Curtains
Horror • Thriller
Theatrical Release (US)
~ Behind every curtain, someone is waiting...something is watching. ~
Overview:
Six young actresses auditioning for a movie role at a remote mansion are targeted by a mysterious masked murderer.
Director:
Richard Ciupka
Status:
Released
Language:
English
Buget:
$0.00
Revenue:
Key words:
Cast
John Vernon
~ as ~
Jonathan Stryker
Samantha Eggar
Samantha Sherwood
Linda Thorson
Brooke Parsons
Anne Ditchburn
Laurian Summers
Lynne Griffin
Patti O'Connor
Sandee Currie
Tara DeMillo
Lesleh Donaldson
Christie Burns
Deborah Burgess
Amanda Teuther
Michael Wincott
Matthew
Maury Chaykin
Monty
Wuchak
Written 2 year(s) ago
You Might Like
Hunt
House II: The Second Story
Torso
Basket Case
A Patch of Blue
Scarecrows
Hell Comes to Frogtown
Madman
Eyes of a Stranger
You're So Cool, Brewster! The Story of Fright Night
Someone’s slaying wannabe actresses at an isolated manor in the wintry sticks
A demanding director (John Vernon) rejects his aging muse (Samantha Eggar) for the role of a mad woman in his next film and so has six young lasses vie for a role at his mansion in the snowy woods of the Northeast. The problem is, someone in an old-hag mask is killing ’em off one by one.
"Curtains” (1983) is an artistic slasher birthed from a troubled production. Shooting began in November, 1980, with original director Richard Ciupka wanting to make an arthouse thriller, which led to hostilities with producer Peter Simpson, who wanted a conventional slasher since they were in vogue. This caused Ciupka to abandon the project with most of it shot. The film was shelved for over a year with uncredited Simpson taking over; rewrites and reshoots were done (mostly the beginning and end), along with one recasting (the role of Brooke Parsons).
You might remember Vernon as Captain Fletcher in “The Outlaw Josey Wales.” He’s commanding here; very convincing as the arrogant director.
There’s enough good for those interested, with the skating sequence standing out, but it’s not as effective as the similar “StageFright” (1987), yet it’s not too far off. There are too many dull parts with not enough character development and the directors didn’t take advantage of the feminine resources (not talkin’ ’bout nudity or sleaze), not to mention some scenes are too dark. However, the climax is good and surprising.
If you’re going to view it, stay away from the lousy darker prints with washed out colors offered on some streaming channels. There’s a decent restored print currently available on Youtube.
The film runs 1 hour, 29 minutes, and, was shot in the greater Toronto area, including Muskoka, Caledon and Forks of the Credit (the gas station scene) with studio stuff done at Commercial Studios in Scarborough.
GRADE: B-/C+
