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(About Our Ads) "CURSED" (2005) (Christina Ricci, Jesse Eisenberg) (PG-13) Alcohol/ Drugs Blood/Gore Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude Frightening/ Tense Scenes Guns/ Weapons Moderate Heavy Heavy Heavy Moderate Imitative Behavior Jump Scenes Music (Scary/Tense) Music (Inappropriate) Profanity Mild Moderate Moderate Minor Moderate Sex/ Nudity Smoking Tense Family Scenes Topics To Talk About Violence Moderate None Mild Moderate Extreme QUICK TAKE: Horror: An orphaned brother and sister are bitten by a werewolf in Los Angeles, and must find and kill the original werewolf in order to restore themselves to normal. PLOT: Ellie (CHRISTINA RICCI) is a TV talk show producer who looks after her mildly geeky, comic-book-reading, high school-aged brother Jimmy (JEASSE EISNBERG) and remains patient with her commitment-phobic boyfriend Jake (JOSHUA JACKSON). One night Ellie and Jimmy's car hits a large animal on Mulholland Drive, such that they spin into a second car driven by Becky (SHANNON ELIZABETH). When they attempt to pry her from her flipped-over car, the beast attacks, dragging Becky off to "tear her to shreds" (described but not shown) and leaving Ellie and Jimmy wounded. Some internet research and changes in behavior -- increased aggression and sexual appeal -- lead Jimmy to believe they are "cursed," that is, turning into werewolves. While Jimmy tries to impress a pretty girl at school, Brooke (KRISTINA APANAU), her wrestler boyfriend Bo (MILO VENTIMIGLIA) calls him names (especially accusing him of being "gay"), then challenges him to wrestle in the gym. Jimmy's new strength allows him to win, and impress Brooke. At the same time, Ellie is struggling with Jake's reputation as a womanizer and his seeming dedication to his work as a club designer (the latest job is "Tinsel," a Planet Hollywood-style joint that features monster movie memorabiliamemorabilia. The eventual and inevitable showdown with the werewolf takes place in this club on opening night, allowing for ironic backdrops (especially a wax figure of Lon Chaney's Wolfman in a life-size diorama), broken glass and mirrors, and screaming extras in fancy dress. WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? If they're into sarcastic, self-aware scary movies (like "Scream"), they might. WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG-13 For horror violence/terror, some sexual references, nudity, language and a brief drug reference. CAST AS ROLE MODELS: CHRISTINA RICCI plays a Los Angeles TV producer who must deal with arrogant stars and aggressive publicists. She supports her younger brother, since their parents died in a car accident, and remains morally grounded despite her profession and traumas. JESSE EISENBERG plays a mild-mannered high school student, enamored of a popular girl bullied by her wrestler boyfriend, who becomes more self-confident when he begins to turn into a werewolf. JOSHUA JACKSON plays Jake, Ellie's distracted and self-involved boyfriend of two months, who resists her efforts to become closer. MILO VENTIMILIGIA plays Bo, the wrestler who eventually comes out to Jimmy as gay, even as Jimmy comes out to him as a werewolf. PORTIA DE ROSSI plays a fortune teller. JUDY GREER plays an obnoxious publicist for Scott Baio (who appears briefly as himself). MYA plays Jenny, an aggressive Hollywood hanger-on. MICHAEL ROSENBAUM plays Kyle, Ellie's supportive colleague. CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit? Then read OUR TAKE of this film. (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below). OUR WORD TO PARENTS: The following is a brief summary of the content found in this PG-13 rated horror movie. Profanity consists of at least 11 uses of the "s" word, while other expletives and colorful phrases are uttered. Some sexually related dialogue is present as is some sexuality, while a woman is shown briefly dead and naked (only her backside is visible, in profile) and a young man's bare butt is briefly seen. Violence includes various werewolf attacks and related killings, some of which have bloody results and some of which, along with other scenes, may be unsettling, suspenseful or scary to some viewers. Several parties show drinking and a brief drug reference is made, while various characters have varying degrees of bad attitudes (including derogatory comments toward gays). Should you still be concerned about the film's appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home, you may want to look more closely at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content. ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE Three scenes take place at parties, where characters -- including Ellie, Jake, and Jenny -- drink alcohol. A drug reference is made: "Lay off the crack pipe!" BLOOD/GORE A fortune teller, Zela, warns two girls that she sees them in "lots of blood." The werewolf attacks Ellie, Jimmy, and Becky, dragging off Becky (in a flurry of loud, fast-cut, dark images) and leaving Ellie and Jimmy bloodied (she on her arm, he on his chest). Jimmy's golden retriever Zipper bites him and draws slight blood. Ellie develops a sensitivity to blood following her bite, and sniffs out a colleague's bloody nose at work. The colleague sees her, the camera shoots the bloody Kleenex she's been using to stop her nosebleed and the colleague asks, "Does the blood freak you out?" When her boss cuts his finger, Ellie sucks the blood off it. Ellie and Jimmy develop a taste for raw meat, which they eat standing in the kitchen. Overcome by her increasing bloodlust, Ellie tries to hide in the women's bathroom at work. When her colleague hears strange sounds, worries, and tries to enter the stall, Ellie hangs onto the door so hard that she leaves bloody indentations on the door. When the werewolf kills one victim in the club, Ellie and Jimmy notice that blood is dripping from the ceiling. The body drops down to the floor, looking very messily bloody. The club fight includes smashed mirrors in the hall of mirrors, leaving Bo bloodied and collapsed. The last werewolf dies when Ellie chops his head of (very brutal in concept, but shown from the werewolf's point of view, until the cut back to a long, overhead shot of the body and bloody mass above it. DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE Jake is disrespectful toward Ellie, snapping at her and yelling at her. Joanie is repeatedly rude to Ellie. Bo is repeatedly awful to Jimmy (who forgives him), taunting him with homosexual epithets. Words such as "Homo," "Limp-wrist" and "Fairy" are used that way. FRIGHTENING SCENES Scenes listed under "Violence," "Blood/Gore" and "Jump Scenes" may be unsettling, suspenseful or scary to younger viewers and/or those with low tolerance levels for such material. Becky and Jenny wander through a dark and spooky amusement park. The werewolf attacks Ellie, Jimmy, and Becky, dragging off Becky (in a flurry of loud, fast-cut, dark images) and leaving Ellie and Jimmy bloodied (she on her arm, he on his chest). When Jenny is alone in the parking garage, she sees footsteps in an oil stain, turning from human to werewolf. The werewolf ferociously attacks and kills Jenny, throwing her into cars, clawing at car sides (to make screeching noises with its claws), roars, and drags her off. The murder takes place off-screen, with much screaming. Jimmy's dog turns into a werewolf and attacks him, tearing up the house and then Bo's car in the process. Overcome by her increasing bloodlust, Ellie tries to hide in the women's bathroom at work. When her colleague hears strange sounds, worries, and tries to enter the stall, Ellie hangs onto the door so hard that she leaves bloody indentations on the door. When the girl gets the door open, Ellie appears "veiny" and pale, and roars at her to leave her alone. Background televisions repeatedly show news reports concerning Becky's violent death ("She was mauled to death"), as policemen and reporters guess at the type of creature that killed her. Jake approaches Ellie's car, and when she tries to drive away, he smashes her window with his fist. She fights him off by stabbing him with her keys. The police arrive at the nightclub in the end, and shoot the werewolf repeatedly. GUNS/WEAPONS Rifles/Shotguns/Penetrating tools (shovel, cane with silver knob): Carried and/or used to threaten, wound or kill others. See "Violence" for other details. Ellie uses her car keys to stab at Jake. Jimmy attacks the werewolf in the club with a torch. Jimmy and Ellie use a silver pie server to stab at the werewolf who attacks them in the kitchen. Police officers use rifles to shoot down the werewolf. Jimmy uses a shovel to decapitate another werewolf. IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR Phrases: "Bullsh*t," "Pretty freaky sh*t," "I've been sh*tty to you," "My own sh*t to take care of," "We shot the sh*t out of this," "Derogatory d*ck," You're such a d*ck," "Homo," "Okay, limp-wrist" "Yay, go gay," "Homo-stained" and "Fairy" (derogatory gay phrases), "Forget his ass," "Lay off the crack pipe!" "Dodgeball crotch target," "Ass-whip," " "What's with the make-a-wish charity case?" "Why can't you just download porn like other teenage boys?" "You look different today, saucy!" "Cuckoo for cocoa puffs," "Watch your ass," "What the hell's happening here?" "Man, that's ugly" and "Pissed off." When he's been bitten, Jimmy becomes overtly flirtatious with Brooke, and physically aggressive with Bo on the wrestling floor, holding him in the air and throwing him to the ground repeatedly. Jimmy howls at the gathering of dogs outside his window, and scares them away. Ellie and Jimmy develop a taste for raw meat, which they eat standing in the kitchen. JUMP SCENES Jimmy and Ellie drive down Mulholland and the beast smashes into their windshield. Ellie embraces and then suddenly bites Jake (and then suddenly wakes in her bed, finding this experience to be a dream). As Ellie wanders through the club, after the crowd has left, and looking for Jimmy, Joanie and Kyle