From the annals of Production Delay Hell comes "Cursed", which has seemed like a fitting title for this film since it was delayed and delayed and delayed some more. Originally scheduled for release in early 2004, Wes Craven scrapped all of the footage he had shot, which basically consisted of the entire film, due to what he called 'a need for rewrites'. So, the project stopped dead in its tracks. The cast were called back in – some were replaced – and they shot most of the most over completely. Then, "Cursed" was scheduled for an October 2004 release date. Nope. That date was pushed due to what Craven called a 'need for better special effects'. So, "Cursed" was pushed to February, after months and months of delays, and tons and tons of speculation as to the quality of the latest effort from the Master of Horror, Wes Craven. Some thought it was going to be an entertaining scare ride, while others had it drilled into their heads that any film with these kinds of delays must be a complete and utter waste of time. They both got it right.

      Films about werewolves do mixed business these days. There are certainly successes, as was the case with the Jack Nicholson/Michelle Pfieffer picture "Wolf". However, there are also massive failures, as with the terribly miserable "Bad Moon". Wes Craven was evidently wanting to hearken back to the days when werewolf films could be done masterfully well, as in "An American Werewolf In London", "The Howling", and "Wolfen". This was suppose to be a big achievement for the genre. However, after sitting through the film, I can say that the big achievement is that Dimension Films did not give this a direct-to-video route. I am not saying it deserved one, but this seems like the kind of film that Dimension would send to video shelves, giving Wes Craven producing credit, but giving some other poor bastard the legacy of directing accolades. I am glad they did not do this, but thank your lucky stars they did not.

      Christina Ricci and Jesse Eisenberg star as Ellie and Jimmy, a brother and sister who live together in suburban California, fending for themselves since the death of their parents. Ellie is a successful twenty-something who works at "The Late Late Show With Craig Kilborn". Jimmy is your typical loser – tacky dresser, stuttering when he talks to the prettiest girl in school, and always ridiculed for being a homosexual, when he certainly is not. Their lives change when an automobile accident on Mulholland Drive brings them face to face with a mysterious creature. They watch in horror as a young girl (Shannon Elizabeth) is ripped apart by the creature. Ellie receives a bite on her arm and Jimmy is clawed across the chest. Jimmy automatically believes the creature to have been a werewolf, but Ellie is a little more skeptical – that is, until things start happening. Jimmy gets stronger by the day, eventually taking the school bully down at wrestling try-outs; Ellie notices a heightened sense of smell and has a tense few moments with a colleague in the restroom. Everything starts falling into place. Eventually, Ellie starts noticing connections between the girls who have been killed by this mysterious animal and her current boyfriend, club owner Jake (Joshua Jackson). Judy Greer co-stars as the office bitch Joanie; Portia de Rossi as an eccentric psychic; and, Scott Baio as…you guessed it…himself. You can also catch Freddy Krueger if you pay close enough attention.

      What worked? Craven went for non-stop entertainment here. Everything comes at us so quickly, we hardly have time to compose ourselves. The humor level is higher than in any other Craven film, and some people will undoubtedly find that distracting from the horror level of the film. I would agree that it is distracting, but some of the scenes are just so amusing, I would rather be laughing than jumping. One of the most humorous scenes comes when the school bully Bo (Milo Ventimiglia) apologizes to Jimmy for being such a dick, and reveals a shocking and hilarious secret. That scene is handled nicely and it has a nice place in the film. I also liked the way in which Craven used the Rick Baker animatronic werewolf for a great deal of the film. Most directors would have stuck with CGI throughout, but Craven did the right thing. There is something about Rick Baker's creations that make them seem so life like – the wolf here is yellow eyed, snarling, and very frightening…well, until the ending. And, what great horror film would be complete without…Scott Baio? I loved his role in this film.

      What flopped? The most glaring problem with the film is the terrible – and I do mean absolutely terrible – CGI animation. When Zipper attacks Jimmy, the animations is so fake that it is comical. It looks like this dog jumped right off a video game or something, and a cheesy Atari videogame at that. For a picture like this, and with Craven's history of great horror films, he could have produced better effects than what we are given. And, the ending is a little too corny. It comes at us too fast, it could have been done without, and Shannon Elizabeth and Mya have no business acting together in any film. Yet another problem I had with the film was the script. The humor is fine. The basic storyline works. However, the twists and turns the film makes does not remind us of the Kevin Williamson we knew from films like "Scream" and "The Faculty". We know who is who and we know what is going to happen – it does not surprise us. Thank God Wes Craven uses the humor angle at the end of the film to add a little entertainment value, or it could have caused the whole film to be a major disaster from start to finish. And, finally, where was the kick ass Wes Craven soundtrack of old? I missed it.

      As for the performances, I can only imagine how pissed off most of these actors were when they had to almost completely re-shoot the entire film. We can feel some of that angst on screen, especially from Christina Ricci, who does what she can with a role that tries to give her an interesting character, but makes her predictable and helpless and utterly typical on the whole. Jesse Eisenberg was a nice surprise in this film, adding a lot of humor and wit to the role – he reminded me of a Jason Biggs or a younger Jonathan Silverman. Joshua Jackson has a lot of fun with his role, and probably took it more seriously than it should have been taken – but, it works, and we appreciate the effort. Judy Greer is over-the-top and delightful, though her sudden transformation is too sudden and not built up enough. And, finally, there are Scott Baio and Craig Kilborn – two of the wonderful celebrity cameos that make the film that much more enjoyable. The worst performance in the film would have to be Portia de Rossi, who really has no point in the film, and overacts to a spectacular degree. Wes Craven deserved better in a psychic.

      So, "Cursed" is not going to win any awards (especially in the visual effects department), and will certainly not be remembered as one of Wes Craven's best works. I think he got too worked up in making a perfect werewolf film and ended up making a sub par werewolf film. But, since its Craven doing the steering, of course it turned out watchable, for me anyways. I enjoyed catching all of the little humor angles and looking for throwbacks to classic Craven films. I also enjoyed how the feel of the film reminded me of the first time I saw "Scream" back in 1996. Craven and Williamson are a fine writing and directing team and Craven really knows how to extract more life from Williamson's words that probably even Williamson knew was there. I had fun watching "Cursed" and that is all that really matters in the scheme of things.