Country: CANADA
Beset
by production difficulties, the 1983 Canadian slasher flick Curtains, emerges from the early 80’s
effluent as a quite thoughtful, intelligent, and at times lyrical contribution
to the horror genre. The slasher film is the horror sub-genre that I have the
lowest regard for, so when one comes across my screen that is a little bit
different I tend towards generosity. In the case of Curtains I’m willing to overlook the myriad plot deficiencies; the only
partially developed characters, and the patchy performances, because the film
has a fairly original premise, and an offbeat tone that is most welcome. The
producer of Curtains was Peter R.
Simpson, who a few years before had scored a major commercial success with Prom Night (1980), and clearly sought to
replicate that feat. Simpson evidently knew what ingredients were required to
make a successful horror picture in a market place that was obese with
derivative product. The first time director was Robert Ciupka, a
cinematographer, who brought with him a wealth of visual artistry. Therein lies
the tragedy of Curtains, the reason
why there is a push and pull between the market and art, why the film only
partially succeeds, why the film suffers from an uneven style and a number of
structural weaknesses. It is also the reason the film, which commenced shooting
in late 1980, didn’t see the light of day until 1983. A clash of philosophies
between producer and director would ultimately be the films undoing and lead to
marginalisation, commercial failure, and for fans of horror, badly distributed
and poor quality releases.
