It is difficult to watch A Cursed Man with an open mind. The documentary follows director Liam Le Guillou’s search to find out if magic is real. His journey has him visit magic practitioners in Los Angeles, New Orleans, India, and Mexico. The lengths he goes through start to affect his life and question his decisions.
The premise is a familiar one to fans of 1980s horror. There are plenty of movies about unsuspecting young people who tempt dark forces they did not believe in. A Cursed Man takes this idea and brings it into the real world. It is a great idea that offers a lot of promise. What type of curse will it be? How far will it go? Will Le Guillou even find anyone who is willing to perform the act?
As it turns out, he gets someone to curse him surprisingly quickly. But it is before the spell that A Cursed Man loses its way. Le Guillou finds a coven in Los Angeles to assist him. While they are hesitant about what he wants to do, they do perform a ritual that will help him. Unfortunately, the witches are laughing the entire time taking away any inkling this is a serious film. (Assuming the over the top disclaimer that opens things has not done that already.)
From there, it becomes an increasingly ridiculous trek around the world that is supposed to be one man’s spiritual journey. It does not work for a number of reasons. The biggest issue is how disingenuous Le Guillou comes off. Early on a Black voodoo priest tells the filmmaker how entitled he sounds. Le Guillou has nothing to say in response and that feeling remains during all of A Cursed Man.
The lack of any evidence is a big hindrance. Le Guillou says he has nightmares, but there is no way to quantify anything. He has an accident later that is completely overblown – and made worse by the pictures. Plot points and people are introduce that add nothing. Worst of all, Le Guillou’s own wife cannot be bothered to have any noticeable reaction to anything he tells her.
One surefire way to see if a documentary has a solid idea is to ask yourself a question. “Would I do that?” If the answer is you would rather see someone else try it, then it is a winner. A Cursed Man has a fantastic setup that it does nothing with. By the end, you may believe in magic, but you will not believe the filmmaker at all.
A Cursed Man releases on VOD March 25.
