USA, 1989
Review:
JA Kerswell
Inexplicably banned in the UK for many years, this mishmash of slasher and home invasion movie strives for the intensity of something like THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT (1972) but falls well short due to some terrible acting and sloppy directing. Two psychotic brothers escape from prison and go on a killing spree to punish those who helped put them away. Perhaps the most interesting thing about it is its cast, notably Kyle Richards in the central role—who played little Lindsey Wallace in John Carpenter’s HALLOWEEN (1978) and more recently is best known for the long-running, drama-fuelled Bravo reality TV show THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF BEVERLY HILLS.
Stephanie (Richards) is under strict instructions to be home by 10 pm from her parents, Jean (Megan Davenport) and Walter (Frank Miller), who are due to go away for the weekend. Her father once again reminds their housekeeper (Peggy Rea) about the curfew (presumably to ensure that the movie can justify its title). Stephanie has fallen in with a trio of bad ‘uns from school who enjoy pranking the local police officer (Christopher Knight) by pretending one of them was badly injured in a motorcycle crash. Her date, John (Peter Nelson), the high school jock and football ace, tries to pressure Stephanie to have sex with him, but she refuses and leaves her friends in the woods when she realises she is going to be late and break curfew.
However, when she gets home, Stephanie finds her parents gone and two strange men waiting for her with a gun: Wendell (Ray Perkins) and his younger brother Bob (John Putch). Her father is the District Attorney who prosecuted them in 1979 after one of them accidentally killed a girl. Stephanie manages to flee and runs to the house of the judge who put the brothers away—who just happens to live next door—to find him and his wife slain. With Wendell in hot pursuit, Stephanie once again clip-clops into the night in her high heels to try and find help—but who will believe this girl-who-cried-wolf ... ?
CURFEW starts roughly with a barely coherent preamble that seems to suggest one of the brothers accidentally kills a girl with an axe (quite how you accidentally kill someone with an axe is a question for the ages). It then shows the brothers in prison, where they have been inexplicably housed in the same cell together. Then, without explanation, they are free and on their deadly rampage, which starts with the psychiatrist who testified at their trial (we know he’s a shrink because he has a huge Rorschach print behind him). They bash his head against some ‘metal’ gargoyle wall art (pay attention because it is obviously rubber as it deflates and pings back into shape!). The first third of the movie features a series of poorly staged murders that usually are off-screen or shown in the aftermath. They are usually pretty on the nose, too—with the judge being beaten to death with his gavel as an example.
The film veers between a slasher movie and a home invasion saga throughout but more-or-less settles on the latter for its second half (although some obnoxious teenagers wander in during the closing act to get offed in the grand tradition). Director Gary Winick seems more comfortable with the home invasion angle, as the film does achieve some suspense as Stephanie and her parents try to escape the clutches of the murderous duo. Putch and Wellman are pretty good once they have settled into their roles—with the latter especially effective as the more sinister of the pair. Although not especially gory, CURFEW features a number of scenes where the parents are humiliated and tortured, which was likely the reason why it troubled the BBFC. However, although unpleasant viewing at times, the poor performances of these victims undercut any genuine pathos or tension it might have created.
Previous child actor Kyle Richards—who also appeared in genre films such as EATEN ALIVE (1976) and THE CAR (1977)—is marginally better as the menaced teenage girl, but it is pretty clear why she failed to carve a sustained acting career as an adult. However, special mention should go to her voluminous eyebrows, which deserved their own spin-off (or at least an appearance on LOVE BOAT). CURFEW was something of a family affair. Rick Hilton (Paris’ father and husband to Richards’ half-sister and fellow HOUSEWIFE Kathy Hilton) executively produced it. Richards reprised her role as Lindsey Wallace in HALLOWEEN KILLS (2021) and HALLOWEEN ENDS (2022). Christopher Knight—who plays the amiable but rather useless cop—was another refugee child star from the 1970s and is best remembered as middle son Peter Brady in the long-running THE BRADY BUNCH TV show. Gary Winick didn’t show much potential with CURFEW but went on to make some award-winning dramas and comedies and work with the likes of Sigourney Weaver and Parker Posey.
Filmed independently in and around Los Angeles, CURFEW was shot on 35mm and has a 1.85: 1 aspect ratio, suggesting it was intended for a theatrical run (and some promotional 1-sheets exist). However, it doesn’t appear that it got a cinema release in North America, but New World released it directly to home video as a pickup in April 1989. The BBFC rejected the film for video in the UK in 1988, but it was passed uncut in 2002 for a DVD release.
Not cheesy enough to be really fun and not well-made or disturbing enough to give Krug Stillo sleepless nights, CURFEW remains a curio—and one that Kyle Richards probably never mentions during her confessionals on HOUSEWIVES.
BODY COUNT 16:
Female 6 / Male 10