REVIEW - 'Curve' (2016) | The Movie Buff

Written and directed by Tim Egan, “Curve” is a sub-ten minute horror/thriller that offers a scary premise—a woman wakes on a curved ledge, which dips off into an abyss, likely leading to her death—but works equally well as a character study. The film won a number of awards for ‘Best Short’ or ‘Best Director,’ but received only one nomination for ‘Best Actor’ at the St. Kilda Film Festival, which is a shame. Actress Laura Jane Turner, who plays the film’s hapless victim, makes this film. Without her, it wouldn’t have worked; but with her, it instead becomes a tense, nervous thriller that will cause goosebumps.

What works about “Curve” is that its set-piece is simple yet effective, and uses as few tools as possible to tell its story. It’s like a rock song stripped down to its acoustic groundwork. However, instead of melody, what we’re seeing here is terror. A woman (Laura Jane Turner) wakes up on a curved piece of cement near the bottom, about to fall off into eternity. Across her is another wall made out of the same shape. Below her is eternal blackness; above her is a high, sheer wall that is impossible to climb without a grapple or some kind of mountaineering tool. Her hands are bloodied—and slick; this is important—and any movement seems to send her closer to falling over the edge.

Acting and Isolation Sell ‘Curve’ to Viewers

I appreciated that Egan (who also did the film’s cinematography) focused “Curve” on its protagonist’s terror, rather than explaining things with story. I also appreciate that the entire set is shown clearly. Sunlight spills in from above, illuminating the grey concrete that is, for all intents and purposes, this woman’s tomb. There’s no secret of what danger the woman is in, only the secret of how she got there. However, in an intimidating touch, across the way, on the other wall, Egan shows another pair of bloodied handprints. Had someone else been in this predicament before? Did they get out? How long did they last? Answers aren’t forthcoming.

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Of course, what sells the short to us is the performance by Turner, whose nameless face shows combinations of worry and horror. Turner handles the part well. What is so eerie about her predicament is that the ledge she’s on is enormous, but it might as well be a foot wide: one wrong move, one wrong inch, and she’ll fall to her death. But Turner plays the part sincerely; she is a woman stuck in this horrible situation, and she brings us in with her. She doesn’t know she’s in a movie, and her face shows it. She acts like a real person would in this situation. We see her move, slowly, pushing backwards with her hands, away from the void, even though the wall behind her is impossibly steep. She slips; there’s too much blood on her hands. Wipe your hands on your clothes, I whispered to myself. But Turner does. Her reactions are believable and her terror real. The lack of a constant score (a few sounds and eerie musicality appear, only briefly) only illuminates the horror.

You Can Watch ‘Curve’ on YouTube

This is a good film. At less than ten minutes, it pulls you in, and honestly I wish it had been a little longer. Its acting is taut, and Tuner is a delight to watch. The filmmaking elements are all good, and the only question I had was why Egan didn’t show the vastness of the abyss—creating a vertigo-like terror similarly seen in this year’s “Fall”—but maybe that’s not the point. Maybe we’re not supposed to be afraid of the fall, but what’s inside. The film’s greatest accomplishment is its examination of denial. It causes this both in its protagonist and in us, the viewers. She can’t make it, we know that. Not unless some outside force intervenes. But we want her to. We hope for her to; we root for her efforts even though we know they won’t work. “Curve’s” ending, with nature playing a sinister role, was like a slap in the face. All in all a solid film, one leaving me eager to see more of Egan’s work.

*You can watch the film on YouTube in window below.