Public art has to withstand the elements. Keep that in mind as The Curse of Willow Song rolls out. There is beauty in the breakdown, but it is going to require a heavy, heavy price.
The city which inhabits this movie is a downright unforgiving place and it offers little chance for repeat offenders like the main character. Even the people revolving in her orbit are no good for her. Yet, this is the concrete jungle that Willow Song (Valerie Tian), a recovering addict and parolee, finds herself in. An artist by trade, working with welding tools instead of paint to express herself, Willow has a lot of demons lurking about in her skull. They are ready to come out. Quite literally it seems as these are the shadows which haunt her.
Writer/Director Karn Lam and cinematographer Thomas Billingsley have created a contemporary horror film which works because of its black-and-white atmosphere and its well-developed characters, populating The Curse of Willow Song with measured moments of stark realism as it butts heads with the supernatural. The film is a tonal champion, deferring neither to absolute social realities or the strange supernatural elements which tug at its seams.
Willow is absolutely cursed. She loses her job and finds herself struggling to escape the life which sent her to jail in the first place. The temptation is there throughout the story. It always seems - thanks to the fabulous cinematography - that there is literally no place for her to go but down to the darkest levels of her soul . . . and that’s where the threat lies.
Something otherworldly is pulling at Willow’s ankles, turning even a supposed safe haven into a place where nightmares come alive and thread the very needle controlling her soul.
The Curse of Willow Song is a masteract in the handling of walking a tightrope. It is a horror film, yet it manages to speak to the realities facing all communities. The special effects are top-notch and so too are the acting talents as Willow discovers that those around her - specifically her roommate, the drug-addicted Flea (Ingrid Nilson), her real estate agent sister-in-law Dani (Elfina Luk), and brother Mission (Simon Chin) - are just no good for her recovery.
Facing isolation and displacement, shadows creep into Willow's mind and her nightmares become all too real. The film works on a symbolic level as metaphors become the monsters for her journey into the character study horror show that The Curse of Willow Song becomes. For many, it is all too real.
Co-starring Johannah Newmarch, The Curse of Willow Song will be released on Digital and DVD September 26, 2023 from Uncork’d Entertainment.
MPAA Rating: Unrated.
Runtime: 90 mins
Director: Karem Lam
Writer: Karem Lam
Cast: Valerie Tian; Elfina Luk; Ingrid Nilson
Genre: Horror
Tagline:
Memorable Movie Quote: "You have a lot of choices. It's very easy to make the wrong one."
Distributor: Uncork'd Entertainment
Official Site:
Release Date: September 26, 2023 (digital)
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date:
Synopsis: Willow Song, a recovering addict and parolee, struggles to start over. Willow finds herself in a concrete wasteland. Facing isolation and displacement, shadows creep into Willow's mind and her nightmares become too real.
