# Hate-watching Cursed on Netflix



## Imaculata (Jul 29, 2020)

*CURSED
A tragically dull lead, boring villains, dreadful writing, dreadful costumes... okay effects?*

It seems Netflix shows these days are a little bit like playing Russian Roulette. There are a few gems, but a lot of them are burning heaps of trash. The fantasy show Cursed unfortunately falls into the latter category. I was looking to satisfy that craving for fantasy that I suspect we all feel from time to time. But I should have been looking elsewhere to satisfy that appetite. The pilot episode alone is so abysmal, that only my desire to watch a complete train wreck could compel me to watch further episodes. I have currently watched up to episode 3, but just in the pilot episode alone there is enough awfulness that runs consistent throughout the show. Is it fair to judge a show by 3 episodes alone? I think its at least fair game for criticism.

So, lets talk about it.

Cursed is yet another take on the Arthurian legend, although it is unclear where and when exactly this tale takes place. A lot of the shooting locations seem to be in the UK, so I suppose they are going for some sort of pseudo medieval England, but it remains vague. The show starts off with our heroine riddled with arrows, sinking in the water. This scene remains unexplained as of watching this. According to the comments, this is eventually explained. Although I do not expect a good reason, given the show's poor writing.

I think one of the show's biggest problems is the boring lead and the incompetent writing. The pilot episode is rife with inconsistencies, bizarre plot choices and coincidences, and bare bones dialogue. The show is also terrible at communicating travel distances. But we'll get to all of that, lets talk about the casting first.

Katherine Langford plays the lead role of Nimue, and acting-wise she does an adequate job with the material she's given. I feel however that she is dreadfully miscast as a leading lady. She is so boring and she never succeeds at convincing the audience that she can carry this show. There is just nothing compelling about her portrayal of this character that makes you want to watch more. Gustaf Sharsgard does a fine job as drunk Merlin, although he's basically just playing the exact same character as he was on Vikings (or so I'm told). Then there is Arthur, played by Devon Tyrell... which is an odd choice. Apart from the fact that again he's not very compelling to watch, the casting of black actors feels really off in this show. I'm all in favor of diverse representation, but considering the setting and time period (which remains a bit of a mystery) it is just odd seeing black actors in some of these roles (including a black nun in an abbey). It is also odd seeing two nuns kiss (each other) and use foul language. Yeah, this show is all over the place. Should there be more ethnic diversity in fantasy movies and tv shows? Absolutely. But is this medieval England or not?

Nimue is chased out of her village for using her dark fey magic (conjuring a minor Entanglement spell basically), which seems to trigger whenever she gets emotional... but conveniently doesn't work when the plot calls for it (such as when a monk is murdering her own mother in front of her). These monks seem to have it in for her throughout the show, and magically appear wherever she goes, regardless of what distance she travels... they are just there. It is not entirely clear what religeon these monks are supposed to belong to. They do crucify suspected witches on crosses (which they are some how able to do in the middle of raiding a village, which is really quick), but we never see them wearing obvious Christian symbols, but they are all dressed as if they walked straight out of Monty Python's Spanish Inquisition sketch. So these are supposed to be baddies, but again the actors here are not convincing villains. They don't give off any menacing vibe what so ever, and are cartoonishly evil.





_(You would be forgiven for thinking this was a villain from the Dungeons & Dragons movie.)_

I won't go over the messy plot in its entirely, but at some point the show introduces a mysterious villain who is always dressed in a dark cloak and hood. But the show seems undecided if they want to keep him a mystery or not, because they constantly show his face, and then film him from behind again so we can't see his face. Make up your mind! Also, he looks like his mascara is drooping down his face; not very intimidating. The costuming is also not very inspired here. Everyone is dressed so bland.

Wait, what is happening? Why is the show all animated now? Ah yes, the scene transitions. What a bizarre stylistic choice. The show has the most jarring scene transitions. Where a simple cut would have sufficed, the show instead uses these elaborate Adobe After Effects-like animations that do not fit the tone of the show at all. They look tacky, as does the effect of blood splattered over the screen which the episode ends on. It should come as no surprise that everyone who dislikes the show, mentions the jarring scene transitions.





