However, the movie suffers from predictable plot twists, ineffective suspense and horror moments, a poor script, bad casting and at times wretched special effects.

The opening of the film reminded me of The Lost Boys, and for a while I was hoping that this movie would be the werewolf equivalent of that classic film. However, the movie quickly falls apart when the narrative switches, seemingly at random, from Shannon Elizabeth to Christina Ricci and Jesse Eisenberg. Elizabeth's character shows up only one more time, with no explanation of how she got there. As the two main characters start discovering their curse, there are a few short moments of interest, but it's only a very small part of the film, and the good moments soon end. The rest of the plot unravels as a mystery/thriller, but the writing is so cliché and pedestrian that it creates a dreadful sense of bore.

The film never really manages to create a suspenseful or horrific moments either. There is one effective jump-scare, and a few minor moments of gore, but neither are on par with truly great horror films. The gore moments look fake and have bad CGI, and they aren't imaginative or gory enough to warrant note. During the last act the horror clichés and poorly-done suspense become plodding and interminable. I just wanted the movie to end.

The cast isn't anything special either. Christina Ricci sleepwalks through the role as if she only viewed the film as a paycheck. True, she doesn't have a whole lot to do, but she is downright boring here. Joshua Jackson is downright ridiculous and wholly unbelievable in the role. Jesse Eisenberg and Judy Greer are the only bright spots here, but they are only mediocre. The supporting cast is a mixed bag, between capable actors barely making do and some horrible actors doing their best.

The movie had a good premise, and a few interesting scenes toward the beginning, but it goes off in a boring, clichéd direction and never manages to entertain.

THE VIDEO

The 2.40:1 anamorphic transfer is beautiful. Even the dark scenes are mostly free of grain or noise. There is some grain, but it's not too noticeable. The transfer is free of artifacts, the colors are good. No complaints here.

THE AUDIO

The Dolby Digital 5.1 track is pretty decent. The LFEs are heavy, there are plenty of pans to go around, and the rear speakers are not neglected. I didn't notice any moments where the soundtrack didn't go the film justice. The DVD also includes a French 5.1 dub, and English, French and Spanish subtitles.

THE EXTRAS

Behind the Fangs: The Making of Cursed (7:33): Starts out as a standard fluff piece, but does have a lot of information on how the effects were achieved, along with a lot of behind the scenes footage.

Cursed Effects (6:45): Goes even more in-depth on how the special effects of the film were achieved. It's nothing we haven't seen before.

Creature Editing 101 (5:32): This is a boring interview with the film's editor, where he boasts many things that he didn't pull off such as creating suspense and seamlessly blending the Live-Action and CG versions of the werewolves.

Becoming a Werewolf (7:57): This is a humorous "mock-umentary" which is unequivocally the best feature of the disc. It features actor Jesse Eisenberg (who also wrote and directed) and Special Effects wizard Greg Nicotero doing research on werewolves in preparation for the film. This little piece is actually more entertaining than the film itself.

Selected Scenes with Commentary by Special Effects Makeup Supervisor Greg Nicotero and Actor Derek Mears (25:17): This is an informative and funny commentary. Greg and Derek (the actor who played the werewolf in the suit) make fun of the bad CG and explain how effects were accomplished. Not bad.

Also on the DVD are trailers for Sin City, Scary Movie 3.5, Prozac Nation, Hostage, Dracula II: The Ascension and a Dimension Home Video Promo. The menus are pretty standard fare for Dimension. A collection of clips from the movie on the main, stills on the submenus.

FINAL THOUGHT