Curtains (1983)

Curtains is a 1983 Canadian horror flick directed by Richard Ciupka. In preparation for the role of a lifetime, veteran thespian Samantha Sherwood (played by Samantha Eggar) fakes insanity in order to be institutionalized in an insane asylum. However, despite her inspiring commitment to the role, the director Jonathan Stryker (John Vernon) decides to hold a casting session at his creepy country home, inviting five strikingly different actresses. Not to be denied, Sherwood crashes this session, insisting she be considered for the role. Somewhere along the line a creepy doll and haggard old woman start killing people. It's not quite clear why these killings are happening, but generally foxy young women are the targets. Eventually, the killing reaches the country home, where it is revealed that Stryker owns the creepy old hag mask, using it for acting exercises. One by one the actresses, and Stryker, fall, until only Sherwood and a comedienne, Patti O'Connor (Lynn Griffin) are left. And though Sherwood, in a jealous rage, has killed Stryker, O'Connor turns out to be the real killer (she would "kill" to get the role, get it?).

Curtains is an odd movie, feeling like one red herring after another.  Initially, it seems like it will be a straight forward case of an actress going over the edge for a role, actually going crazy in preparation. Then it seems like a fairly straight-forward slasher flick, with some deranged pervert going around killing girls. One by one these storylines are abandoned, or sublimated, leaving a strange mish-mash of narratives. The disjointed structure is somewhat hard to understand as the writing, on a scene by scene basis, is quite strong. The dialogue is sharp and pointed, with just the right amount of humor to let us now we shouldn't be taking anything too seriously. It's not surprising to learn that this production was bereft with conceptual problems, as it seems the director and producers duked it out over the essence of the film. What we are left with is a strange, somewhat incoherent oddity; not so truly odd as to be unique, but a kind of malformed cinematic child.

What redeems the film, enough to make it watchable, are the strong performances. Samantha Eggar is wonderful as the mannered Sherwood, the type of career thespian you can imagine summering in Stratford. Lynn Griffin is likewise solid as the wise-cracking O'Connor, providing a nice comic foil to the refined Sherwood. John Vernon is also great as the mercurial auteur Stryker, pushing the woman beyond their boundaries with controlled Kubrickian aloofness. Though far from perfect, Curtains is passable viewing for those interested in the b-horror genre, particularly of Canadian origin.