_(All of these costumes look brand new, like they've never been worn. It is so jarring.)_

The costumes on this show are also pretty terrible. Not only do they look very generic (especially on the leads), but they all look like they have never been used. I'm not saying that all medieval peasants need to be covered in mud, but some semblance of wear would have made the show look a lot more convincing. None of these costumes look like they've ever been worn. They look fresh out of the box, and everyone looks like that, even the extras!

The travel scenes in this show are weird and confusing. The villains seems to teleport all over the place whenever needed, and its never quite clear how far the various locations are apart from each other. When Nimue flees on horseback and hides in the forest, all of a sudden her friend Arthur is also there.... without a horse! How did he catch up to her so fast? He didn't flee with her, and I didn't see him on a horse. Then she goes to another town, -and oh look- , it is the same monks again, lead by the same villain, who are now also there. I think Nimue is being railroaded by the Dungeon Master. He just wants her to stop dodging his carefully crafted encounters.





_(Some of these effects are honestly not bad at all)_

The special effects in the show are adequate for the most part (and less jarring than some of the Witcher's effects). There are some CGI background replacements, which look servicable. There are some CGI creatures, such as CGI wolves in episode 1, and a bear in a later episode. While clearly CGI, they look okay for a tv show. CGI animals are very hard to do, so I'm a bit more forgiving for a Netflix tv show, since not every fantasy show has a budget like Game of Thrones had. That said, the need to have these creatures in the story to begin with is far more questionable. Why is she fighting wolves now? Where did they come from all of a sudden? Why doesn't she ever use her powers when it would be really useful? And why does she swing that sword around like a paraplegic woodcutter? Also, where the hell did she get that sword?





_(Apparently people were all over these wolf effects, but they look fine to me.)_

I had to rewind a bit, as my attention was waning. Surely there would be a proper set up for how she gets the all important magical sword? No... no there isn't. Her mother just has it, for some reason, and tells her to take it to Merlin. Then her mother (who also has magical powers) gets murderered by a single monk. Nimue thinks hard what to do: Should she run away? Should she use the magic sword? Should she use her magical powers, which manifest during emotional situations? She chooses to do neither one of these things, and simply watches as her mother is murdered by this one monk, and then she flees.

The production design is alright. The town sets look pretty convincing, and they've clearly used some real locations for some of the interior shots. Although that abbey in episode 3 looks really familiar. Isn't that the same location they used for the king's castle in episode 1? I would have to go back and check. For the most part, the sets look fine. Some of the fantasy forest bits clearly were on a very small set, because you can tell the camera and actor movement is really restricted. But they do have a couple of good looking city scenes here and there. I keep trying to spot modern lighting fixtures whenever they shoot a scene in an abbey, because you can clearly tell what are sets, and what are real locations.

Where it really all falls apart is the writing and the casting. This show is desperately in need of a better lead and better villains. The writing may improve (although I do not expect a season 2), and it could introduce new villains, but the show would still be stuck with a tragically dull lead.


----------



## Morrus (Jul 29, 2020)

I wasn't keen at first, but it grew on me. It's definitely "young adult" generic fantasy, and plays very fast and loose with Arthurian legend, but then lots of things play fast and loose with Arthurian legend. It's OK; not great, but I found it watchable. My biggest issue was that everything looked a bit too clean and new, from clothes to locations; even the dirt looked clean.

I definitely don't ding a fantasy show for 'realism'. None of it's real, including the witch, the magic sword or the wizard or all the fey people.


----------



## Tonguez (Jul 29, 2020)

There was an interview with the Arthur actor in which he did mention his suprise in being cast as the Once and Future King of Britain, until someone pointed out to the cast that the entire Arthurian cycle is fictional, its a medieval fantasy inspired by a British history that never happened.

Because its fiction then having black Arthur and weird Fey killing Inquisitors is ok, its part of the shows conceit.

Ive watched the whole thing and how the sword came to be with Nimues mother and how she ended up in the water is explained. It is a very pristine show as youve noticed and it does get confusing at times, but it was an okay watch.

It doesnt get ‘better’ though, if you havent liked up to episode 3 then you wont like much else about it


----------



## Imaculata (Jul 29, 2020)

Tonguez said:


> There was an interview with the Arthur actor in which he did mention his surprise in being cast as the Once and Future King of Britain, until someone pointed out to the cast that the entire Arthurian cycle is fictional, its a medieval fantasy inspired by a British history that never happened.
> 
> Because its fiction then having black Arthur and weird Fey killing Inquisitors is ok, its part of the shows conceit.




