Following strange social media posts by a friend, a young woman finds herself trying to outrun a curse.
Written and directed by Kenichi Ugana, The Curse feels like a mix of Phone and JuOn for the modern age, using an app quite similar to current photo-sharing apps where folks can share about their day with captions and hashtags. The film here follows a familiar formula in its story with a few red herrings here and there, a few scenes that feel out of place, and a bit of mounting tension to help move things along. The story here will be predictable a bit for fans of the Jurei subgenre and for those who watch a ton of curse-style films with scenes that look so familiar; folks will spend some time trying to figure out where from while watching the film. The last third is where the film takes a turn and runs away from the usual tropes of the curse of the long-haired girl stories and goes into a completely different territory which is a blessing here.
The cast here is good with the lead being a great choice and giving the performance the film needs, emotion but not hysterical, wanting to survive so forced to be brave. She’s a good choice for the part and unfortunately, the credits on IMDb do not show the characters’ names for each of the cast members listed. The actress who plays her roommate gives a performance that is a bit crazier and completely entertaining. The lady who shows up near the end does her part so well, it’s hard to not love her. The cast overall works well together and gives the right performances for the parts they have been bestowed.
Given that the information online for this film is minimal, apologies are in order for the crew as they will remain nameless here. The cinematography for The Curse is good and makes good use of the locations to help build some tension. The special effects are good too, with some practical effects reminiscent of the early days of the Jurei genre and of other vengeful ghost films of the late 1990s and early 2000s. The film’s technical side of things is solid and helps make this an easy watch.
Overall, The Curse is entertaining while needing a bit more tension and perhaps more scares to please hardcore horror fans. For those who are more easily scared, this film should do well. The writing here is good and so are the direction, performances, cinematography, and effects. The Curse is a fun watch and one that can easily fit into an evening of horror for fans of the genre along with other films of its type.