The Curse (1987)

User Rating:

4.4/10   

Director:

David Keith

Writer:

David Chaskin (writer)

Release Date:

11 September 1987 (USA)

Genre:

Sci-Fi | Horror

Tagline:

From the darkest part of the heavens, terror has arrived.

Plot:

Nathan Hayes is a religious man trying to hold onto his farm and keep his family in line. A real estate...

Plot Keywords:

Farm | H.P. Lovecraft | Mutant | Child In Peril | Remake

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Wil Wheaton	...	Zack (as Will Wheaton)
Claude Akins	...	Nathan
Malcolm Danare	...	Cyrus
Cooper Huckabee	...	Forbes
John Schneider	...	Willis
Amy Wheaton	...	Alice
Steve Carlisle	...	Davidson
Kathleen Jordon Gregory	...	Frances
Hope North	...	Esther
Steve Davis	...	Mike

Also Known As:

The Farm
The Well (USA) (original script title)

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Australia:M | UK:18 | USA:R | Norway:18 (video premiere) (1989) | Norway:(Banned) (1987-2003) (cinema release)

Filming Locations:

Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Company:

Trans World Entertainment (TWE)

Trivia:

Producer Ovidio G. Assonitis says the film was inspired by the social crisis of the farmers during the Ronald Reagan administration in the United States during the 1980s.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When Zachary looks out of his bedroom window at the glowing meteorite, the cameraman is reflected in the window.

Quotes:

Nathan Hayes: Biscuits a little dry this morning Frances. You Forget to add something?

Movie Connections:

Version of Die, Monster, Die! (1965)

Soundtrack:

On Daddy's Farm

Gross and nasty and a high old time.

The H.P. Lovecraft story "The Colour Out of Space", filmed previously in 1965 as "Die, Monster, Die!", was the basis for this rural gross-em-out horror film. A rather strange meteorite crashes to Earth near the Crane farm, and it oozes a very disgusting substance that gets into the water, first driving the animals crazy, then mutating the humans and driving them into a frenzy.

The directing debut for actor David Keith, he does a pretty credible job crafting this little tale. He delivers some potent shocks - the worms-in-the-apples is a superb gag (in more ways than one) and drenches the whole film in bleak and creepy atmosphere. Makeup effects range from passable to quite effective. A raft of familiar faces fill out the cast - top-billed Wil Wheaton is a likable lead, and co-stars with adorable real-life sister Amy, also playing his sister here. Claude Akins and Malcolm Danare ham it up as his none-too-appealing stepdad and stepbrother, with Cooper Huckabee playing the good-guy local doctor and John Schneider of 'Dukes of Hazzard' fame playing a bespectacled water company representative.

All in all, I thought it was fun. Although serious in tone - very serious, in fact - comic moments like the "connect the dots" scene provide it with a little bit of levity. I thought it had some good moments of tension and there was also one "Gotcha!" moment that actually took me by surprise. It was just a blast from beginning to end - slick, sick, and spooky.

8/10