User Reviews

"Der Fluch" or "The Curse" is a West German 90-minute film from 1988 and "West" still needs to be said in this context because the Berlin Wall was up back then already. Two more years and this film will have its 30th anniversary. The writer and director is German filmmaker Ralf Huettner and this is probably one of his lesser known works. Looking at how there is almost always a major comedic content in his works, this one is a bit of an exception and maybe thus not so famous (anymore). He was in his 30s at that point still and it is his second full feature film. This is the story of a married couple who travel in the mountains. Next to them, there is their young daughter and she is the center of attention when it comes to the curse described in the title. I personally find the title fairly uninviting and it is so basic and general that it does not get me curious about the film at all. Today this film is probably most interesting because it has a couple known names, such as Dominic Raacke (long before his Tatort days), Barbara May, Fassbinder regular Barbara Valentin and the young Tobias Moretti. But overall, the script keeps it from being a rewarding watch whatsoever. The dramatic tension and mystery thriller elements especially are never good enough or scary enough to get one on the edge of his seat unless he is scared very easily. I read people say that this is a horror film and even if there are some (supernatural) sequences that were intended to scare, I would not call it such. Also there were some illogical aspects in this film, such as how can these girls let the car fall down on Raacke's character if they do not really exist physically? I have no idea. And the ending with the plot twist and the spooky explanation by the newscaster did not add half as much as the filmmakers intended sadly. I give this one a thumbs-down. Sadly, this film is another piece of evidence how German film was not exactly peaking in the 1980s. Watch something else instead.