That is true of course. Although the casting is still very distracting. Whenever a show tackles the Arthurian legend, people expect medieval England mixed with fantasy. They expect something that looks like medieval England, but with some magic thrown in. A black Arthur is an odd choice, but perhaps not as jarring as two nuns kissing in an abbey.

It is interesting hearing from people who did like the show, and specifically what they liked about it.


----------



## Ryujin (Jul 29, 2020)

I did rather enjoy it. OK, it's not high art and doesn't follow any of the old Arthurian legends, but they're pretty much all over the place on their own. It's no more "out there" than the novel that cast Morgana as the victim ("I, Morgana") or the one told from the perspective of the women in the piece ("Mists of Avalon"). It's teen angsty and all that but it's easily consumable, not requiring much attention from me to follow. I also had fun playing "spot the errors" in story, character, or even just when something seemed really anachronistic. "Oh, look! The guy is wearing chain on his stomach, but cloth on his chest and arms. Wonder how well that works in a fight?" And yes, manicured lawns seem a bit off. 

But, then again, the show "Norsemen" had a major battle that took place in a perfectly rectangular field, cut to lawn height, and surrounded by carefully placed trees.


----------



## MarkB (Jul 29, 2020)

I made it through half the first episode before giving up in boredom. Doesn't sound like I missed a lot.


----------



## Snarf Zagyg (Jul 29, 2020)

Imaculata said:


> Whenever a show tackles the Arthurian legend, people expect medieval England mixed with fantasy. They expect something that looks like medieval England,




I don't know. Whenever I see a science fiction or superhero show anymore, I have an expectation that the future will look vaguely like British Columbia, or Toronto. 

This is a corollary to a lesson I learned when I first watched Jackie Chan in _Rumble in the Bronx _and marveled at the green mountains of New York City.


----------



## Helldritch (Jul 29, 2020)

The show is just a big mess. Couldn't go past the 3rd episode, did not even finished it because I fell asleep on it.


----------



## Sacrosanct (Jul 29, 2020)

There was a show that took place in revolutionary America and all of the founding fathers were black, and that show turned out ok 

Seriously though, I watched only the first episode. Bland and boring. It reminded me of something Asylum studios would put out as a knock off show


----------



## Li Shenron (Jul 29, 2020)

I haven't watched it, but I might. I am generally _a lot _more demanding on the verisimilitude of sci-fi movies/series than fantasy, which I can sometimes enjoy even when goofy.


----------



## Tonguez (Jul 29, 2020)

Imaculata said:


> , but perhaps not as jarring as two nuns kissing in an abbey.
> 
> It is interesting hearing from people who did like the show, and specifically what they liked about it.




Personally I was most interested in the world building aspects of the story, how they developed the various factions of Fey & Humans (Uthers court, Paladins, Church, and Others (spoiler)).
the set peices (Northern village, human town, forest, Uthers court, Paladin camp etc) were emblemic of the factions so I didn’t mind them being close, especially when you remember the the Saxon kingdoms like Wessex and Kent were relatively tiny 

 It was also fun to note the references like Nimues cave and the names of Arthur’s sister and the names of other characters too)

not sure the issue with the Nuns kissing is, it’s a common trope and easy/lazy short hand for showing the pair are rebellious and maybe just there as a hideout rather than due to faith...


----------



## billd91 (Jul 29, 2020)

Life's too short (and there are too many other things worth watching) to hate watch something. If it's not working for you, dump it. My wife is watching it, but I think it's kind of lame, so I leave it to her to watch while I do or pay attention to something else.

For what it's worth, I thought the wolf effects in episode 1 were a mixed bag. Some of it was good but there were some shots that looked really odd.


----------



## jerryrice4949 (Jul 29, 2020)

Morrus said:


> I wasn't keen at first, but it grew on me. It's definitely "young adult" generic fantasy, and plays very fast and loose with Arthurian legend, but then lots of things play fast and loose with Arthurian legend. It's OK; not great, but I found it watchable. My biggest issue was that everything looked a bit too clean and new, from clothes to locations; even the dirt looked clean.
> 
> I definitely don't ding a fantasy show for 'realism'. None of it's real, including the witch, the magic sword or the wizard or all the fey people.



