Revenge Of The Slashers: The Hag

“I’d kill for the part.”

1983’s Curtains gives us, spoiler alert, not one, but two killers. Only one of them, however, qualifies as a real slasher. I won’t reveal the name of the second killer, but I will say that the slasher in the film wears an old hag mask and while she is never directly called that, the Hag has become the name that horror fans have attached to her. The Hag will stop at nothing to get the starring role in Jonathan Stryker’s new film, Audra, about a mentally unstable woman. The movie mirrors the real world plight of actresses in the late 1970s/early 80s and the misogyny that ruled that era and much of the era prior to and following it. It shows just how far women were willing to go to win the role of a lifetime.

In the film, Stryker invites a number of actresses to his home to audition for the part of Audra, and one by one they meet a terrible fate. The film does a great job of setting up potential suspects right off the bat, and while one particular actress seems to be the obvious choice for being the Hag, a twist is thrown in for good measure. When the real Hag is revealed, the film ends with yet another twist, leaving the audience wondering if the murders actually occurred or if they were all in the head of the killer.

The Hag, ultimately revealed to be Patti O’Connor (Lynne Griffin), favors a knife to kill most of her victims, but one particular death, that of sweet, innocent Christie Burns (Lesleh Donaldson), stands out from the rest. In Christie’s death sequence, the Hag chases her down on ice skates and eventually catches up to her in the forest where she decapitates her with a sickle. It’s one of the best and most unique chase sequences in the slasher genre in my opinion. The Hag is also known for her distinct mask featuring a wrinkled face and long, grey hair.

Curtains is a much deeper film that it appears on the surface, with most of it, from the different types of actresses to the Hag mask itself, representing some of the darkest corners of the film industry. Check this film out. It’s available to stream for free on numerous platforms. I might have to do a full film review on this one, so be on the lookout for that as well.

Thanks for checking out my post. The bloodbath continues tomorrow!