Curtains (1983) on Netflix
R19831h 29mHorrorMysteryThriller
Samantha Sherwood commits herself to an asylum to research the madwoman Audra for Jonathan Stryker. He auditions younger actresses at his snowbound mansion as a masked killer stalks them.
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- Netflix2.9/5
- IMDb5.5/107,070 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes60%
Trailer
Plot summary
Samantha Sherwood, an actress, agrees to have herself committed to an asylum so she can study madness for the title role in Audra, the film her director Jonathan Stryker is preparing. Weeks pass, and she learns from a trade paper that casting for Audra has begun. Stryker is auditioning younger women at his snow-covered mansion. Five arrive: Patti O'Connor, a stand-up comic; Brooke Parsons, a veteran actress; Laurian Summers, a ballet dancer; Tara DeMillo; and Christie Burns, an ice skater. The caretaker, Matthew, meets them, and the women settle in as a snowstorm builds. Samantha turns up uninvited at the dinner table. A figure in a hag mask is watching the house.
Cast
- Deborah Burgessas Amanda Teuther
- Joann McIntyreas Secretary
- Calvin Butleras Dr. Pendleton
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Curtains (1983)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Director Richard Ciupka left Curtains after disagreements with producer Peter Simpson over its style and tone, when only 45 minutes of usable footage had been shot. Simpson took over the shoot about a year later.
- After Curtains was finished, director Richard Ciupka removed his own name from the film, and its director is credited as "Jonathan Stryker", the name of John Vernon's character.
- Curtains was shelved for a year of rewrites, reshoots and a major recasting, and its end credits come in two sets, divided between "Act I" and "Act II", marking the two production periods.
- John Vernon was cast as director Jonathan Stryker in Curtains, a part that had originally been considered for Klaus Kinski.
- Celine Lomez was originally cast as Brooke Parsons in Curtains, but producer Peter Simpson fired her and Linda Thorson replaced her.
SPOILER
An alternate ending shot in Toronto had Lynne Griffin's Patti O'Connor performing a monologue on a theater stage surrounded by her dead victims; it was dropped because the producer's then-wife felt it was "too improbable."- Actress Lesleh Donaldson was sent for skating practice by Curtains' producers despite having little training; she tripped on the uneven ice while filming the skating scene, hurt herself, and a stand-in was used for her long shots.
- After its release, Curtains became a staple of late night television and built a cult following in the 2000s, with fans petitioning for an official DVD release.
