I seem to be in the minority again around here, but I honestly think "Cathy's Curse" isn't nearly as hopeless as every other reviewer on this site claims it is. Of course, if you can't stand horror movies that were shot on a shoestring budget with amateurish people in front as well as behind the camera, this isn't the movie for you. But in case you're looking for an obscure gem that provides a couple of simple scares and/or an effectively sinister atmosphere, you might end up really liking this little known Canadian horror effort. The story is extremely UN-original and most of the occurring events don't make the slightest bit of sense, yet strangely enough this movie is almost CONSTANTLY creepy and full of mild shocks. With a slightly more intelligent screenplay and proper financial support, I'm convinced that "Cathy's Curse" could have been a truly great movie, actually. George's father and sister died in a terrible car-accident when he was just a child, caused by the sudden decision of his mother to leave her husband. Years later, when he has a wife and child of his own, George returns to the family mansion to make it their home. His daughter Cathy occupies the room of her deceased aunt and, after discovering an old hideous doll, she becomes possessed with her restless spirit. People (and dogs) that approach the house die in mysterious ways and Cathy's disturbing behavior drives her mother into the nut house. The creepy atmosphere of this film totally relies on some macabre pieces of scenery, like the freaky doll and an old portrait with gloomy eyes, and some genuinely odd sequences, like the one where blood streams from the tap or giant spiders crawl up an old man's sleeve. Unfortunately and as mentioned above, the script is really unoriginal and borrows obvious elements from the three biggest horror classics of the 70's decade, namely "The Exorcist", "The Omen" and "Carrie". The dead girl's unstoppable urge to kill, inflicted on little Cathy, never gets properly explained, as are many smaller aspects of the story. The climax is sadly disappointing and I think I even could have come up with a better open ending myself. The acting's pretty terrible. Especially the adult performers suck badly while the child actresses are still somewhat decent. The picture quality and editing are almost unbearably poor and don't go looking for stylish cinematography here, neither. By listing all the bad elements here, I'm even beginning to wonder how it impressed me in the first place? Um, it's CREEPY and HAUNTING, let's just keep it at that.
Review of Cathy's Curse
