The Curse : extended ending
Re: extended ending
Yes, it's an altered version of the film - same as the DVD double-feature.
I still have my old big-box ex-rental VHS tape of "The Curse" Originally, the film opened with the aerial shots of the farm, and the ending was the guy vainly tying to warn people that "It's in the water."
The DVD version moved the final scene to the beginning of the film, making it into a kind of prologue and adding a "six months earlier" subtitle just before you go into what was the original opening.
It then added that new ending, with the guy in hospital - covered in bandages in a laughably bad attempt to cover up the fact that this was added footage and they didn't have the same actor anymore.
The original version of the film was much stronger, I thought - starting with "normality" and letting the audience progressively realise what was happening alongside the characters instead of a blunt reveal in advance, rendering the first half-hour or so of the film an exercise in waiting for the characters to catch up with what we've already been told. And the original ending provided your classic Bodysnatchers-style "Oh no, it's everywhere!" revelation just before the credits rolled. Much more satisfying.
I have no idea what the reasoning was behind the alteration and tacked-on "new" ending scene - who did it, or where it came from - but if I had to guess then I'd say it was probably done for TV, to provide an "in" for some direct-to-TV sequel that never happened.
As you will know, the film that is called "Curse 2" is a completely unrelated film, given that name in a cynical attempt to con a few more suckers into renting it based on awareness of the moderately-successful original. Something that used to happen quite often back in the 80s/90s before we had the internet to check the facts :)
I still have my old big-box ex-rental VHS tape of "The Curse" Originally, the film opened with the aerial shots of the farm, and the ending was the guy vainly tying to warn people that "It's in the water."
The DVD version moved the final scene to the beginning of the film, making it into a kind of prologue and adding a "six months earlier" subtitle just before you go into what was the original opening.
It then added that new ending, with the guy in hospital - covered in bandages in a laughably bad attempt to cover up the fact that this was added footage and they didn't have the same actor anymore.
The original version of the film was much stronger, I thought - starting with "normality" and letting the audience progressively realise what was happening alongside the characters instead of a blunt reveal in advance, rendering the first half-hour or so of the film an exercise in waiting for the characters to catch up with what we've already been told. And the original ending provided your classic Bodysnatchers-style "Oh no, it's everywhere!" revelation just before the credits rolled. Much more satisfying.
I have no idea what the reasoning was behind the alteration and tacked-on "new" ending scene - who did it, or where it came from - but if I had to guess then I'd say it was probably done for TV, to provide an "in" for some direct-to-TV sequel that never happened.
As you will know, the film that is called "Curse 2" is a completely unrelated film, given that name in a cynical attempt to con a few more suckers into renting it based on awareness of the moderately-successful original. Something that used to happen quite often back in the 80s/90s before we had the internet to check the facts :)
Re: extended ending
i watched the version with the guy warning people at the beginning. i love the ground moving about at the end. my gosh that looks realistic. it really looks like the ground is coming apart. didnt you love that?
what do you mean laughably bad attempt to cover up the fact that this was added footage? i couldnt' really recognize john schneider in the bandages at the end. so that was weird.
who did it was david keith. by the way is that the same david keith who is drew barrymore's dad in firestarter?
lukejbarnett
what do you mean laughably bad attempt to cover up the fact that this was added footage? i couldnt' really recognize john schneider in the bandages at the end. so that was weird.
who did it was david keith. by the way is that the same david keith who is drew barrymore's dad in firestarter?
lukejbarnett
Re: extended ending
Mentioned these changes on another site, and someone there said the version on Blu-ray / DVD (altered beginning and ending) is the way the film was always shown in America. I can't verify that, because I'm not American.
The version I'm familiar with is the UK rental VHS from the late 1980s.
I suspect the UK release is the film's original cut, because that extended ending is clearly a re-shoot - as evidenced by the lame attempt to mask (literally!) the fact that the actor wasn't available anymore.
IMHO the UK version I'm familiar with works a lot better, structurally, with what is now the opening scene as the ending, and without that tacky "new" ending grafted on.
The version I'm familiar with is the UK rental VHS from the late 1980s.
I suspect the UK release is the film's original cut, because that extended ending is clearly a re-shoot - as evidenced by the lame attempt to mask (literally!) the fact that the actor wasn't available anymore.
IMHO the UK version I'm familiar with works a lot better, structurally, with what is now the opening scene as the ending, and without that tacky "new" ending grafted on.
extended ending