30 September Slashers: Day 11 – CURTAINS

It is truly hard to believe that in a day and age when almost every piece of film is available at the click of a mouse, that there are classic slasher and non slasher films still not available on even dvd.  Films such as Predator are seeing their second Blu Ray release and Santa Sangre(which was considered one of Roger Ebert’s top ten films the year it was released) has yet to see any release past VHS.  Recently long unreleased classes such as Monster Squad and Night of the Creeps have seen dvd release and have helped revitalize director Fred Dekker’s career, however other titles still wait to get even an announcement of a retail date.  This week on 30 September Slashers I would like to feature 6 films that not found on dvd.  The first title is a 1983 Canadian film called Curtains. Enjoy.

Day 11: Dying to Play the Part….Curtains

The plot sees actress Samantha Sherwood and director Jonathan Stryker(as played by famous actor John Vernon) admitting her as a patient in a mental hospital in order to prepare for a role in a film.  While in the hospital it not only becomes apparent that she is beginning to lose her grip on reality but also, that Stryker has no intention of getting her out.  She soon escapes from the hospital only to find out that the director is getting ready to have a casting session with 5 hopeful actresses for the very part that she was sent to the hospital for.  She soon goes to where the auditions will be held, a secluded mansion in the mountains.  While there, the director and actresses become snowed in and the young ladies slowly but surely begin getting killed off one by one by a killer who is wearing an old witch mask and uses a sickle to kill their victims.

I liked this film, I really did but not really as a slasher.  The most enjoyable parts come from the mystery portion of the story and not from the kills/killer itself. The revelation doesn’t come until the very end and I did not see it coming at all.  The scenes in the mental institution and of the deteriorating mental stability of the actress were fantastic. The kills are typically done off screen and offer almost no blood and with the exception of a head in a toilet, no gore.  The killer itself lacked a menacing quality and rarely ever was there suspense.  The two key exceptions were an ice skating scene and another scene in which an actress is being stalked in a back stage area.  The cinematography was fantastic and a cut above most other slasher films.

The VHS of this film is long out of print and I have heard no news as to a DVD release.  While I don’t think that a release of this film would spawn a revival to the likes of Monster Squad, I do think that it is a worthwhile watch and it is a shame that it has yet to see a release.  Tomorrow, we will continue with the unreleased film theme as we take a look at Honeymoon Horror.