Horror Movie Review: The Cured (2018)

The Cured is a 2017 Irish horror film that released in 2018. It was written and directed by David Freyne and stars Ellen Page. Set in Ireland, a portion of the population have been cured of the flesh eating, rage inducing Maze virus. However, the remaining group are still infected with the deadly disease. The film follows Senan (Sam Keeley) who’s attempting to reintegrate society after recently becoming one of the cured. He shows up on the doorstep of his sister-in-law Abbie (Ellen Page), a widowed mother who lost her husband to the plague and is now stuck fending for herself.

Those that return are treated like outcasts. They must face consequences and the judgement of society for the horrific acts they committed while infected.

While most are remorseful and disturbed by their actions, others are less so. Connor (Tom Vaughan-Lawlor) lost his high profile job as a lawyer as well as being completely shunned by his family. This leads him to resent those that protest and abuse the cured. He organises a group that commit a series of terrorist acts as revenge. Senan becomes entangled in the madness. He suffers with traumatic nightmares surrounding the moment he contracted the virus.

Later, it is revealed that Senan was the one that killed Abbie’s husband after Connor had bitten him. You see, the infected work with a pack mentality and Connor was the alpha. This means that he has a connection with those that he killed with. Also, it means that he can easily coerce those around him.

Connor doesn’t regret the way that he felt and the things that he did while he was infected. In fact, he loved it and wishes to unleash the virus on society once again. Will Senan be able to stop him? What will Abbie do if she finds out that Senan was the one who killed her husband? Check out The Cured to find out.

I’ve read online that some people don’t believe that The Cured is particularly original. Apparently, a film called The Returned (2013) has the same concept. Well, I’ve never seen The Returned. Therefore, The Cured delivered a premise unlike anything I have seen before. This isn’t easy in a genre where everything has been done. The questions it raises surrounding the social and ethical ramifications of such a scenario is very interesting.

However, there is something to be said about the pacing of the first two thirds of the movie. Needless to say, it’s extremely slow paced and borders on boring. In the final third, things really ramp up. On the whole, I feel it represented the scenario in a very realistic way which made for interesting viewing. If this type of thing ever happens then this is exactly how I see it going. It would be brought under control but still cause enough psychological damage to change the world as we know it.

The infection in The Cured reminded me of the very similar rage virus that is seen in 28 Days Later. The “zombies” are extremely intimidating. They are smart, fast, strong and capable of inflicting mayhem upon the world.

The characters that are introduced are quite generic, nothing too creative. I never really felt invested in their lives. Although, I must say that the performances overall are very good.

The Cured may not be original but it manages to deliver something unlike anything I have seen before. It’s a slow burn but things do pick up for the action-packed finale. It may not light the world on fire but it’s worth a watch, at least for the intriguing questions it raises.