The Curse of Downers Grove Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		2.5

The Curse of Downers Grove Blu-ray Movie Review

The curse of shoddy storytelling.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman September 2, 2015

Shades of Scream run through The Curse of Downer's Grove, a surprisingly dull take on teen angst, rape, and revenge from a screenplay penned by none other than Bret Easton Ellis (and based on a book by Michael Hornburg), the man behind the phenomenal American Psycho. While there's a more dominant Scream vibe to the film -- small town high school, murder, mayhem, romantic entanglements -- one cannot help but notice similarities to Easton's own Psycho as well considering the deeper psychological drama and more intimate character studies this film explores, though to rather poor end effect. Unfortunately, Downer's Grove shares neither the upbeat thrills of Scream nor the complexity of American Psycho, playing out instead like an amateurish, uh, stab at taking a couple of successful formulas and mixing them into a single, low budget film.

Curses aren't real...are they?

The small town of Downers Grove is like any other, save for a supposed curse that hangs over the high school. Every year, without fail, a graduating senior dies only days before the end of school. It's not the work of a serial killer or anything of the sort but instead just a string of tragedies that happens to befall the same school around the same time, every year, like clockwork. This year's seniors seem to be taking it all in stride. Chrissy (Bella Heathcote) is skeptical of the whole thing, but when an attempted rape at the hands of a college boy named Chuck (Kevin Zegers) takes her down a frightening and violent path, she may have no choice but to learn firsthand whether the curse is real or not.

The Curse of Downers Grove gets more wrong than right. The characters are soulless entities who, beyond Chrissy, do nothing other than play a largely transparent role in the movie, though what role that is beyond a few key actions seems dubious at best as the development suffers from the film's aimless journey. Yet even the film's lead never plays as a truly complex character, failing to capture the imagination with what efforts to be a soulful exploration of humanity through the prism of foreboding tragedy and very real pain she suffers throughout the film. Through her, the film nobly efforts to find a voice, but it never has much of anything of value to say. The movie is further somewhat random, always seeming to run in different directions, as if there was never any consensus about where the film was headed and, more importantly, what it wanted to say when it got there. There are shades of the supernatural but also angst and hormonal overload that seems only amplified by the lingering threat of the curse, not caused by the curse The result is a slow movie that meanders and lacks dramatic cohesion, even as it finally aims true in the final act in an effort to tidy up an otherwise lackluster lead-up.

On the flip side, there is a nice sense of mystery apparent throughout the movie as it pertains to the curse's legitimacy. Is it just an urban legend, a seriously demented case of coincidence, kids being kids and ending up dead for their lack of thoughtfulness, or is there just something in the water (the movie prominently features the town's water reservoir a few times)? Chrissy has long since been haunted by visions of her death at the hands of Native Americans, the people to whom the town's land once belonged. But the dreamlike quality of the visions and the rather nonchalant way the movie works them into the story leaves it feeling more like a supernatural one-off rather than legitimate observation and answer to the curse question (the film does emphasize it again with a post-credits regurgitation scene; stay tuned). The acting isn't bad, either, with Kevin Zegers, who impressed in The Entitled, also impressing here as a character who is not particularly well drawn but whom Zegers manages to give a sinister front that clashes with a deeper vulnerability around his abusive father, played by Tom Arnold. Bella Heathcote is good as Chrissy, her performance limited by a flimsily built character but giving it a solid enough go in the lead role.

The Curse of Downers Grove Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Curse of Downers Grove's 1080p transfer is a strong one, but it's not without its flaws. On the plus side is a razor-sharp image, generally, with only some background details like suburban foliage and distant houses looking a little smeary around the edges. Front-and-center, however, the transfer reveals deeply textured faces, clothes, and support accents with ease. Faces are particularly robust, while clothing and bandages are likewise complex. Colors are vibrant yet natural, with brightly lit locations certainly the most balanced but lower light scenes also showcasing a positive color scheme. Black levels are attractively deep and flesh tones appear natural. The image does suffer from some minor banding, aliasing, noise, and edge halos, though none occur to any seriously distracting level. Overall, however, this is a good all-around transfer from Anchor Bay.

The Curse of Downers Grove Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Curse of Downers Grove features a good, but basic, Dolby TrueHD 5.1 lossless soundtrack. The film's sound design is but moderately robust, favoring dialogue and intimate ambience over heavy-hitting details. Deep bass at a house party and several gun blasts are authoritatively deep, but the track is otherwise a bit more reserved. Minor atmospherics help immerse the audience in locations like a diner and a mechanic's shop. Light music spreads evenly across the front and enjoys nice definition but not much in the way of surround support. Basic dialogue is the staple element here and it's delivered with healthy front-middle placement and effortless clarity.

The Curse of Downers Grove Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The Curse of Downers Grove contains only one supplement. Behind the Scenes of 'The Curse of Downer's Grove' (1080i, 4:34) offers only a string of behind-the-scenes footage from the shoot.

The Curse of Downers Grove Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Curse of Downers Grove never finds an identity. The film explores several elements and feels more like a mash-up of the supernatural, teenage violence, and revenge with a promise of Horror that never shows up. The film never gets off the ground as a character study, either. It feels more like a random snapshot in a moment of time that's defined by several crazy events that lead down a fairly dark and twisted road of violence that may be orchestrated by some higher power, or not. There's an interesting foundation here, but the execution leaves much to be desired. Anchor Bay's Blu-ray release of The Curse of Downers Grove delivers satisfying video and audio. One short extra is included. Rent it.