The Cursed

In the late 1800s, a ruthless landowner orders the killing of a Roma clan, and what follows feels like payback from the earth itself. His household and the surrounding village begin to suffer strange nightmares, animals act up, and a child is discovered dead. The baron’s son vanishes, leaving a family riven by guilt and suspicion. Townsfolk point to a wild beast, but a visiting pathologist raises the possibility of something more unnatural hiding in the woods, something tied to the violence that set the whole thing in motion.

Directed by Sean Ellis and released in 2021, the film stars Boyd Holbrook as John McBride, Kelly Reilly as Isabelle Laurent, with Alistair Petrie, Roxane Duran, and Nigel Betts in key roles. Ellis uses period detail and a muted palette to create a gothic, rural atmosphere that supports the story’s grim tone.

The movie saw a limited theatrical window and modest box office returns, with most attention coming from horror festivals and streaming platforms rather than mainstream multiplexes. Its commercial performance was fairly restrained compared with larger studio releases.

Among horror fans and critics the movie prompted conversation about its mood and imagery, especially scenes of rural menace and the forest as a living threat. People noted its attempt to blend social wrongdoing with supernatural punishment, and it turned up in discussions about modern takes on folk horror and period supernatural dramas.

Critics gave mixed to positive reviews, reflected in an average user score around the mid sixes. Reviewers commonly praised the film’s visuals and the lead performances while pointing out a slow pace and familiar genre beats. Thematically the film addresses violence against marginalized groups, guilt within a community, and how myth and superstition can both explain and obscure atrocity.