Curtains (1983)

Purely Joyful Movie!

Pretty Good

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

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.

"Curtains" was one of the last gasps to come out of the Canadian tax shelter era. Actually, it apparently wouldn't have been had the movie not had a lot of production problems that resulted in the movie taking several years to complete. The production problems are unfortunately clear while watching the movie; there are some plot details that are not very coherent, and some scenes play out in a kind of incomprehensible manner. But I think the movie would still have been a disappointment without the production problems. It's a very slow-moving exercise; it takes almost a third of the movie to set up the situation, and there are only two murders in the movie's first hour of running time. Gorehounds will be further let down, since the level of blood in the movie is by itself only worthy of a PG rating at most. I admit the movie is not without merit. There is some style injected in here and there, the best part being the genuinely creepy ice skating scene. But these stylistic touches only add up to a few minutes of the total running time. The rest of the movie has all those aforementioned problems and a lot more. It's no surprise why the movie's director used a pseudonym.

This movie is one of the slowest and most boring slasher movies I've seen in a long time. The mask worn by the killer is shown way too much and loses its creepy factor very early on. Sadly poor "positive" reviews brought it to my attention and I gave it a watch with my girlfriend and her brother. We are all slasher fans and even enjoy the poorly made ones.This movie can not be recommended to anyone. Even fans of these types of movies, where nothing happens until the absolute end, should avoid this movie.And with the worst "hunter hunting prey" stalking scenes, you're not missing out on anything. Especially the second to last kill is the absolute worst ever. There's no surprise as to who the killer is. I mean if I had been awake I could've possibly seen it coming.A lot of negative things can be said about it, but in the end, if you enjoy watching a movie for the poor script, waiting for things to happen, an ending which makes you go "ehm okay", then this is the movie for you! :)

Samantha is a skilled and popular actress, recently escaping a mental hospital after getting stuck there by her controlling director. Now she's at a winter resort with a group of other girls, competing for the role of a psychopath named Audra. When murders occur, no one knows who it is... not even Samantha herself.Curtains is a Canadian-filmed thriller with an unsuspected twist at the end, creepy soundtrack, great acting and an original plot.The soundtrack was written by slasher composer Paul Zaza (Prom Night, My Bloody Valentine). It's an interesting and suspenseful mystery that remains intriguing from beginning to end; it's definitely worth viewing, especially if you're a slasher film fan.

Samantha Sherwood (Samantha Eggar) is a veteran actress who very much wants the title role in her director / lover Jonathan Stryker's (John Vernon) new film "Audra". So much so that she's willing to feign insanity to get herself committed to a mental institution for first hand experience. Unfortunately for her, her surroundings do seem to get to her, and Stryker gives up on her. He invites six young ladies to his remote estate to audition for the part. Well, Samantha gets wind of this, and is able to escape and get back to Strykers' pad. There's also a killer on the premises, as well, one wearing a memorably hideous old hag mask.Considering how troubled this production was, it's a miracle that it ended up being as coherent as it is, and that it's actually pretty damn entertaining. It's a solid Canadian slasher that takes full advantage of atmospheric environments; there aren't enough slashers set in the winter in this fans' humble opinion. It's rather low on gore, but *does* feature one fun severed head gag. It's got some pretty interesting moments that let us know that just racking up the body count is not the primary concern of writer Robert Guza Jr. or director Richard Ciupka (who ended up using the fictional name Jonathan Stryker as a pseudonym). The scene where Stryker puts the mask on Samantha and demands that she "seduce" him without words comes to mind. The music by Paul Zaza (composer for the original versions of "Prom Night" and "My Bloody Valentine") is very effective.The film also creates some very engaging characters such as stand-up comic and aspiring actress Patti O'Connor (lovely Lynne Griffin of the original "Black Christmas"). Vernon is fun as the pompous director and Eggar is just great in her part. Also among the auditioning thespians are Linda Thorson, Anne Ditchburn, Sandee Currie ("Terror Train"), and Lesleh Donaldson ("Happy Birthday to Me", "Cries in the Night", "Deadly Eyes"). It's also a treat to see actors Michael Wincott ("The Crow") and Maury Chaykin ("Dances with Wolves") in early roles for them.There are some mighty fine moments involving a doll left in a road, and an extended chase sequence set inside a storage space full of props and costumes, but the main thing that would give "Curtains" a reputation is the incredible ice skating set piece, which this viewer saw on TV many years ago; it burned its way into his brain long before he ever knew the name of the film.Very well directed and featuring appropriate scene transitions, this is one entry into the slasher genre that its dedicated fans *should* check out.Eight out of 10.