It’s a crying shame that the only way in which 2005’s horror comedy Cursed lived up to its potential was by fully embracing its moniker and serving as the basis for one of the most notoriously tortured productions in modern Hollywood history.
The genre-bending lycanthropic lark boasted a stacked array of talent on either side of the camera, a top-notch high concept, and an eager audience awaiting to see some brand new werewolf magic. In the end, though, the grubby fingerprints of Harvey Weinstein ended up torpedoing the critical and commercial dud on every single imaginable level.
Hailing from the Scream dream team of director Wes Craven and writer Kevin Williamson, Cursed roped in Christina Ricci, Joshua Jackson, Jesse Eisenberg, Nick Offerman, Judy Greer, Michael Rosenbaum, and Bowling for Soup for some reason, only for the assembled parts to be scattered to the four winds by a typical Weinstein sh*t-show.
Harvey and brother Bob tore the project to pieces, demanding the R-rating be watered down to PG-13 in amongst overwhelming reshoots that saw the budget virtually double, all while practical effects maestro Rick Baker was fired in favor of terrible CGI, without mentioning that filming dragged on for well over a year, causing an extended delay.
In the end, Cursed bombed and was buried, but Redditors have been rushing to its defense in a twist we didn’t see coming. The theatrical cut is crushingly disappointing, and there’s definitely a much better version of the film out there we’re more than likely never going to see, but supporters of the legendary misfire are adamant that there’s at least a shred of chicken salad to be found among the slew of chicken sh*t.