The Cursed

Directed by Sean Ellis, The Cursed follows a 19th century pathologist (Boyd Holbrook’s John McBride) as he arrives in a remote village to investigate a series of possibly supernatural murders. Filmmaker Ellis, armed with his own screenplay, delivers a progressively uninvolving endeavor that ultimately isn’t able to live up to the potential of its premise and striking opening stretch, which is a shame, certainly, given that Ellis has infused the picture’s first act with an atmospheric feel that’s heightened by several above-average interludes and set-pieces (including an especially captivating scene detailing, in a single shot, the destruction of a gypsy village). It’s disappointing to note, then, that The Cursed segues into a sluggish and often palpably dull midsection devoid, for the most part, of compelling or interesting elements, and it’s clear, undoubtedly, that the arms-length atmosphere is perpetuated by an egregiously overlong running time and continuing emphasis on attributes of a decidedly (and palpably) underwhelming nature. (There are, for example, so many dream sequences.) By the time the larger-than-life and entirely anticlimactic finale rolls around, The Cursed has cemented its place as a misfire that feels like it could (and should) be so much better.

*1/2 out of ****