“The Cursed” is written and directed by Sean Ellis. He has also done the cinematography of the film, and has been able to create a sinister look and feel that efficiently aids the narrative. Robin Foster’s music and the crisp editing by Yorgos Mavropsaridis and Richard Mettler make sure that you get submerged in this period horror/drama. The performances, especially by Alistair Petrie, Kelly Reilly, and Boyd Holbrook, are able to bring out the essence of the story and enunciate whatever the director was trying to communicate. “The Cursed” might not be the most exceptional horror film that you have seen, but it is very balanced in its approach and is able to keep the audience hooked throughout its running time.
Spoilers Ahead
‘The Cursed’ Plot Summary: What Is The Film About?
The Laurent family had come to know that a group of gypsies were camping on their land. Seamus Laurent, the head of the family, asked the priest of the local church if the gypsies had any proof of the fact that the land belonged to them, and that’s when it was revealed that they did possess validity to their claim. The record dated approximately 80 years back . But it was decided in the meeting that the records would be changed because how could the civilized people entertain the presence of such a lawless and undignified community who didn’t adhere to the standards of society. So the very next day, a battalion of mercenaries accompanied Seamus to make them go away. The gypsies showed some resistance, and the mercenaries resorted to violence. Nobody was spared, not even the children. The whole community saw their loved ones being massacred in front of their eyes. The woman, who was supposedly the spiritual guru of the community, had foreseen this situation. She had told one of the blacksmiths to create fangs that were made from a special kind of silver metal. She had started praying to that silver fang, even before Seamus and his men attacked them.
Seamus’ men plundered the whole area and eventually caught the old woman, who was trying to escape with another male leader. Both the man and the woman glowered at the oppressive landowners and told them that a curse would fall upon them. The man in charge wanted to set an example so that no other individual could ever dare to encroach upon their land. They severed off the limbs of the man and buried the old woman alive. She held on to those silver fangs while the dead body of the man was hung like a scarecrow in the middle of the field. Just after the killings, all the children started seeing dreams about the lady, the scarecrow, and the silver fangs. Edward, Seamus’ son, was one of the first people to be haunted by the gypsy lady in his dreams. One of the kids named Timmy, whose father worked for Seamus, told Edward and his sister Charlotte that he had seen where the man was hanged, and the woman was buried. The other kids were inquisitive about it, and henceforth to quench their curiosity, they followed Timmy to the place where the act of crime had taken place. They found the silver fangs buried in the ground. As soon as Timmy held those fangs in his hands, he was possessed. He wore them and bit Edward. Timmy didn’t realize what he was doing, and he seriously injured and infected Edward. Seamus called for the doctor, who speculated that Edward had been bitten by some wild animal, as there was no other plausible theory that could justify the events. Charlotte had witnessed what had happened, but at the same time she had also promised Timmy that she wouldn’t tell anyone about it. Later that night, Charlotte went to check on Edward and saw that something that resembled roots had started coming out of his back and clenched his whole body. Before she could call her parents, Edward escaped from the window and went into the forest.
What Did McBride Know About The Curse?
Charlotte met Timmy once again, in the church, who had somewhat figured out the relevance of the silver metal that was used by the gypsy woman to make those fangs. Timmy didn’t remember what he had done to Edward, as he was under a spell. As per the Christian mythology, it is stated in the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament, that Judas betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. The gypsy woman had used the same silver to create those fangs and through it lay a curse upon the whole Laurent family. Timmy tore the bible page, gave it to Charlotte, and ran away frantically towards the forest. He saw Edward standing on the edge of the forest and decided to follow him. Lieutenant Alfred Moliere and pathologist John McBride had been called by Seamus to find his missing son, but now they had another victim who was added to the list. Timmy had been mercilessly massacred by an evil creature that had come into existence as soon as the kids had taken out the silver fangs. McBride and Moliere were devastated after seeing the severed body of Timmy. They, too, speculated that he had been bitten by a wolf-like wild animal. Moliere wanted to shut the case down, as he believed that because of such trivial matters, he couldn’t overlook the fact that the country was suffering from a cholera pandemic. Trade routes had been closed, and cities were hostile to strangers. In such dire circumstances, Moliere was of the opinion that he couldn’t do much about Seamus’s missing boy. McBride decided to stay and assess the situation. He knew that there was more to it, and that it was not merely an attack by a wild animal.