This is kind of my take as well.  It is not great but I find it satisfactory fantasy and my wife likes it.  We have finished episode 5 and plan to watch the whole season.  I like it better than the Witcher.  That show has horrible dialogue, poor acting and tragic costumes and effects.  I don’t mind cheesy but the Witcher is beyond cheesy. 

May biggest gripe with Cursed is the writing. The dialogue could use a lot of work. I know from the start they wanted an original take on the characters and they accomplished that though the Merlin character is meh. 

 Overall I would give it a B- or C+ for a grade.


----------



## Mallus (Jul 29, 2020)

Is Cursed enjoyably junky like The Witcher?


----------



## Morrus (Jul 29, 2020)

Mallus said:


> Is Cursed enjoyably junky like The Witcher?



It’s more “young adult” than The Witcher.


----------



## Gradine (Jul 29, 2020)

The Witcher was basically Xena with blood and boobs and people saying "" a bunch, what's not to love?

I'll definitely recommend Cursed to my partner, though, this sounds like it might be up her alley, even if she ends up hating it.


----------



## Ryujin (Jul 29, 2020)

Snarf Zagyg said:


> I don't know. Whenever I see a science fiction or superhero show anymore, I have an expectation that the future will look vaguely like British Columbia, or Toronto.
> 
> This is a corollary to a lesson I learned when I first watched Jackie Chan in _Rumble in the Bronx _and marveled at the green mountains of New York City.




You have no idea how many actors and crew are pissed at Vancouver constantly subbing in for Seattle


----------



## ccs (Jul 29, 2020)

Thanks for the review/warning.  
I've seen this in the lineup but not gotten around to watching it yet.

Maybe when I need something fairly mindless on in the background when I get to painting a new batch of 40k stuff. (I tend to use the endless 70s/80s D list movies on Amazon for that.)


----------



## rgoodbb (Jul 29, 2020)

This was definitely an _Ooooh that's bad!_ for myself and my partner. The script was poor from the start and everything was too colourful and clean. It turned us off before the halfway point of the first episode. 

A shame, because we too are looking out for the next series to watch. There's only so many Snow Piercer's left.


----------



## GreyLord (Jul 29, 2020)

When you say young adult show is it more like that Elfstones of Shannara type young adult (with all the teen angst and cheesy effects and such) or like Doctor Who type young adult (or more a family oriented) show?

I like the latter type of show FAR more than the former type of show.


----------



## Tonguez (Jul 29, 2020)

GreyLord said:


> When you say young adult show is it more like that Elfstones of Shannara type young adult (with all the teen angst and cheesy effects and such) or like Doctor Who type young adult (or more a family oriented) show?
> 
> I like the latter type of show FAR more than the former type of show.




Ive not seen the Shannara programme but Cursed is very much inspired by things like the Hunger Games movie and stars the lead from Netflixs’ “_13 Reasons Why_” teen suicide drama. The angst wasnt too ott, but it does feature teen girl coping with the hardships of life, some daddy issues and a hooded bad guy dressed in black called the ‘Crying Monk’.


----------



## Kaodi (Jul 29, 2020)

Ryujin said:


> You have no idea how many actors and crew are pissed at Vancouver constantly subbing in for Seattle




From both directions? Like, Americans are maybe pissed that shows set it American cities are being made in Canadians cities. But Canadians get fed up too when our cities are good enough to be shot in but apparently not good enough to just be the damn setting.


----------



## Ryujin (Jul 29, 2020)

Kaodi said:


> From both directions? Like, Americans are maybe pissed that shows set it American cities are being made in Canadians cities. But Canadians get fed up too when our cities are good enough to be shot in but apparently not good enough to just be the damn setting.




There are an awful lot of actors in Seattle. It's one of those touchie-feelie sort of places. Lots of crew there too, of all sorts. And writers, etc.. If you have the base to actually shoot in the city and yet other places end up subbing, it tends to piss you off. I know a guy who was on the pilot for "Station 19", which is set in Seattle. Guess where it's shot now, after doing the pilot in Seattle. LA.

