The Curse of Sleeping Beauty

I was more than intrigued by this take on Sleeping Beauty, and it showed a lot of promise. It wasn't fancy or big budget, and the acting had some not-so-great moments, but I still highly enjoyed it. Until the end. It doesn't end, it just stops. It sets up for a sequel, but you can do that without having such an unsatisfying ending. And if no sequel is planned that makes it even worse. There is no resolution, no conclusion...it just stops. And leaves you angry. I liked it otherwise, but I just can't get past the end.

"The Curse of Sleeping Beauty" is a strange fantasy-horror film with an intriguing and promising beginning. The mystery is increased with the confused screenplay and holds the attention of the viewer. The beauty of India Eisley is perfect for the role of the Sleeping Beauty and another attraction. Out of the blue, the mystery is solved, evil is unleashed and the movie ends. Actually the movie stops without an ending. Maybe the intention of the writer would be a cliffhanger for a sequel, but unfortunately the film does not have an ending certainly disappointing the viewer that might be enjoying the story. Why didn´t Thomas uncle explain the whole situation of the curse of his family and the secrets of the mansion in the letter he left to his nephew? My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "A Maldição da Bela Adormecida" ("The Curse of Sleeping Beauty")

Okay let me level with you - this movie caters to a particular taste and style of film for certain people. If you're expecting Harry Potter then no, it's not for you. If you're expecting a gory gritty horror movie, no not for you. If you like "Beautiful Creatures"or "Pan's Labrinth" this IS for you and I suggest you give it a shot. There is a scene in the end that haunts me still, the costume and makeup was OUTSTANDING! I really must give props. And Gregory Peck's grandson reminds you of him the whole time - looks like him, sounds like him, and he was a good actor. The Director had a great sense of humor or perhaps the screenwriter as the dialogue was well written and there was some natural laughs. I liked the mystery of it - it really was a mystery. The ending is messed up but not predictable and reminds you that you signed up for a horror movie so that's what you're getting.

There was a great idea for 'The Curse of Sleeping Beauty', one of the more intriguing ones for a less-than-high-budget film, and there was a good, or at least halfway decent, film in it somewhere that had great potential to come out and should have done.

Which is why it is so frustrating and such a big shame that 'The Curse of Sleeping Beauty' was so disjointed and uneven, as someone who was really rooting for the film to work. Do have to agree with the general consensus that 'The Curse of Sleeping Beauty' started off well and promisingly, was really thinking that it would be surprisingly good, but fell apart completely in the second half and kept getting worse. There are definitely far worse wastes of potential and good concepts, but 'The Curse of Sleeping Beauty' was definitely a definition of a waste of potential and a waste of a great idea.

It, as aforementioned, starts off well. Throughout the production values generally were atmospherically Gothic and nicely shot with eerie make-up. The music also has a haunting eeriness that doesn't feel intrusive, one-note or repetitive. Mostly the acting was better than average, having seen some very bad to terrible acting in modest to low budget films recently so that was refreshing.

Atmosphere generated is genuinely creepy, wonderful mysterious and suspenseful going at a deliberate but assured pace.

Sadly, again as already said, the second half sees 'The Curse of Sleeping Beauty' falling apart. And not just slightly, we're talking significantly. Not that the film was perfect already. There was some choppy editing, cheap costuming and Ethan Peck doesn't always look comfortable or engaged in his role.

Really, it is frustrating that the more the second half progressed, the duller, more confused, more clichéd and more predictable it got, and the mystery, creepiness and suspense got lost and instead was replaced by dreariness, ridiculousness and a draggy pace. All capped off by an ending that was far too abrupt and incomplete.

Overall, good first half, disappointing second half with a bad non-event ending. 5/10 Bethany Cox

Given the title of the movie, then I must admit that I didn't really have much of any expectations for the movie. Believing it to be another mass produced low budget movie.

But it turned out that the 2016 "The Curse of Sleeping Beauty" from director Pearry Reginald Teo was actually surprisingly good. Just goes to prove that the cover, and by that I mean the title, of a movie doesn't necessarily reflect the contents of the actual movie.

I like this twist on the classic faerie tale, and I liked the fact that the movie wasn't all rosy red and happy days ever after. That was definitely a nice thing that the writers put into the storyline.

Ethan Peck, playing Thomas, actually carried the movie quite well with his performance. And I must admit that seeing Bruce Davison and Zack Ward on the cast list also did excite me somewhat. Bruce Davison was of course a very nice addition to the movie, just a shame that he didn't have a bigger role. And Zack Ward, well he was hardly there, which I think was a shame.

The movie actually had pretty good special effects and CGI, which definitely helped to carry the movie and added to the atmosphere very nicely. And speaking of the atmosphere, then director Pearry Reginald Teo did a phenomenal job of building up suspence and this was nicely accompanied by the dark and rundown atmosphere that the movie had, given the old house. The movie was nicely layered by adding more and more suspense and creepiness to it, and that was something that I tremendously enjoyed throughout the movie.

I thoroughly enjoyed "The Curse of Sleeping Beauty", and the twist to the tale was really nice. So I can warmly recommend that you take the time to sit down and watch the 2016 movie "The Curse of Sleeping Beauty" if you haven't already seen it. My rating for the movie is six stars out of ten.