Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘The Curse of Sleeping Beauty’

Written by Scott Edwards

Okay, fine, I will admit it, I am a sucker for horror adaptations of classic fairytales. With the Brothers Grimm being the basis for so many bedtime stories over the years, why not add a little bit of something different to them to give them a twist. It is an idea that I have enjoyed seeing every time one of these movies comes out and I am never upset to see them mix things up. There is something to be said about stories that have lasted over hundreds of years, especially if they can be revamped to suit new audiences, along with pleasing the elders that have been telling the stories for generations. 

Thomas Kaiser has been shut in for far too long and his friend Nathan is trying to hammer that point home. Wanting to get his friend out of the apartment to experience life for just a little bit, his pleas fall upon deaf ears. Thomas has not felt like himself for quite some time and has been having a Sleeping Beauty dream ever since he has become an adult. Trying to find answers as to what this dream means, he visits a psychiatrist who gives him the same answers that everyone else has given him, to get out and live his life. Getting a strange call about an inheritance from his uncle, Thomas stops by the office and finds that he has just acquired Kaiser Gardens, something that has been in his family for years.

Reading his uncle’s note, there are rules to staying at the house since his blood will allow him access to the entire property. Not fully understanding what the note means, Thomas meets with an appraiser to get the value of his new property and finds out that there is a sinister past surrounding it. With people going missing over the years around town, all signs point to Kaiser Gardens swallowing them up, but despite all of the police investigations, nothing ever proved that this was the case. Being told that there is a false wall in the basement, Thomas tries to find a way in, but there is a lock that will not let him pass. Frustrated, he heads upstairs and finds real estate agent Linda waiting for him. Wanting to see more of the house, Linda has her own motives to being there, but Thomas and his strange dreams do not allow him to open up about his family yet.

Going to the records office in town, Thomas is able to find out that the house has been in his family for many more years than he expected. There has also been a change in his dreams since he is now able to kiss his Sleeping Beauty, knows that she is named Briar Rose, and that she is hidden someplace on the property. Running into Linda outside of the local bar, Thomas finds out that she lost her brother to the house and wants to find him to get some sort of closure. Heading back to the house, Thomas and Linda venture down to the basement, but this time Thomas has an idea about how to open up the hidden doorway. Using his blood, the door opens and the two are welcomed into a large study that houses an old journal from someone in his family line. Not being able to make out the inscriptions in the book, the two decide to take it, but when they start to look around an army of mannequins have appeared that are looking to take their souls. Being able to escape the house, the two meet up with a paranormal researcher who has never seen a haunting like this and when finding out that Thomas is tied to his house via a curse, they know the secrets of the journal must be unlocked so he will not become just another casualty that the house has claimed.

This is a pretty dark take on Sleeping Beauty, but not a bad one overall. With only one way to wake her, the blood of the Kaiser men is the only thing that can bring her back to power. I liked how the storyline forces Thomas to stay at the house, no matter what, it really puts a timetable on trying to figure out what is happening there and what can be done to stop it. Then there are the mannequins, so many mannequins that come to life and want to stop people from accomplishing their goals and will stop at nothing to do so. They are freaky and I will never look at the ones in stores the same way after this, it is almost like my fear of porcelain dolls. With Thomas’s blood being the key to everything that happens next, he really has his work cut out for him and with the crazed Briar Rose calling for his help, he shows the strain of the world on his shoulders. Stay Scared.

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