The Curse of Valburga

Attempting to get by in life, a group of friends looking to start a scam tourist souvenir business and head out with an eccentric group of tourists and other locals to a supposedly haunted local castle, only to find that the local superstition is true when they start to disappear one-by-one.

Overall, this one was quite an enjoyable enough offering. Among the better qualities here is the exceptionally wacky screenplay that manages to bring together this group of seemingly separate storylines into one whole story. The early scenes of the group sitting around the bar talking about how they're going to start the scam business starts this off with some sardonic laughs at their eccentric behavior while the series of utterly bonkers and bizarre tourists that are on the trip with them manage to build that whacky setup further. Combined with the bizarre work you see behind-the-scenes of the tour as they try to pull of the scares of their fake service, this first half of the film has a lot to like about it. Once this one manages to go for the overt horror scares and stalking scenes, the film picks up considerably with plenty of strong points. The first attack in the basement has a lot to like, while the attack on the group going through the porn shoot is just as striking, giving us a clear idea of what they're dealing with. That leads nicely into the big scenes here where the killer, still off-screen, begins to really take out the tour group which features plenty of slasher fun here with the attacks on the group which comes from the relentless and utterly frenetic running time that means numerous attacks and stalking encounters throughout the castle for the various members of the tour group. Since these are all accomplished with stellar practical special effects that look gruesome and realistic, the film manages to contain a lot of positive elements. That said, there are several flaws with the film that hold it back. The main issue here is the fact that the film's sudden introduction of the family alongside the killer hunting them doesn't strike any purpose. They act as though they're trying to capture the women in the group to act as broodmares for the future to ensure the family bloodline continues, but the fact that they outright kill or just severely break the victims apart before then is completely at odds to what their intent is. Even still, that's just a guess as they're brought into this so late into the running time we don't have enough time with them anyway to learn about them or their needs, and most what they accomplish while on-screen could've easily been handled by the lone killer making them redundant in the film overall. The other real issue to be had with the film is the somewhat confusing and jarring conclusion that doesn't connect to anything that's happened before simply to set up a potential sequel. These are all that hold the film down.

Rated Unrated/R: Extreme Graphic Language, Extreme Graphic Violence and drug use.