The Curse, 1987 – rated R – 90 minutes
Synopsis: Farmer Nathan Crane has the nicest-looking vegetables in town. The ripest corn, the heaviest squash and the biggest tomatoes you’ve ever seen. Farmer Crane also has a secret. During a freak summer storm, a meteorite landed in his back field. Glowing and cold to the touch, the meteorite quickly shrank and vanished into the soil, but not before imparting its other-worldly color to the harvest. Now all the delicious-looking food tastes like rotten meat, the well-water glows at night and Crane’s wife has gone ever-so-slightly mad. Some days it just doesn’t pay to be a farmer.
The Skinny: The Curse was released in 1987. The screenplay was written by David Chaskin, and was based on H.P. Lovecraft’s short story The Color Out of Space. David Kieth directed, with Lucio Fulci as associate producer. The Curse stars Claude Aikens, Kathleen Jordon Gregory, John Schnieder, and Wil Wheaton. The film carries an R rating and runs 89 minutes.
Anthill Reacts: This is a strange little film. I don’t know how else to describe it, really. Low-budget horror as modern religious allegory based on the work of a confirmed atheist might sound like a hard sell, but The Curse actually manages to pull it off. The combination of cosmic horror and human ignorance makes for a potent brew, even in these limited proportions. The opening credits scene is truly chilling, and sets an ominous tone for the rest of the film. The idea that even today we are still governed by superstition and all of mankind’s knowledge cannot save us in an uncaring cosmos puts the audience on edge while neatly falling within Lovecraft’s wheelhouse. But while The Curse is surprisingly faithful to Lovecraft’s story, it’s not shy in adding its own ideas to the mix.
In keeping with screenwriter David Chaskin’s vision, the biblical allegories are front and center here. The arrival of the meteorite is interpreted as God’s condemnation of wife Frances’ infidelity with a farmhand. The family is subsequently denied Eden for their mother’s sins, and she is cast out and shunned. The treatment of the now-demented woman is painful to watch, hewing uncomfortably close to the truth of religious extremism. Speaking of extremism, Claude Aikens’ performance as the pious Nathan Crane is what really sells this film. While the audience may not share Nathan’s faith or values, they become invested because it’s clear he believes in them, even as they destroy him. It’s an towering performance by an actor at the twilight of his career.
Biscuits are a little dry this mornin’…
And then there’s Wil (Wesley Crusher) Wheaton. Wheaton doesn’t actually act all that much as stand there breathing through his mouth. It’s a believable if uninspiring character trait, but considering he’s meant to be our protagonist, it’s fair for the audience to expect something more.
Mouth: open.
Honestly, the meteorite is usually doing more with its screen-time. The sleepwalking scene where the uninvited visitor spills its steaming psychedelic effulgence into the trench is ominous and remarkably dream-like: the combination of music and visuals replicates Lovecraft’s mood surprisingly well. Other scenes like the girl in the chicken coop, Mom sewing a sock to her hand and the exploding cows add to the overall mayhem.
The scene where the meteorite is explained away as frozen waste inadvertently released from an airplane’s septic system is very true to the urban legends of the time period. And while the film falls prey to horror movie cliches by the end, it still does an admirable job overall in maintaining a creepy mood. The scenes with the rotten produce are sure to jar the faint of heart. Food is one of those things people are funny about, so watching scenes of ripe heads of cabbage split open to reveal a bile-caked maggoty interiors may be too much for the casual viewer.
Best Line: It’s in the water! Kids, its in the water!!
What Can We Learn? If you want to, you can totally get away with giving Cyrus the bird. Also, that kid never changes his damn shirt. Unfortunate, considering its three inches too short to actually fit him. Last but not least, living on a farm sucks, no matter what your situation.
In Closing: The Curse is true to itself, and that goes a long way. It doesn’t try to be anything but what it is, a creepy and efficient little horror film with a dash of social commentary for flavor. Surpassing its low budget and limited cast, the film its atmospheric and uneasy, with some genuinely weird moments to keep the blood flowing. I give it three dry biscuits out of five.
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