I just get tired of being kicked out of my pristinely clean parking spot so that they can fill it with garbage and a dead hooker. (Actually happened)


----------



## Hussar (Jul 30, 2020)

Ryujin said:


> I just get tired of being kicked out of my pristinely clean parking spot so that they can fill it with garbage and a dead hooker.




Quote of the year.


----------



## Jediking (Jul 30, 2020)

Snarf Zagyg said:


> I don't know. Whenever I see a science fiction or superhero show anymore, I have an expectation that the future will look vaguely like British Columbia, or Toronto.
> 
> This is a corollary to a lesson I learned when I first watched Jackie Chan in _Rumble in the Bronx _and marveled at the green mountains of New York City.




As someone who lives in Vancouver the amount of times I see it in movies/TV can be jarring (looking at you, The Flash)


----------



## Campbell (Jul 30, 2020)

I have watched a three episodes so far. I feel there's something there, but it's still a little rough.

I mean it's Frank Miller. It's irreverent, highly stylized, and at times disjointed. The world building and characters are interesting if not fully baked. It can at times be charming for how raw and unpolished it is. At other times you want to shake your head and say "Why Frank? Why?".

This review of the novel that was developed along with the series provides some additional context.


----------



## Ryujin (Jul 30, 2020)

Campbell said:


> I have watched a three episodes so far. I feel there's something there, but it's still a little rough.
> 
> I mean it's Frank Miller. It's irreverent, highly stylized, and at times disjointed. The world building and characters are interesting if not fully baked. It can at times be charming for how raw and unpolished it is. At other times you want to shake your head and say "Why Frank? Why?".
> 
> This review of the novel that was developed along with the series provides some additional context.




Think, "Why, Tom? Why?" instead. Or also. Whatever


----------



## trappedslider (Jul 30, 2020)

billd91 said:


> Life's too short (and there are too many other things worth watching) to hate watch something. If it's not working for you, dump it.



I will never understand hate watching,it feels like you're just looking for something to complain about. Life's too short for that kind of behavior imo.


----------



## Imaculata (Jul 30, 2020)

trappedslider said:


> I will never understand hate watching,it feels like you're just looking for something to complain about. Life's too short for that kind of behavior imo.




Well I do also host bad movie nights at my house, where me and my friends completely trash the movies we watch. It's a thing. We even have bingo cards where we cross off all the clichés. When a piece of medium is not enjoyable consumed the way it was intended, you sometimes find a way to enjoy it in a way that was _not_ intended.


----------



## trappedslider (Jul 30, 2020)

Imaculata said:


> Well I do also host bad movie nights at my house, where me and my friends completely trash the movies we watch. It's a thing. We even have bingo cards where we cross off all the clichés.




That's whats called riffing or MSTie which is different than hate watching......IMO


----------



## Imaculata (Jul 30, 2020)

trappedslider said:


> That's whats called riffing or MSTie which is different than hate watching......IMO




True, but most of the stuff we watch, we also hate. We hate and we riff.


----------



## Ryujin (Jul 30, 2020)

Hussar said:


> Quote of the year.




The crew also thought, for some reason, that my motorcycle was a park bench.


----------



## Tonguez (Jul 30, 2020)

trappedslider said:


> That's whats called riffing or MSTie which is different than hate watching......IMO




OMG cool kids and their jargon, WTF is MSTie?


----------



## Ryujin (Jul 30, 2020)

Tonguez said:


> OMG cool kids and their jargon, WTF is MSTie?




Presumably a reference to Mystery Science Theater 3000, aka MST3K.









						MST3K
					






					mst3k.com


----------



## wicked cool (Jul 30, 2020)

I watched the whole series and it is much darker than both Elfstones of Shannara and Zena and much better than the new Dr Who

things that I liked
1) it is very violent
2) Merlin actor is very good along with the older priest
3) If you like druids then this is the show for you

Neutral-it took me by surprise how much lore they change and character origins. Didn't bother me that Arthur was not white but his origin is very different. 

bad
At times the  acting is bad. It cant be compared to Witcher which is just better 
motivations of a certain "minor" villian
at times it rears up as a "teen" romance" 
The plot is all over the place  
sword fighting for some of the Camelot knights is terrible and they are bad warriors


----------



## the Jester (Jul 30, 2020)

Someone on Facebook mentioned really liking this show, and so I decided to try it out the other night. I managed to get through the first episode, but characters who do insanely stupid things (like running into a village being overrun by bad guys with no weapon or plan, and doing nothing once there other than getting dragged around, not even trying to fight back or help in any way) really turn me off. My gf and mom have watched the next couple of episodes, but I couldn't do it. I have better things to do with my time, like playing chess against the computer or reading hateful Reddit posts made by people with the intellectual capacity of a 6-year-old who was raised by snails.


