Horror Movie Review: A Warning to the Curious (2013)

In 2103 (the year of this film’s release) and beyond, no movie should be this unwatchable. We’re not talking about a bad story, poor acting or rubbish effects. We’re talking about camera work that is so shaky, environments that are impossibly dark and audio that is jarring and irritating to the ears. A Warning to the Curious is a horribly made movie.

Written and directed by Ali Djarar, it stars Benjamin Bonar, Monty Burgess and Mark Drake. The story surrounds a group of ghost hunters that go to a spooky location expecting nothing but end up getting way more than they bargained for.

Yawn. How absolutely mind-numbing is that summation of the story? It might seem brief but it really does tell you everything you need to know about this waste of time horror. Oh, there is some extra detail about a cult and a void to hell but all of that is lost in a miasma of talking and shouting.

The five-some are generic characters and the attempt to humanise them at the start of the movie with ‘bants’ is a waste of time. Nobody says anything of importance or acts with any kind of conviction. It’s not that they’re unlikable characters or bad actors, it’s that they’re so bland and uninteresting they can best be summed up with the word ‘meh’. It’s such a boring introduction.

It’s not as though the movie picks up when they arrive at their haunted site either. Initially, they go to a site that has nothing more than cobwebs but get the chance to go to a properly haunted place. Once there, it’s a descent into darkness. For the viewer as well as the characters.

The film is a mess. There is nothing entertaining about having to peer into the gloom, wondering what is going on as the characters shout non-stop. It’s so frustrating, made all the worse by the total lack of originality in the story. The estimated budget of $6,000 might sound incredible but come the end there’s nothing to admire.

80 minutes of your life that you won’t get back.