Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

The Curse (1987) ** 1/2 (out of 4) A meteorite crashes into a Tennessee farmer's land but everyone believes there's no issue. Except for the son Zach (Wil Wheaton) who believes that the slime coming out of the thing is going to cause an issue. Sure enough, before long the farm animals are acting funny, the fruit is sour and soon his family begin changing into mutants.THE CURSE is an extremely bizarre little movie on many levels. For starters, some of Lucio Fulci's crew members worked on the picture and you can tell that the slime, gore and creatures are 100% Italian. They just have an Italian movie feel to them and anyone who are fans of those types of movies will pick up on it. The film is somewhat of a throwback to the sci-fi films of the 1950s when kids would witness something yet no adults will believe them. It also throws in the radioactive movies from the 1970s like THE FOOD OF THE GODS.So is THE CURSE a good movie? It almost is. I must say that I was shocked by how much I liked it but there is one major issue with the film and that's the fact that so many of the characters are so damn stupid. I mean, I understand people overlooking a few of the minor incidents that happen yet when people start turning into murderous mutants, I think it's time you get on the band wagon and feel some concern. The main farmer is a strict religious guy and this made for some good scenes with his stepson but for the most part I couldn't help but grow frustrated and want to scream at the film, which I'm sure many people did back when it was in theaters.I thought David Keith (AN OFFICER AND A GENTLEMAN) did a nice job in his first directing job and I thought he handled the characters quite well. This is especially true early on when he introduces us to everyone. Once the gore happens he handles that nicely as well and there's a nice flow to the picture. I enjoyed all of the main performances in the film and especially Wheaton, Claude Akins, Malcolm Danare and Kathleen Jordon Gregory as the mother.THE CURSE has a lot of oozing creatures and other forms of Italian trash and I thought it all looked quite well. Look, this isn't a masterpiece or even a good film. It's not a smart one either. It's basically a low-budget horror film that actually remains entertaining even with its flaws.

Poor old Zack (Will Wheaton): his mom, Frances (Kathleen Jordon Gregory), has gone and married Nathan, a super-strict, religious zealot farmer (Claude Akins) who punishes every infraction with a lightning-fast slap or two around the chops (seriously, this guy has the reflexes of Bruce Lee). Zack's older step-brother Cyrus (Malcolm Danare) isn't much better, an obnoxious fat slob who takes every opportunity to drop the youngster in the s**t (sometimes literally!). Matters only get worse for Zack after a strange meteor crashes onto the farm, contaminating the water supply with space goop that spoils the crops, causes the animals to turn hostile, and turns his family into violent raving loonies with very bad skin.Loosely based on H. P. Lovecraft's short story The Colour Out of Space, The Curse is a trashy slice of '80s B-movie schlock that no-self respecting fan of bad movies should miss. The dreadful directorial debut of actor David Keith, whose career behind the camera has, rather unsurprisingly, not exactly flourished, the film delivers one unintentionally hilarious scene after another. Viewers are treated to a crazed chicken attack on Zack's l'il sis Alice (Amy Wheaton), a manky mutated tomato squirting a torrent of juice over Frances's face, a mouldy cow erupting in a spray of maggots, Zack's mother melting into a pool of liquid, and a ridiculously over-the-top finalé in which Zack must rescue his younger sister from the farmhouse, which is inexplicably collapsing in on itself, while fending off attacks from his demented step-relatives (Cyrus attacks Alice, while Nathan, impaled on a pitchfork, still manages to show Zack the back of his hand a couple more times before carking it).The amazing thing is, as bad as this is, it somehow spawned a sequel (of sorts)—Curse II: The Bite, in which a guy's hand turns into a snake.6.5 out of 10 (it's too much fun to rate any lower), rounded up to 7 for IMDb.

I am 71 as I write this review, and have to admit to having an affinity for low budget sci-fi horror films since my early teens. Starting with "House of Wax" (1954), and "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" (1956), I have always been partial to stories where something strange is going on, often called the paranoid plot, and only the main character or hero believes it is not coincidence, but something dangerous or evil.This film, while just so-so in its execution and production values, fulfills the above criteria. Only Wil Wheaton and his sister Amy realize there is something wrong with the water after stuff from a meteor leaks into the ground. When people and animals begin to develop strange symptoms and behaviors, the others are either in denial or attribute it to false causes, such as punishment for sexual sins. There is a creepiness that I found riveting, despite the films many shortcomings. And the special effects, particularly during the first half, while slight, were gross and scary looking. I have always preferred "monsters" that look only a little off from normal people. The overdone collapse of the house near the end was ridiculous, and hurt the movie. Still, I enjoyed the slow buildup and, unlike many other reviewers, found the movie and the idea original and suspenseful. If you are expecting a work of art, stay away.Other Good "B" Low Budget films in this category are: "The Baby" (1973), "Population 436" (2008), Night of the Creeps (1986), "Pulse" (1988), and "Grandmother's House" (1988). I won't even try to list the bad movies in this category, since there are so many, and I can't remember the names of most of those I have seen. The 8 rating is only comparing the film to others in this category, not mainstream movies in general.

A struggling farmer believes God has blessed him when his crops begin to grow substantially after a large meteor lands in his field, dissolving into his soil and water supply after the local doc, Forbes(Cooper Huckabee), pokes a hole in it. The infected water(it's molecular structure altered by the introduced alien substance from the glowing meteor) causes people and livestock to act irrationally, soon turning violent. Hysteria, dementia, violent mood swings, and skin mutations all result from the infected water.The fruit is worthless internally despite looking ripe and healthy externally. The local realtor and city councilman, Charlie Davidson(Steve Carlisle) woos a TVA water employee, Willis(John Schneider)hoping to get a contract for building a dam in their community.Poor Zack(Wil Wheaton) has to rough it on his own once his mother, Francis(Kathleen Jordon Gregory) becomes "under the weather" and his sister(Amy, Wil's sis) is assaulted by manic chickens, as Nathan(Akins) and his antagonistic jerk son, Cyrus(Malcolm Danare), both even worse after being infected, torment him through insults and harsh treatment..you see he's not their blood(..his mother married Nathan, it seems, because they needed support he could give) which means they feel little pity or affection towards him. Nathan is a hard, strict, bible-quoting fanatic who doesn't want anyone "butting in" to matters he considers private, even if disease and death spread because of the infected water, or what's evident before him, the fact that his family are afflicted with a plague.Tolerating Claude Akins for the duration of this film proves to be difficult because he's such a loud and repugnant creature you just want to see suffer in the worst possible way for the problems he causes. And, Wheaton is certainly easy to sympathize with because he's caught between a rock and hard place, little wiggle room to remove himself as madness evolves all around him. Of course, those involved in attempting to cover up something which could prove harmful regarding future prosperity will get their just desserts. Some really spine-tingling make-up effects showing what the mutations and disease cause to humans(and particularly the fruit and cattle)such as opening wounds bursting forth maggots, slimy puss, and beetles! The climax, as the house literally begins imploding while sinking into the earth, is a bit too much. The hideous nature for which causes mother Francis to deform into a ghastly monstrosity is really potent stuff. I'm sure Akins and Danare's fate will be met with applause. I do consider The Curse a success in regards to how it can effectively make your skin crawl, but other than that, I find this rather foul in all respects. It seems to suffer post-production problems, in script particularly, as characters vanish, while others make such preposterous choices which could cause irreversible results(..not to mention a ridiculous ending which leads us to believe that nothing was done in regards to the crisis of the film, written off as no threat or danger to the communities surrounding the farm whose soil and water could cause a national outbreak).This is part of a series of films unrelated to each other.