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Cast: Kevin Zegers, Tom Arnold, Lucas Till, Bella Heathcote, Penelope Mitchell
In suburban Downers Grove, Illinois, people call it ‘The Curse’: Before the end of every school year, one high school senior will die in a gruesome accident. And with only one week left, Chrissie Swanson can’t shake the fear that she might be next. Can Chrissie survive the curse of Downers Grove or will she, like those seniors before her, fall prey to the town's deadly secret?
The film claims to be inspired by true events but I had a real problem with the synopsis and the hype behind it. The film starts off the way I figured it might but at some point it makes a 180 degree turn and goes from being what the synopsis promises which is a horror film to a rape/revenge/thriller with no sign of horror in it.
I was expecting something similar to "Final Destination" or at least a little similar bu after we see a boy the year before accidentally fall off a water tower to his death and the chatter about the curse before the upcoming graduation the film turns into a plain old thriller. Now if the advertising were different and we knew what we were getting it would have been a little above average thriller but considering how disappointed people are going to be like I was I can only rate it as a below average thriller instead and I am giving it way only because of the acting in the film which was very good.
The film has a number of familiar faces in it including, Bella Heathcote (Dark Shadows, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies), Lucas Till (X-Men franchise, Walk The Line), Penelope Mitchell (Hemlock Grove, “The Vampire Diaries”), with Tom Arnold (True Lies, Soul Plane) and Kevin Zegers (The Mortal Instruments, “Gossip Girl”). They all give very good performances and the supporting cast was all good as well. The production values were good as well and there was a few twists in the story, some good action and suspense and the effects were good but it is hard t back a film that isn't upfront about what it is about.
"The Curse of Downer's Grove" was one of the September titles I was looking forward to the most but it was really a let down. Available on DVD and Blu-ray with Special Features that include:
Behind The Scenes
You can order the Blu-ray HERE and the DVD HERE.
I am not going to tell everyone not to get this movie but I would suggest renting it first to find out if you like it enough to buy it since it is not going to be the movie you expect it to be.
Released by Anchor Bay Entertainment
** 1/4 Out Of *****