Curtains (1983)

Released by: Vestron Video
Release date: Unknown
Rating:
Running time: 90 mins
Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
Format: VHS, NTSC
MSRP: Out of print.


Curtains is one of the few Canadian 80's slashers to have graced the silver screen. Other such films in the Canadian slasher canon include Black Christmas and Rituals, among others. I recently snagged a copy of Curtains off ebay, as Curtains has yet to see the light of day on DVD. It's been a good 10 years since DVDs first hit the market, and there are still a ton of forgotten and hard-to-find titles that we'd all yet love to see on DVD officially. And I know a lot of horror fans have been waiting paitently for Curtains. I'd heard a lot about the movie off of various forums and decided to give it a spin, since I'm both a fan of horror and a Canadian, so I had to see what all the good word was about.

Curtains is story of six girls who are auditioning for the part of Audra, the title role in famed director Jonathan Stryker's next picture. One of the women was originally guaranteed the role after she spent a stint in a mental institution to get into character but Mr. Stryker just left her there and decided to invite six more women to try out for the part. Jonathan invites the ladies to his home in the country for a couple days, creating a group audition over the span of the days to find out who will be perfect for the role. It's not going to be easy, since the ladies will be duking it out with each other, and also try to escape a mysterious killer in a mask who is knocking off the competition one at a time. Who will survive the audition? Who's the killer in the mask? And whom will the curtain finally fall upon?

Well, after finally watching Curtains, I can say I was disappointed. The movie wasn't as good as I had heard and I found it to be slow at times and the twist ending I could see a mile away. The acting wasn't spectacular and there's not a whole lot of slasher violence to make it a true slasher. If you're curious, check it out. If you want to add it to your collection to complete you slashers section, go ahead. But personally, I'd say avoid this one. Watch Black Christmas again instead.

MOVIE: 2 out of 5.