Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		5.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

Cursed Films: Season One Blu-ray Movie Review

Unsolved Mysteries? Probably not.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III August 18, 2020

Jay Cheel's ongoing documentary series Cursed Films investigates myths, legends, and facts surrounding Hollywood movies that endured unusual or unexplained deaths, injuries, or other phenomena before, during, or after production. This short first season tackles five of the most obvious candidates: Poltergeist, The Omen, The Exorcist, The Crow, and Twilight Zone: The Movie (specifically, the John Landis-directed segment "Time Out"), with each one featuring key crew members, fans, and other personalities who argue for or against the possibility of dark forces being responsible for the tragedies. (Luckily, the latter group usually wins out.) It's a thoughtful strategy for what could have been a tasteless venture into exploitation or a quest to flatly debunk everything and, though it's easy to tell where the filmmaker's own beliefs lie, this mostly objective and balanced approach makes for an extremely compelling end result.

Interviews with key cast and crew members carry most of the narrative weight here, as they share behind-the-scenes stories that shed a mixture of new and familiar light on specific events from a first-hand perspective. The infamous "Poltergeist curse" that resulted in the untimely death of actors Dominique Dunne and Heather O'Rourke, the accidental on-set shooting of Brandon Lee, and the horrific helicopter crash that killed actor Vic Morrow and two Vietamese child actors Myca Dinh Le and Renee Shin-Yi Chen -- these are the "main attractions", for lack of a better word, and they're handled with care and balance. The episodes focusing on The Omen and The Exorcist make broader and more vague supernatural claims that are, in both cases, a little frustrating if you're a committed skeptic like myself.

Featured participants include director Gary Sherman (Poltergeist III, whose unsatisfying final scene was hastily tacked on following Heather O'Rourke's death), producer Mace Neufelf and director Richard Donner (The Omen), production designer Richard Sawyer (Twilight Zone: The Movie), actors Linda Blair and Eileen Dietz (The Exorcist) director Alex Proyas (The Crow), and even actor Michael Berryman (also from The Crow), whose character "Skull Cowboy" was eventually cut due to the complications that arose from Brandon Lee's death before production wrapped. A number of third-party participants are also on hand to broaden the conversation, often playing devil's advocate by suggesting that darker forces might be at work: these include several religious professors, a black magic practitioner, a male witch and, in one of Cursed Films' most unexpectedly awkward moments, an actual exorcist who performs a ritual on two willing subjects and is paid handsomely for his time. Although their arguments are far from persuasive if you're not already on their side, I appreciate their opinions and, if nothing else, they at least raise a few interesting questions about the nature of horror films and what our brains are often conditioned to accept and reject at face value.

One thing that should not be taken at face value is Cursed Films' name and tagline, as anyone coming in blind might assume this to be something it isn't. In no way does this series genuinely endorse the (ridiculous) notion that curses are real, even if it does entertain certain stories that have no clear and easy answers. It's a fine foundation that makes this short season absolutely breeze by and, with a second season formally announced last month, I'm looking forward to see what else will be unearthed. For now, all five Season One episodes are presented in their original production order on a single Blu-ray. Aside from a terrific A/V presentation, the added bonus of five full-length audio commentaries by creator Jay Cheel elevates this release to something that might take more than a night to dig through.

Cursed Films: Season One Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an extra-wide 2.39:1 aspect ratio, Cursed Films looks fantastic on Blu-ray thanks to a very crisp and stable 1080p transfer that plays to the show's cinematic strengths. Recent interviews are carefully lit and staged to create a terrific atmosphere, even if the framing leaves more room for the backgrounds. As for the film clips, they're understandably taken from a variety of sources that are often at or near each film's most up-to-date home video release. Behind-the-scenes footage, vintage TV interview clips, and other odds and ends all run the gamut from "rabbit ears quality" to material that's in remarkably good shape, with the added handicap that some of this material is quite rare and has likely never been seen in better condition. Still photos are uniformly crisp with great image detail and, like the interview clips, often feature graphics or text for clarity's sake. All the while, almost everything is presented in its original aspect ratio -- all too often, documentaries framed at 16x9 or wider are content with butchering old footage to fill the screen, which often cuts off important details or exacerbates existing source material limitations. Cursed Films successfully dodges that pitfall almost every step of the way, which is just another feather in the cap of this Blu-ray: the only real problems here are unavoidable, and the best stuff looks exceptionally good.

Cursed Films: Season One Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

As expected, the DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio mix is largely front-loaded but takes more than a few opportunities to sweeten the atmosphere with subtle effects and other little touches. Channel separation is strong during film clips with some venturing into the rear channels, although I did not evaluate each film in comparison to any stand-alone home video counterparts. Like the visuals, the only obvious defects here are entirely source related -- a 30-year-old news broadcast or vintage behind-the-scenes snippet just isn't going to sound as good as a big-budget Hollywood production or newly-recorded interviews. Simply put, it's a mostly straightforward audio mix that has a little fun at times, but mainly just gets the job done by maintaining a relatively consistent level of sonic clarity from start to finish.

Optional subtitles, including English (SDH) as well as Spanish and French, are included during all five episodes; these are formatted perfectly and fit snugly within the 2.39:1 frame with no apparent sync issues.

Cursed Films: Season One Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This one-disc release arrives in a standard keepcase with attractive cover art and a promotional insert.

• Audio Commentaries - All five episodes feature a full-length commentary track with Jay Cheel, who wrote, directed, and edited each one. These are extremely candid and enjoyable sessions that add a nice layer of detail to the proceedings -- sort of a second peek behind the curtain, if you will. Topics of interest include shooting locations and famous landmarks, favorite guests, the goal of the series, his childhood passion for horror films, skepticism vs. superstition, memories of his late father, Season 2 candidates, and much more.

Cursed Films: Season One Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Jay Cheel's Cursed Films is an enjoyable new documentary series that has recently been renewed for a second season. Although I was a little unsure that the film's seemingly "clickbait" premise might have ventured into tasteless territory, it's handled with care and takes a balanced approach that should appeal to more than just those on one side of the fence. Although it will likely mean more to die-hard fans of the spotlighted films, casual or new viewers may also be intrigued by the subject matter and shouldn't have much trouble following along. Image Entertainment's Blu-ray is a small but satisfying package, serving up an outstanding A/V presentation and five episode-length audio commentaries that give it added value. It's currently priced to move and comes firmly recommended as a blind buy.