A Review of ‘Curses!’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Larry (voiced by James Marsters), Stanley (voiced by Rhys Darby), Russ (voiced by Andre Robinson), Sky (voiced by Lyric Lewis) and Pandora (voiced by Gabrielle Nevaeh) in "CURSES!," now streaming on Apple TV+.

This piece was written during the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. Without the labor of the actors currently on strike, the series being covered here wouldn’t exist.
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It is definitely safe to say, that grown-up horror fans in the world, all harbor a similar origin story as to how they came to love the genre. One that involved trips to the video store on the weekends and some begging and pleading for mom and dad to let them rent the video with the scary monster on the cover, only for them to endure regret and terror, and eventually, wonder, the kind that stems from when they enjoyed the rush that the film gave them, and the safety it provided them with to work out some deep rooted fears of the dark or more. And if by chance that wasn’t how it went down, then good old-fashioned cable did the trick since it was easy to find horror there, and if all else failed… Saturday nights were the way to go.

Because everyone’s town had a late-night block of horror programming, from epic B-movie horror features to Tales from the Darkside, and those 90s horror fans got their start hanging out with the Crypt Keeper while watching Tales from the Crypt. But regardless of how horror fans uncovered the majesty of horror, the bottom line is that there was no easy or safe path for them to explore horror’s wonder. Just a push into its world and all of its gore, but that particular truth about horror is beginning to change before our eyes. For those young horror fans are now adults and they want anyone young and curious about the genre to ease their way into it, and it just so happens that Apple TV+ is now home to a story that accomplishes just that.

For Curses! is a brand-new animated family show, that is quite frankly… a gateway horror story. One that introduces us to the Vanderhouven family. Which is made up of Alex, his wife Sky, and their two kids, Russ, and Pandora. And they are a family of intellects and explorers and they… are dealing with quite the crisis in their lives. Because Alex is aware of quite the secret regarding his family. In that, a generations long curse hangs over them and it is about to take root in this latest iteration of the family, and sadly… while he works to solve it and lift it so his children will never have to deal with it, it takes hold of him. Forcing his family into unknown sections of their vast house to discover terrors and secrets untold, all in the name of lifting the curse from the family for all time.

Which at first glance feels akin more to an adventure story over horror but make no mistake about it; this is a gateway horror story. For in the dark, and in the forbidden sections of the Vanderhouven estate are incredible elements of horror. Not monsters that induce nightmares a la Pennywise the Clown, mind you, but horrors for certain. Courtesy of unique beings that are quite off kilter, and scares and dangers untold, and that makes for a brilliant series. One that really does allow for children to confront the core elements of horror, and overcome them in a safe environment and learn that horror is fun, and that it can offer an individual a lot and the wonder of this story doesn’t end with its ability to introduce the next generation to the genre that kept the last generation staring at the shadows in their room at two in the morning.

For this is still a family entertainment show at its core, and that means there are wonderful messages to find within the story. The kind that informs the children watching, that they are stronger than they carry within them an incredible skill set, and that they should be brave when needed. And those are critical lessons to learn for someone young, and ones they need to hear, and well, all of these elements make this series a true delight. For it really does introduce kids to a genre that parents aren’t eager for them to watch in a safe manner that will allow them to properly transition to the darker stuff when the time is right. All while providing them with an engaging and fun story, that is unique in every way imaginable, including its visual presentation, and the best news of all… is that your kids can start watching this right away. For Curses! is streaming on Apple TV+, and we certainly hope you give it a look, since it is a refreshing show, filled with wonder and the right amount of terror.

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