Curtains (1983)

Director:

Richard Ciupka

Writer:

Robert Guza Jr. (screenplay)

Release Date:

4 March 1983 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

Behind Every Curtain, Someone Is Watching...Something Is Waiting

Plot:

Six young actresses auditioning for a movie role at a remote mansion are targeted by a mysterious masked murderer.

Plot Keywords:

Mansion | Audition | Asylum | Murderer | Mask

Cast

John Vernon	...	Jonathan Stryker
Samantha Eggar	...	Samantha Sherwood
Linda Thorson	...	Brooke Parsons
Anne Ditchburn	...	Laurian Summers
Lynne Griffin	...	Patti O'Connor
Sandee Currie	...	Tara DeMillo (as Sandra Warren)
Lesleh Donaldson	...	Christie Burns
Deborah Burgess	...	Amanda Teuther
Michael Wincott	...	Matthew
Maury Chaykin	...	Monty
Joann McIntyre	...	Secretary
Calvin Butler	...	Dr. Arthur Pendleton
Kate Lynch	...	Receptionist
Booth Savage	...	Amanda's Boyfriend Peter
William Marshall	...	Attendant

Runtime:

USA:89 min

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Norway:16 | Australia:M | UK:18 | USA:R | West Germany:18

Filming Locations:

Muskoka, Ontario, Canada

Company:

Simcom Limited

Trivia:

The opening credits give John Vernon's fictional director Jonathan Stryker credit as the films director. Director Richard Ciupka decided not to place his name on the credits.

Goofs:

Boom mic visible: When Stryker and Sherwood see Dr. Pendleton at the beginning of the movie, a microphone is clearly visible above them for several seconds after they sit down.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Skull of Pain (1997)

Not Too Bad

As slasher movies go, this one is not too bad. It borrows liberally from other more famous Canadian slasher films (the wintry setting and actress Lynn Griffith from "Black Christmas", the killer's mask from "Terror Train"), but it's not a bad little film in its own right. It has a good set-up. Six young actresses are gathered together in an isolated house to compete for the same theatrical role (of an insane woman). As it turns out the treacherous director (John Vernon) had previously given the part to an older actress (Samantha Egger) who had gone so far as to fake her way into a mental institution to research the role and ended up being left there by the director. Soon the competitors start disappearing one-by-one. But is it the director, the bitter older actress, or has one the younger would-be thespians been driven over the edge by the competition? The movies falls apart a little in the middle (apparently there were directorial problems-- the director on record, "Johnathon Stryker", has the same name as the character in the movie, and, according to this website, they also had to replace a lead actress). The ending is good, however, and pretty surprising--and it definitely has some very spooky scenes.

This is one of the rare slasher movies that is more interested in creating a strong atmosphere and developing the characters than in showing 101 ways to carve up annoying, brain dead teenagers. If you're the proud owner of the "Sleepaway Camp" box set you might want to pass on this one, but if you like horror movies that are well-crafted and actually a little bit scary, this is worth a look