appear suddenly, and separately. Ellie and Jimmy think they're safe at home, and the werewolf shows up when the lights are off and Jimmy's in the basement looking for the fuse box. The werewolf surprises Ellie in the kitchen. MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE) A moderate amount of suspenseful music occurs in the film. MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE) The film opens with Bowling for Soup performing at a party, covering Sam the Sham's "Lil' Red Riding Hood" (featuring the lyrics, "You sure are looking good. / You're everything a big bad wolf could want"). PROFANITY 11 "s" words, 1 explicit reference to sex ("I'll crawl [into bed] with you"), 2 slang terms for male genitals ("d*ck"), 5 asses, 2 damns, 2 hells, 2 uses of "Jesus" and 1 use of "Oh my God." SEX/NUDITY Ellie visits Jake at work and she suggests they set up a date/have sex (she offers to "crawl in" to bed with him; he refuses). The question is made, "Why can't you just download porn like other teenage boys?" Ellie imagines kissing Jake, then, as they embrace and he kisses her neck, she bites him (she wakes and it's a nightmare). Jimmy wakes naked following the night of the car accident/bite, startling his next door neighbor, a middle-aged man watering his lawn. We see Jimmy's torso and then a distance view of his bare butt as he climb in a window. While Ellie pre-interviews Scott Baio at a party, he responds to her heightened/werewolfian sexual appeal by caressing her leg and commenting on her beauty. After she's been bitten, Ellie wears tight dresses to work, and on one occasion, a thin blouse (not quite see though), with buttons undone (no cleavage visible, but implied). When her boss cuts his finger, Ellie sucks the blood off it. He looks at her, startled at the apparent sexuality of the gesture. She only means to suck the blood. Bo comes out to Jimmy by attempting to kiss him. A female werewolf cites sex as the beginning of her "curse," referring to her "one hot night with the guy every girl wanted," and again, "I guess there's no such thing as safe sex with a werewolf." Jimmy kisses Brooke at the film's end, while Bo and Ellie watch, partly pleased, partly embarrassed. SMOKING None. TENSE FAMILY SCENES Ellie is late to pick up Jimmy, and they argue in the car, before they have their accident. Ellie and Jimmy refer vaguely to their dead parents (shown in a photo they keep on a table). TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT Werewolves as enduring fiction/myth. Two parentless siblings taking care of each other. The dangers of sexual activity (here coded as a means to be "infected"). Bo's continued harassment of Jimmy as "gay." Bo's coming out as gay and Jimmy's immediate acceptance of him (this having to do with his own coming out, as a werewolf). VIOLENCE Ellie and Jimmy's car hits the beast, then hits Becky's car, which rolls over a hill. The imagery of the crash is fast, but violent. The werewolf attacks Ellie, Jimmy, and Becky in the dark woods following the car crash, dragging off Becky (in a flurry of loud, fast-cut, dark images) and leaving Ellie and Jimmy bloodied (she on her arm, he on his chest). Ellie imagines kissing Jake, then, as they embrace and he kisses her neck, she bites him (she then wakes and it's a nightmare). The werewolf ferociously attacks and kills Jenny, throwing her into cars, clawing at car sides (to make screeching noises with its claws), roars, and drags her off. The murder takes place off-screen, with much screaming. Jimmy's dog turns into a werewolf and attacks him, brutally, tearing up the house and then Bo's car in the process. The female werewolf threatens to catch Ellie: "I'm just gonna rip her to shreds, let her choke on her own blood, and then maybe I'll eat her." There's a huge fight in the nightclub, including Ellie, Jimmy, Kyle, Jake, Bo, and Joanie. In the end, a squad of cops roars in with big guns and shoot the werewolf with a barrage of bullets. When the werewolf kills one victim in the club, Ellie and Jimmy notice that blood is dripping from the ceiling. The body drops down to the floor, looking very messily bloody. The club fight includes smashed mirrors in the hall of mirrors. Jimmy attacks the werewolf in the club with a torch. After the havoc in the nightclub, another finale commences in Ellie and Jimmy's home, with much roaring, throwing of bodies against walls, crawling on ceilings and leaping across rooms, and stabbing with kitchen and other implements. The last werewolf, still in human form, tries to strangle Ellie. Jake approaches Ellie's car, and when she tries to drive away, he smashes her window with his fist. she fights him off by stabbing him with her keys. The last werewolf dies when Ellie chops his head of (very brutal in concept, but shown from the werewolf's point of view, until the cut back to a long, overhead shot of the body and bloody mass above it. The last werewolf dies by burning up, with several shots extending the process. Reviewed February 25, 2005 / Posted February 26, 2005