Review of Curtains (1983) by Kim D — 30 Dec 2008
Famous mostly for a scene in which a beautiful young ice skater encounters a killer armed with a sickle and wearing a hag mask on a frozen pond, Curtains is a cleverly written murder mystery in the slasher vein. There is a mature approach to the characters, and the best performance is delivered by the intense Samantha Eggar, who infuses just the right measures of bitterness and passion into her character.
Curtains definitely knows its money shots, and a couple of murder scenes that could have been used for suspense are quickly glazed over, as if director Ciupka suddenly realised that he quickly needed to get rid of a secondary character he'd forgotten. After seeing the masterfully shot murder on the pond, having the killer suddenly grab a character from behind just before the camera cuts away is a little unsatisfying.
That said, Curtains does not run out of steam. It progresses through some interesting character developments to a tense final chase, a revelation of the killer's identity, and concludes with a delectable plot twist.
A quality DVD release is badly needed.
This review of Curtains (1983) was written by Kim D on 30 Dec 2008.
Curtains has generally received mixed reviews.
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