Hi, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab...
This one’s been a long time coming. It pretty much derailed two of our best makeup houses and caused all sorts of ill will in the industry, and at one point, they shut the movie down and started over. Was all of this angst worth it in the end? Here’s two reviewers with their take on things...
Hey guys, long time fan, a friend and I got a chance to see a "rough cut" of Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson's take on the werewolf genre last night and all I can say is, in short, while it isnt great, its still a fun ride.
SOME SPOILERS(nothing too blatant)
I'm sure some people know this movie had a troubled history when it went back for reshoots and they basically recast and reshot the whole movie from scratch and it does feel that way in some scenes with some character and plot shifts out of the blue and an abrupt ending that just feels strained. This movie doesnt offer anything new to the werewolf genre per se but it does have a sense of humor in alot of scenes, especially the high school scenes that play on the whole "jock/homopohobic teasing" scene that plays off nicely in a later, hilarious scene.
Performance wise Christina Ricci and the kid playing her brother are nice but the scenes where they start to act like werewolves after being bitten in the movie's first "Scream" like killing scene are just too reminiscent of a 100 other films, someone in the audience compared it to Teen Wolf in a funny way, especially with the younger brother having a reawakening in school now that he's got some werewolf in him. The rest of the case, from Shannon ELizabeth, Mya, Portia Rossi to Michael Rosenbaum, Scott Baio and Joshua Jackson are ok but mainly in the movie to provide red herrings to the identity of the main werewolf and then you scratch them off your list as the movie progresses. And yes, I did say Scott Baio, who is in the movie for about 2 minute tops as himself and does nothing plot wise (this was not the case in an earlier script review I read which apparently was filmed then scrapped) yet gets his name in the opening credits, that was weird, if we were going by time-wise then Craig Kilborn deserved a co-starring credit. Baio is in the movie for some notoritey but It just feels sad not seeing him doing anything, I was happy to see the man still working though. One funny note, Michael "Lex Luthor" Rosenbaum's hair piece is so distracting I thought for a minute it might be the werewolf but alas, it wasnt.
Now for the real juice, the werewolf FX and gore, designed by Rick Baker and taken over by the KNB folks (read on some other sites) are just awesome, this is one great looking biped wolf easily eclipsing Helsing's take, even when it's CG or man in suit onscreen it just looks big and awesome, and you really get to see it all around, once they show it they dont hide it. Sooo, overall I give the movie a recommendation although it feels slapdash in the non-werewolf scenes, the plot is the same as before-people get bitten, have to find the head werewolf, yad, yada, yada- the humor does come out sometimes and the monster elements work great, there are some nice scares and grisly gore(whether that gets trimmed who knows), and some cliches' but no one is perfect, this isnt the redefiniton of the werewolf genre that Scream was for slasher films some started labelling it when they heard Craven and Williamson were involved but it is fun nonetheless, and hey, how many movies can claim to have a werewolf dog and a werewolf giving someone the finger.
If used, call me harosa.
Thanks, man. Here’s another take on the same screening...
Hey, guys, I just got back from a free screening of Wes Craven's new Werewolf movie "Cursed." I figured I'd write up a review for you guys entitled:
"Were" were the Wolves? A Review of "Cursed" by Sam the Wise
Okay. First things first. This movie was entertaining. They told us that it was a rough cut of the movie in terms of editing, special effects, music, etc but for a rough cut it was pretty damn good. There may be spoilers after this point so you are warned. But for all those non-spoiler people: I reccommend it. It is a fun pop corn flick.
The Good: This movie is camp. It is good camp, but it is camp nontheless. At no point does it take itself too seriously which I think is important in most horror movies today. Good suspense, and probably one of the better Werewolf movies I have seen. It is funny, but not so much that it becomes a comedy. It is always a werewolf movie. Christina Ricci is very good (and hot) as the lead. Her brother in the movie, while at first annoying, grows on you and very quickly starts stealing the show with the funny things that happen to him. (The jock who used to pick on him, comes out of the closet to him in a VERY humorous way. I also liked the design of the Werewolf even though it was supposed to be rough. Also, I enjoyed the music. "Little Red Riding Hood" and "Bad Moon Rising" were two songs that I felt worked very well. And hell, Shannon Elizabeth was in it for awhile and that alone should be worth the price of admission.
The Bad: Mother fuckin Scott Baio is in this movie. There is no need for "Charles in Charge" to be making any movies at all let alone one where he plays himself with no real purpose to it all. And also, the end sucks. I really hope they change it because as it is, it seems totally pointless. The part where they kill everyone until the only person left alive can possibly be the Head Wolf, I can deal with. After that though, the movie takes a pointless turn involving Joshua Jackson's character.
So, if you wanna see a funny and entertaining Werewolf flick go see Cursed when it comes out.
Okay, then. I’m curious when and where we’re going to see this one. Dimension’s shuffling stuff all over the release calendar right now (big surprise), with GRIMM being pushed to sometime next fall. Maybe this one will land in the spring, but until you see posters and trailers, don’t start getting too excited.
"Moriarty" out.
