Few things unsettle the imagination like a story woven in shadows, where beasts wear human faces and monsters slip through the cracks of reason. The Cursed crackles with the tension of folklore and fear, beckoning viewers into a world where old legends are never truly buried. One may think one knows the werewolf tale, until this film claws its way into the dreams, giving sleep paralysis.

Having completed its monumental box office run in 2022, The Cursed has surprisingly decided to bless one particular streamer.

The Cursed (2021), formerly known as Eight for Silver, is a brooding horror film that premiered to acclaim for its chilling depiction of a 19th-century village tormented by an ancient curse and is now streaming on Netflix. The story centers around a rural community beset by mysterious, brutal deaths after they disturb a Romani burial ground. Blending period drama with supernatural terror, The Cursed reinvents the classic werewolf myth with unnerving realism and atmospheric dread.

The Cursed brings together a compelling cast to breathe life into its eerie 19th-century tale. Boyd Holbrook leads as John McBride, a pathologist unraveling dark secrets, while Kelly Reilly portrays Isabelle Laurent, a resilient landowner battling supernatural forces threatening her village. Supported by Alistair Petrie, Roxane Duran, and others, the group’s nuanced performances expand the film’s haunting atmosphere and make its chilling story truly unforgettable.

2025's Ultimate Horror Movie List: 10 Flicks You Can’t Miss!

With the scary plot and a perfect cast, the director had a unique vision to represent the the wild animal.

What sets The Cursed apart from traditional creature features is director Sean Ellis’s radical approach to depicting werewolves. Instead of conventional wolf-like transformations, the creatures in the film are deliberately designed not to resemble classic wolves. Ellis uses distorted, grotesque forms, emphasizing alien and unnatural movements to create beasts that unsettle rather than evoke familiarity.

This creative choice builds a suffocating sense of the uncanny, plunging viewers into doubt over what they are truly witnessing in one of the gory movies streaming on the OTT platform. The wolves serve more as nightmarish echoes than literal animals, intensifying the film’s atmosphere of mounting terror. By denying the audience the comfort of familiar folklore, The Cursed keeps fear unpredictable and presents a sinister masterstroke in modern horror filmmaking.

10 Perfect Horror Films Netflix Made That You Must Watch

Could you handle a horror experience where nothing is as it seems and even the monsters defy imagination? Let us know in the comments below.