The Curse

The Curse (1987)

It took seed...now it needs to feed.

Nathan Hayes is a religious man trying to hold onto his farm and keep his family in line. A real estate developer is trying to buy most of the farm property in the area, including Mr. Hayes’ family farm, in the hope that the Tennesse Valley Authority will choose the town for the site of a new dam and recreational area. The night of a terrible storm, an unidentified, glowing object crashes on the Hayes farm and with it comes a horrible curse for the family and other members of the community.

Date of release
1987-09-11
TMDB
5.0 / 10 (144)
Runtime
1h 32m
Genres
Horror, Science Fiction
Director
David Keith
Collection
The Curse Collection (1987-1991)

Casting

Interesting facts

The Curse is a 1987 science-fiction horror film directed by David Keith in his directorial debut, and starring Wil Wheaton, Claude Akins, Cooper Huckabee, Malcolm Danare, John Schneider and Amy Wheaton. Based on the short story "The Colour Out of Space" by H. P. Lovecraft, it tells about a meteorite that crashes into a farming community in Tennessee, and infects the land and its residents. Italian genre veteran Lucio Fulci was billed as an associate producer, and directed some scenes uncredited.

Production

David Keith was originally hired to star in Trans World Entertainment's The Further Adventures of Tennessee Buck, which was scheduled before this film. When the intended director bailed out, Keith lobbied to direct Buck in addition to starring in it. He got his wish, but the movie was still delayed. In the meantime, he was offered to direct what would become The Curse.

Teen actor Wil Wheaton was offered $100,000 to star. As further incentive, his sister Amy was given the chance to make her acting debut as his on-screen sibling. Wheaton did not like the script nor the financial terms but felt pressured by his parents, whom he accused of not having his best interests in mind, to accept. Actor Treat Williams was reportedly set to co-star in the film, but does not appear.

Claude Akins was the director's first choice for his part. Several local actors were cast in supporting roles. Kathleen Jordan Gregory, who made her feature debut, and Steve Carlisle were members of the Clarence Brown Theatre troupe alongside Keith. Steve Davis and Lyanne Kreslin were University of Tennessee theater graduates like the director. Keith's own father, mother and aunt briefly appear.

Principal photography began on September 29, 1986, under the title The Farm. It started with location work in East Tennessee. The main house was part of a 130-acre domain owned by Keith in Tellico Plains, called Hawkins Farm. The production headquarters were also located there inside an old department store, although the crew resided in nearby Sweetwater. Members of the rural community, which had no cinema, showed little interest in the shoot.

Six weeks were spent in Tennessee, before heading to Rome for studio interiors. At some points, the production used three units concurrently. Many of the crew members, including for the U.S. portion of the shoot, were Italians billed under American names. Keith used an interpreter to communicate with them. Filming wrapped up in Rome shortly before Christmas 1986. As with other Trans World movies, budget estimates varied wildly.

Read on Wikipedia · Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Data from Wikidata.

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