Curtains
Director: Richard Ciupka
Writer: Robert Guza, Jr.
Starring: John Vernon and Samantha Eggar
Body Count: 8
Review: By the early 1980s, people were already looking for ways to take the slasher genre out of the American high schools and colleges and to a more "mature" level. Curtains has to be one of the better attempts at making an "adult" slasher movie (namely, a slasher flick that doesn't involve any teens whatsoever and has some pretty grown-up themes).
Curtains is the story of Jon Stryker, a super-controlling movie director looking to cast the lead part in his next film. His leading lading from previous movies (Edgar) is so determined to get into the role, she has Stryker commit her to a mental hospital. He then strands her there, holding his own weekend private casting call at a secluded mansion, where all hell soon breaks loose. A killer stalks the potential starlets, knocking them off one by one, until the slayer's identity is revealed.
As I said, this a pretty good attempt at tackling some pretty heavy issues within the thin confines of the slasher genre. There's plenty of sex-related strife (but this time of the adult nature, rather than the teenager kind). There's also a whole lot of mindplay going on between the characters. This is one of the film's strong points, but not necessarily one that will appeal to all slasher fans. The movie doesn't really have any stand-out death scenes, and the characters can be hard to tell apart at times. Still, the movie does a good job of keeping you guessing who the killer is, even up until the moment of the revelation. Said revelation isn't really all that spectacular, but suitable nonetheless.
They never made a Curtains 2, and that's probably the way it should be. The flick doesn't have the longevity of a franchise, but it's not bad if you're looking for a little bit of variety in your slasher diet.
