Blood Curse (2006)

Excellent, a Must See

An action-packed slog

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

A biology professor, his wife, their three kids and their grandson reaches a small village, totally lost in time in the middle of Portugal, with a few old inhabitants, like there are so many in Portugal. The village people take their myths, ancient legends and folklore very serious, but the couple are skeptical (especially the husband), highly intellectual and with very scientific thoughts and ideas, and they are no prepared at all to what they are going to face. That's when strange things begin to happen... It is an horror/mystery/suspense/spiritual movie, but the horror is only psychological, and all the fear that you can feel during the movie comes from your perception and understanding of the story, and not from what you are eyes are watching. There is Death, and there is Rape, but you don't see those images, you just know it happened, and the story goes on, in a crescendo throughout the movie, until it reaches the final climax. This suits perfectly... if there were some physical violence or gore, the movie would loose its personality. The story follow its line from the beginning until the end. growing up in fear... Really, I don't remember ever seeing something like this! The stories are all based on the Portuguese myths and folklore, not on some external influences. There are beautiful landscapes, an old Portuguese village which suits as a perfect background for an horror movie, very well written script, good performances of the characters, good directing, perfect soundtrack. And there is a strong feeling throughout all the movie... this is really a masterpiece, made with the usual financial difficulties of the Portuguese cinema. But this one came out to see the light of the day, and it is the best ever made in Portugal, and one of the best I've ever seen in the genre in all cinema history. If you are just into "American Horror Blockbusters", full of special effects, screams, blood and gore, and physical violence, this is probably not your movie.

This movie had so much potential... I really don't know what to say, because on the first minutes I was so captivated, I thought that this was it!: Portuguese cinema took a giant leap, and who could have guessed, on the suspense/horror/supernatural genre! The photography was top notch I'd say, and the sound, the acting... all these technical elements brought to life a simply Portuguese rural town with a creepy, eerie atmosphere. Still, it seems that the people behind this project didn't go beyond that! The story seems interesting enough in the first minutes, but then it just keeps dragging on! No real scary scenes at all! And the ending? It was predictable (sorry, it was! Everything pointed out to that one character I won't mention here), and it just didn't justify the time wasted on the movie.Overall: technically good, but too dull and dead to even recommend someone to see it. I'm really sad, because I'm still waiting for the big jump of the Portuguese cinema... and this one was not it.Next time, try to focus more on the story.

Plot is about biology professor Xavier Oliveira Monteiro (played by Adriano Luz think a Portuguese Kevin Spacey) who takes his family back to the village and home his ancestors are from. Only its not the lovely picturesque area it seems on the surface, there's a lot of old folk tales the locals are only more than happy to share with the Monteiro family. To prove himself right and the locals wrong Xavier and wife Helena agree to take part in a séance that ends in terror when a part of his childhood is brought up no one alive could possibly have known. This all happens at a point the oldest son returns home from studying, who as some kind of incestious hold on his sister who's got a baby child of her own to an unknown father. The films true beauty is that it lets the viewer fill in the gaps themself something which may be off putting to people who can't accept ambiguity in what they view.First horror/supernatural/psychological/spiritual (call it what you want hehe even its genre is ambiguous) film I've seen in ages I've been totally captivated in. Everything works well, the music mostly light almost indie guitar based rolls along perfectly with the beautiful yet washed out look of the locations, just the way it blends with the fog rolling along a field or dust blowing during one of the period funerals.A much deserved 9/10 from me, if I had to give a flaw it would be it was a little slow to get going but so hope Frederico Serra & Tiago Guedes choose to do more creepy films and not switch genres. Also if Portuguese cinema is this good, please distributors start subbing and releasing it so the rest of the world can see it.

This movie is one of the best movies in the "horror/mystery" category I've ever seen... In a small village, lost in the middle of Portugal, some myths and beliefs still subsists, although the progress registered in towns. People still think that the Devil is guilty for a lot of things and still believe that some of the dead haven't really left us. It is in this environment of fear and suspicious, that a Lisbon family arrives. A biology professor, with his wife, his three kids and his grandson (his daughter is a single mother), with very intellectual ideas and scientific thoughts that are no prepared at all to what they are going to face. That's when strange things begin to happen... I really enjoyed this movie! It has good performances, a very good cinematography and sound, and a very well written script. It grows up until it reaches a climax and does not fall into a gore movie or a stupid explanation. It has good characters, a good story and a good directing. And yes, it gives some chills...