Eight for Silver: reviews

What the critics say average 6.3 from 25 outlets

• 8.0 Screen DailyFionnuala Halligan It’s inventive enough to surprise, while still bringing with it fond memories of everything from Hammer to The Innocents, Dracula to creepy country house Gothic horror. Read
• 8.0 SlashfilmBen Pearson Haunting, harrowing, and hypnotic, Eight for Silver is a werewolf story with a lot on its mind. Read
• 8.0 Los Angeles TimesNoel Murray this period piece is slow-paced yet peppered with enough gory attacks and smartly staged scare sequences to appeal to horror connoisseurs. Read
• 7.6 PolygonTasha Robinson The Cursed has its own mythology and some unnerving, bloody innovations around what’s basically a werewolf story, but Ellis gets a lot of his mileage around the standard creature-feature horror-story things he doesn’t do. Read
• 7.5 Chicago Sun-TimesRichard Roeper Although “The Cursed” milks its relatively thin storyline a bit too long and engages in some heavy-handed (albeit valid) social commentary about 19th century colonialism perhaps one too many times, this is an effectively creepy and often bone-crunching horror gem with some striking visuals and a first-rate cast. Read
• 7.5 Original-CinThom Ernst This will disappoint those who prefer their werewolves with teeth. Still, The Cursed rises above most standards set by the genre. I only wish I could say it was a Howling success. Read
• 7.5 ReelViewsJames Berardinelli It’s not conventionally frightening nor does it offer a cavalcade of artificially crafted jump-scares, relying instead on a deeper, more primal form of terror built on a foundation of slow-burn tension and a surfeit of atmosphere. Read
• 7.5 Roger EbertMatt Zoller Seitz It’s all so rich—and so richly executed by Ellis, a total filmmaker—that one wishes it added up to more than a series of smart variations on a certain type of film. Read
• 7.0 TimeStephanie Zacharek There’s nothing cuddly about the were-creatures of The Cursed. But there’s no question that they get the job done. Read
• 7.0 The Globe and MailBrad Wheeler Originally titled Eight for Silver, the film from British writer-director Sean Ellis is brooding, uneasy and fog-filled, with an apprehensive soundscape. Werewolf mythology mixes with biblical allusions and ideas on payments for the sins of elders. Read
• 6.8 No es cine todo lo que reluceDaniel Farriol The Cursed is an interesting film that deserves another look: it cleverly links the fantasy mythology of werewolves with a historical portrait that makes room for social criticism. Read
• 6.7 The Film StageJake Kring-Schreifels the loose spiritual ends don’t stitch together to produce the kind of scares that stick with you after their initial jolt. Read
• 6.7 The Austin ChronicleRichard Whittaker The Cursed may be a shaggy tale in places, but its bite is ultimately deep. Read
• 6.3 ObserverRafael Motamayor The Cursed howls the arrival of a new and exciting take on the old werewolf story, with an inventive mythology and a memorable xenomorph-inspired scene that will nest in your nightmares. Sadly, the good parts of the film are trapped within the monstrous body of an overly long and average feature film. Read
• 6.0 Total FilmJane Crowther Well executed if not entirely original – with werewolves, what is? – Eight For Silver (the title taken from a children’s nursery song) is an assured, engaging chiller that takes an ambitious bite out of the wolfman legacy which should satisfy bloodlust audiences while also engaging dramatically. Read
• 6.0 VarietyTomris Laffly Horror is most effective when the graphic scares are matched with an emotional dimension, something at which Ellis aims but doesn’t quite arrive — a shortcoming that also undersells the marvels of his first-rate ensemble cast. Read
• 5.8 The A.V. ClubKatie Rife Even when Ellis ramps up the suspense with crosscutting and monster mayhem in the final half-hour, The Cursed has trouble maintaining nail-biting intensity for very long. Read
• 5.6 Paste MagazineNatalia Keogan a protracted folkish horror story that mistakes miserablism for period accuracy Read
• 5.0 ConsequenceJoe Lipsett Eight for Silver works best as an atmospheric period werewolf film with outstanding gore effects and creature design. Working against the film, however, is Ellis’ padded screenplay chock full of rote characters, drawn-out human conflict, and an ill-advised flashback structure that rips apart its final act. Read
• 5.0 The Hollywood ReporterDavid Rooney Though the movie is never unengaging, ultimately, it doesn’t quite deliver. Read
• 5.0 The Washington PostMichael O'Sullivan The Cursed is stylish and scary enough for what it is. That’s an old-fashioned creature feature, effective enough to give you a mild case of the heebie-jeebies but nothing chronic. Read
• 5.0 San Francisco ChronicleG. Allen Johnson Ellis’ story could have used a little fleshing out, no pun intended. Instead, a terrific cast is left floundering in the dark, searching for the film’s human dimension. Cursed, indeed. Read
• 5.0 Movie NationRoger Moore You could Oscar short-list the production design (Pascal Le Guellec, Thierry Zemmou ) and art direction ( Patrick Schmidt, Paulo Gonçalves ), even pay special homage to Ellis’s cinematography. That doesn’t change the fact that the writer/director/DP has made a werewolf movie as pretty as a painting, and almost as animated. It looks better than it plays. Read
• 4.2 The PlaylistJason Bailey one of those movies that starts off so well, that shows such promise, that its slow unraveling feels less like a disappointment than a betrayal. Read
• 4.0 Screen RantFerdosa Abdi Ultimately, The Cursed is merely a slow trek through horrific gore, lackluster and confusing werewolf lore, and a muddled understanding of the legacy of the Roma. Read