Curtains (1983)

May 21, 2024 11:16 AM

[TRAILER] Entering an asylum to prepare for a movie role, a young woman is double-crossed and left behind by her director. With six new starlets auditioning for her role at a remote mansion, a masked murderer seeks revenge. This film (and its infamous "hag") are referenced extensively in Stephen Graham Jones' novel Don't Fear the Reaper.

Starring Samantha Eggar, John Vernon, Linda Thorson, Anne Ditchburn, Lynne Griffin, Sandee Currie, Lesleh Donaldson, Deborah Burgess, Michael Wincott, Maury Chaykin, Joann McIntyre, Calvin Butler, Kate Lynch, Booth Savage, William Marshall, James Kidnie, Daisy White, Shannon Tweed.

Directed by Richard Ciupka^*. Written by Robert Guza Jr. Produced by Peter R. Simpson for Simcom Limited. Cinematography by Robert Paynter. Edited by Michael MacLaverty, with uncredited work by Henry Richardson. Music by Paul Zaza. Distributed by Jensen Farley Pictures.

63% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.

Multiple free options are currently available streaming in the US. JustWatch listing.

^*Ciupka, who only directed approximately 45 minutes of extant footage, is credited on the film as "Jonathan Stryker", the name of the character portrayed in it by John Vernon. Producer Peter R. Simpson served as an uncredited director on the project.

posted by DirtyOldTown (7 comments total)

Okay, but this scene, though.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 11:26 AM on May 21

For a long time this film was one of the lost classics of Canuxploitation (this entry needs that tag). A hassle to find on the long out of print poor picture quality VHS and largely relegated to the very rare showings on very late night TV on independent Canadian channels (how many horror fans watched this like me on City TV in the late 80s?) A snowy giallo, as Dave Alexander calls it in his Canuxploitation review, twisty and theatrical with bizarre set pieces that to me recall Michele Soavi and other later period Italian genre auteurs (not as good obviously - it is a tax shelter film after all).

Probably worth mentioning that Paul Zaza also did the music for other classic Canuxploitation films - Prom Night 1 & 3 , Ghostkeeper, Porky's, and the other Canadian giallo American Nightmare, My Bloody Valentine (the original and one of classic pieces of 80s Canadian cinema) and many more Canadian productions. Richard Ciupka was largely known as a cinematographer (he shot cult films like Ilsa the Tigress of Siberia and Mystery of the Million Dollar Hockey Puck) and producer Peter R. Simpson was a colourful character in the Film & TV industry in Canada and, despite producing cheap horror films, a bit of a notorious figure as he involved himself in conservative politics and a Mulroney era scandal.
posted by Ashwagandha at 12:03 PM on May 21 [3 favorites]

Okay, but this scene, though.

One of the best scenes in the movie.
posted by Ashwagandha at 12:05 PM on May 21

FWIW, in SGJ's Don't Fear the Reaper, there is a character who turns out to be a surprisingly deep-seated horror nerd, even going to the extent of donning a hag mask and swishing across a frozen lake with a sycthe, strictly for the lulz.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 1:15 PM on May 21 [1 favorite]

I don't know the book but that's a horror deep dive for sure. I support that.
posted by Ashwagandha at 7:09 PM on May 21

In addition to being a NYT best-selling writer and an advocate for Native American voices, Stephen Graham Jones is also a certified, god tier horror true believer who writes columns for Fangoria and does extended explainer videos on topics like the thematic underpinnings of werewolves.

He's so great it's almost hard to believe. I saw him speak last year and he had a t-shirt for John Carpenter's The Babysitter Murders (the original title of Halloween).
posted by DirtyOldTown at 6:07 AM on May 22 [2 favorites]

I don't read a lot of horror literature but that sounds great, I will check him out.
posted by Ashwagandha at 6:27 PM on May 22