----------



## Morrus (Jul 30, 2020)

For me, it got better after 3-4 eps. It starts weak.


----------



## Tonguez (Jul 30, 2020)

the Jester said:


> Someone on Facebook mentioned really liking this show, and so I decided to try it out the other night. I managed to get through the first episode, but characters who do insanely stupid things (like running into a village being overrun by bad guys with no weapon or plan, and doing nothing once there other than getting dragged around, not even trying to fight back or help in any way) really turn me off. My gf and mom have watched the next couple of episodes, but I couldn't do it. I have better things to do with my time, like playing chess against the computer or reading hateful Reddit posts made by people with the intellectual capacity of a 6-year-old who was raised by snails.




I didnt mind that scene - she’s a teenage girl who in panic runs to find her mother and then gets overwhelmed by the chaos - her entire clan is being slaughtered,  having a brain shutdown isnt a stretch. She’s not competent in the situation and its already established she doesnt know how to control her powers.


----------



## aco175 (Jul 30, 2020)

So now I think I should have watched this over *Warrior Nun*.  That show was mostly meh.  The premise of an angel coming down during the crusades and saving this woman by implanting his halo inside her, thus making her a super hero.  Random person gets implanted with halo after last bearer dies and the 'right' follower did not get implant.  Throw in devils opening gates from 'hell' and a Google-like technology company seeking to open the portal themselves.  So *Cursed* may not be that bad.


----------



## Tonguez (Jul 30, 2020)

Yeah I watched the first 2 maybe 3 episodes of that too and then stopped, it was a nother that had potential but failed to achieve it.
I’d say Cursed is the better of the two


----------



## rgoodbb (Jul 31, 2020)

Warrior Nun was a little better than Cursed for us, but not by much. We watched one and decided that if desperate we could possibly watch a couple more.


----------



## Hussar (Jul 31, 2020)

I thought Warrior Nun was a riot.  Very Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  Some (ok, not exactly jaw dropping surprise) twists and decent action.  Needed more demon killing though.


----------



## Imaculata (Jul 31, 2020)

Tonguez said:


> She’s not competent in the situation and its already established she doesnt know how to control her powers.




Has it though? In the very same episode, she uses her powers to cheat at a rigged game of dice. This implies that she does have control over her powers.



Hussar said:


> I thought Warrior Nun was a riot.  Very Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  Some (ok, not exactly jaw dropping surprise) twists and decent action.  Needed more demon killing though.




Buffy is a pretty high bar though, are you sure? Because Buffy had lots of clever plots and witty dialogue. What I've seen of Warrior Nun does not seem to come close to that. I'm willing to give it a try though.


----------



## Hussar (Aug 1, 2020)

Imaculata said:


> Has it though? In the very same episode, she uses her powers to cheat at a rigged game of dice. This implies that she does have control over her powers.
> 
> 
> 
> Buffy is a pretty high bar though, are you sure? Because Buffy had lots of clever plots and witty dialogue. What I've seen of Warrior Nun does not seem to come close to that. I'm willing to give it a try though.




Early days still.  I mean, let's compare apples to apples shall we?  First season of Buffy?  Not exactly the highest of bars.  Give it some time.


----------



## Imaculata (Aug 1, 2020)

Hussar said:


> Early days still.  I mean, let's compare apples to apples shall we?  First season of Buffy?  Not exactly the highest of bars.  Give it some time.




Fair enough.


----------



## MarkB (Aug 6, 2020)

Hussar said:


> I thought Warrior Nun was a riot.  Very Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  Some (ok, not exactly jaw dropping surprise) twists and decent action.  Needed more demon killing though.



That's where I left it, too. So far, haven't been sufficiently tempted / bored to try a second episode.


----------

