Wednesday 13 October 2021

Curse of Bloody Mary (2021)

 


Back in early 2020 the Rebecca J Matthews/Scott Jeffrey team made a female version of Candyman called The Candy Witch, presumably intended to capitalize on the then forthcoming Candyman remake. Only for the pandemic to push back the release of the Candyman remake and leave The Candy Witch in the unfortunate situation of being an imitation of a film that had yet to be released. Now that the Candyman remake is finally upon on, Jeffrey is back with another female variation on the theme....Curse of Bloody Mary.

After a massacre caused by summoning the witch 'Bloody Mary' leaves most of the staff at a hostel dead, the sole survivor Francine (Chrissie Wuanna) attempts to appease the witch and save her own life, by luring unsuspecting holidaymakers to the hostel and offering them up to Bloody Mary instead. The latest unfortunates to check into the hostel being a group of former school friends, headed by estranged duo Elena (Antonia Whillans) and Dani (Sarah T Cohen) who fell out over a man as teenagers. Given that there appears to be little to do at the isolated countryside hostel, other than outdoor exercise routines and telling fireside ghost stories, the friends are foolishly talked into summoning Bloody Mary (by collectively saying her name three times into a mirror). At which point Francine attempts to split, having sold her customers out to the vengeful witch...clearly receiving glowing reviews on tripadvisor wasn't high on Francine's list of priorities.

Curse of Bloody Mary, or 'Summoning Bloody Mary' as it is currently listed on the IMDb (which claims the film isn't due for release till June 2022) echoes the same formula as recent Jeffrey productions Cannibal Troll and The Legend of Jack and Jill, with a group of friends embarking on an outdoor holiday only to come under attack from monsters, which forces them to put their differences and prior grievances aside. As with The Legend of Jack and Jill, Curse of Bloody Mary commits the mistake of placing greater emphasis on the soon-to-be victims, at the expense of the far more interesting baddies. Meaning that you have to sit through lots of chit-chat, squabbling and rambling (of both the talking and walking varieties) before the horror elements, teased in the opening scene, kick back in. Which is a pity as once she eventually shows up Bloody Mary (Abi Casson Thompson) makes for an effective screaming banshee who leaves you wanting more of her, and less of the non-supernatural characters. Sarah T Cohen and Antonia Whillans are two of the best young actresses currently on Jeffrey's books, but even they struggle to breath life into their bland roles here. Whereas The Candy Witch unexpectedly humanized its monster and convinced you she may have been justified in seeking revenge, there are only slight indications here -such as Bloody Mary sparing the life of a pregnant woman- of what lies behind Jeffrey's latest killing machine. Maybe subsequent efforts will improve on this, references to Bloody Mary in The Legend of Jack and Jill and (if I'm remembering rightly) Louisa Warren's Tooth Fairy: The Last Extraction, indicate she factors into the shared cinematic universe that is currently being built by Nu-Brit horror, but Mary's first solo outing is a rather rushed, low energy addition to this franchise.

Filmed on location at Longlands Hall, a youth hostel in Haworth, West Yorkshire, previously used in Dinosaur Hotel and Monsters of War. If the plight of the characters in these films doesn't evoke your sympathy, the uncomfortable looking bunk beds they have to sleep in, sure will. Anyone spending the night on one of them, is more likely to cry out "Bloody Nora" three times in a row, rather than Bloody Mary.





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