The Cursed
LD Entertainment | Release Date: February 18, 2022 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
62
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 24 Critic Reviews
Positive:
13
Mixed:
11
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
80
Los Angeles TimesNoel MurrayFeb 17, 2022
This period piece is slow-paced yet peppered with enough gory attacks and smartly staged scare sequences to appeal to horror connoisseurs. Read full review
80
Screen DailyFionnuala HalliganFeb 2, 2021
It’s inventive enough to surprise, while still bringing with it fond memories of everything from Hammer to The Innocents, Dracula to creepy country house Gothic horror. Read full review
80
SlashfilmBen PearsonFeb 2, 2021
Haunting, harrowing, and hypnotic, Eight for Silver is a werewolf story with a lot on its mind. Read full review
76
PolygonTasha RobinsonFeb 21, 2022
The Cursed has its own mythology and some unnerving, bloody innovations around what’s basically a werewolf story, but Ellis gets a lot of his mileage around the standard creature-feature horror-story things he doesn’t do. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comMatt Zoller SeitzFeb 18, 2022
It's all so rich—and so richly executed by Ellis, a total filmmaker—that one wishes it added up to more than a series of smart variations on a certain type of film. Read full review
75
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliFeb 17, 2022
It’s not conventionally frightening nor does it offer a cavalcade of artificially crafted jump-scares, relying instead on a deeper, more primal form of terror built on a foundation of slow-burn tension and a surfeit of atmosphere. Read full review
75
Original-CinThom ErnstFeb 16, 2022
This will disappoint those who prefer their werewolves with teeth. Still, The Cursed rises above most standards set by the genre. I only wish I could say it was a Howling success. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperFeb 15, 2022
Although “The Cursed” milks its relatively thin storyline a bit too long and engages in some heavy-handed (albeit valid) social commentary about 19th century colonialism perhaps one too many times, this is an effectively creepy and often bone-crunching horror gem with some striking visuals and a first-rate cast. Read full review
70
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Brad WheelerFeb 23, 2022
Originally titled Eight for Silver, the film from British writer-director Sean Ellis is brooding, uneasy and fog-filled, with an apprehensive soundscape. Werewolf mythology mixes with biblical allusions and ideas on payments for the sins of elders. Read full review
70
TimeStephanie ZacharekFeb 17, 2022
There’s nothing cuddly about the were-creatures of The Cursed. But there’s no question that they get the job done. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleRichard WhittakerFeb 16, 2022
The Cursed may be a shaggy tale in places, but its bite is ultimately deep. Read full review
67
The Film StageJake Kring-SchreifelsFeb 2, 2021
The loose spiritual ends don’t stitch together to produce the kind of scares that stick with you after their initial jolt. Read full review
63
ObserverRafael MotamayorFeb 8, 2021
Eight for Silver howls the arrival of a new and exciting take on the old werewolf story, with an inventive mythology and a memorable xenomorph-inspired scene that will nest in your nightmares. Sadly, the good parts of the film are trapped within the monstrous body of an overly long and average feature film. Read full review
60
Total FilmJane CrowtherFeb 2, 2021
Well executed if not entirely original – with werewolves, what is? – Eight For Silver is an assured, engaging chiller. Read full review
60
VarietyTomris LafflyFeb 2, 2021
Horror is most effective when the graphic scares are matched with an emotional dimension, something at which Ellis aims but doesn’t quite arrive — a shortcoming that also undersells the marvels of his first-rate ensemble cast. Read full review
58
The A.V. ClubKatie RifeFeb 23, 2022
Even when Ellis ramps up the suspense with crosscutting and monster mayhem in the final half-hour, The Cursed has trouble maintaining nail-biting intensity for very long Read full review
56
Paste MagazineNatalia KeoganFeb 2, 2021
A protracted folkish horror story that mistakes miserablism for period accuracy. Read full review
50
Movie NationRoger MooreFeb 23, 2022
You could Oscar short-list the production design (Pascal Le Guellec, Thierry Zemmou) and art direction (Patrick Schmidt, Paulo Gonçalves), even pay special homage to Ellis’s cinematography. That doesn’t change the fact that the writer/director/DP has made a werewolf movie as pretty as a painting, and almost as animated. It looks better than it plays. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleG. Allen JohnsonFeb 17, 2022
Ellis’ story could have used a little fleshing out, no pun intended. Instead, a terrific cast is left floundering in the dark, searching for the film’s human dimension. Cursed, indeed. Read full review
50
Washington PostMichael O'SullivanFeb 15, 2022
The Cursed is stylish and scary enough for what it is. That’s an old-fashioned creature feature, effective enough to give you a mild case of the heebie-jeebies but nothing chronic. Read full review
50
ConsequenceJoe LipsettFeb 2, 2021
Eight for Silver works best as an atmospheric period werewolf film with outstanding gore effects and creature design. Working against the film, however, is Ellis’ padded screenplay chock full of rote characters, drawn-out human conflict, and an ill-advised flashback structure that rips apart its final act. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterDavid RooneyFeb 2, 2021
Though the movie is never unengaging, ultimately, it doesn't quite deliver. Read full review
42
The PlaylistJason BaileyFeb 2, 2021
One of those movies that starts off so well, that shows such promise, that its slow unraveling feels less like a disappointment than a betrayal. Read full review
40
Screen RantFerdosa AbdiFeb 24, 2022
Ultimately, The Cursed is merely a slow trek through horrific gore, lackluster and confusing werewolf lore, and a muddled understanding of the legacy of the Roma. Read full review
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