Meanwhile, another set of workers get attacked by the creature, and for the first time, we see it in full shape and form, performing the deadly act. Annie Marie was the girl who had survived the attack, but before she could be questioned by McBride, she also escaped, just like Edward did. McBride knew that the werewolf was not going to stop unless and until he hunted everybody down. He ordered the people to move into the church and bolt the doors until he trapped the werewolf.
McBride had been stationed in Gevaudan, and the area was plagued by wolves, just like what was happening now in the Laurent settlement. It was said that the wolf was a part of the curse, and after it had its revenge, it needed to be contained in gypsy silver. The same gypsies had then traveled northwest and were most likely on their way to claim the land when Laurent slaughtered them. Isabelle starts telling McBride about the gypsies who claimed her husband’s land, but she is intervened by Seamus, who still didn’t want to believe that it was not an ordinary wild animal, but a curse laid upon his family due to his actions. McBride, the next day, laid the traps, and killed a werewolf. He brought it to the mansion where, together with Seamus and a couple of other men, he saw Annie Marie, the girl who had escaped, coming out of the werewolf’s womb. She was shot down by the men, and the body of the werewolf was burnt. One thing was certain: anyone who was bitten by the creature turned evil. Seamus was still in denial, and he was adamant that he and his men would hunt the creature down. On the other hand, McBride knew it couldn’t be killed so easily and that he had to resort to the holy scripture to find a solution.
‘The Cursed’ Ending Explained: Was McBride Able To Get Rid Of The Curse? Who Was The Soldier In The Opening Scene?
McBride came to know that Timmy had torn a page of the bible and given it to Charlotte, because he knew that she would eventually need that piece of information to lift the curse. McBride knew that it was the same silver that had been given to Judas. He found the fangs in the church itself, where Timmy had left it, and asked a blacksmith to melt the fangs and mold them again in the form of bullets. Anais, who worked as a maid in the Laurent house, gets bitten by the werewolf but sustains the injury. She was scared that if the others came to know about it, then she would be outcasted or even killed. In that fear, she abstained from telling anybody about it. She bandaged her wounds by herself, but still couldn’t stop the infection from spreading and showing its effect. She started transforming into that creature when Seamus found her. Seamus had just had an argument with McBride. He had been unsuccessful in his hunt, and McBride had told him that there was no point in hunting for the creature, as it was coming after him anyway. Anais bites Seamus before he shoots her down. An infected Seamus accepts that he had been greedy, and shouldn’t have killed the gypsies. He puts himself on fire as he knew that there was no way out after one gets infected. McBride, Charlotte, and Isabelle ran inside the church. Isabelle opened the church door after hearing her son, Edward’s, voice. But Edward had transformed into a werewolf and was standing there, waiting for the opportunity. He slaughtered everybody inside the church and was finally going to bite Isabelle. McBride, unable to get a clear aim, pulled the trigger, and shot Isabelle. The bullet, made out of the same cursed silver, pierced through her body and hit the werewolf. As soon as the silver touched the werewolf, it transformed back into Edward. McBride, though, couldn’t save Seamus and Isabelle, was able to bring back Edward and save Charlotte too.
John McBride decided to adopt the kids. He raised them like his own children. Edward didn’t remember anything, after he was saved from that creature. He eventually joined the army. In the first scene, Charlotte comes to see McBride, who is lying on his deathbed, approximately 35 years after her parents were killed on that fateful night. The soldier who was shot by a silver bullet in the battle of the Somme in 1917 was none other than Edward. The doctors realized that the silver bullet didn’t belong to the Germans. All this while, Edward had carried the silver bullet inside him. The curse had stayed with him for 35 long years and eventually got the better of him. The doctors thought that Edward succumbed to his injuries, but little did they know that he paid the price for sins committed by his ancestors.
Final Words
Seamus Laurent had tried to banish the gypsies from their own land, but little did he know that he only had the power to kill their physical bodies. The roots that grew from the backs of each victim and clenched them forever represented the fact that an evil had risen from the same land where their ancestors were born. Their blood was shed on that same land, and the roots were making sure that the perpetrators lied with them in the deep and dark abyss. They didn’t ask for much, but only wanted what was rightfully theirs. But greed had made Seamus blind. He wanted everything for himself and decided to misuse his powers. Though he was able to grab the land, the price he paid was unimaginable. The old lady knew that the silver was cursed, and that a time would come when she would use it for her defense, as there was no end to the insatiable desire for material gain in human beings.
“The Cursed” is a 2022 Drama Horror film directed by Sean Ellis.
