CURDLED

US, 1996, 88 minutes, Colour.
Angela Jones, William Baldwin, Bruce Ramsay, Lois Childs, Barry Corbin, Mel Goran, Kelly Preston.
Directed by Reb Braddock.

Curdled is either one of the most ingenious post-Tarantino thrillers or one of the silliest films made. Audiences can take their pick – and have.

For those who admire it, it was discovered by Tarantino especially after he saw a short film of the same name made by director Reb Braddock with Angela Jones. He then gave Angela Jones a part in Pulp Fiction, the taxi driver. He then encouraged Braddock to make a full-length feature of his short story.

In many ways, the basic plot is interesting: Gabriella, from Colombia, had a trauma when she was a child seeing a dead body. She is obsessed with violent crime. As she grows older, she becomes obsessed and studies the latest victim of a serial killer. She joins a company which actually cleans up the mess after crimes. She works with the practical Elena who gets irritated with her fascination with the details of the crime.

William Baldwin is the murderer. The audience sees him early in the piece with a killing. In the meantime, Gabriella becomes friendly with Eduardo and, after a dance, goes to the site of the crime. Meanwhile the killer is trapped inside the house and gradually breaks loose. He confronts Gabriella and she re-enacts, with a knife and to music, a dance illustrating what he did. Eduardo returns but is knocked unconscious. Gabriella then confronts the murderer – with the knife!

Angela Jones is either excellent or terrible as Gabriella – and her open eyes towards the end of the film indicate that she is more terrible than good. William Baldwin walks through his role with a touch of the smirk. Barry Corbin is the manager of the company.

The film is in the vein of the 1990s crime thrillers – both post-modern and amoral.

1.The reputation of the film? Excellent or terrible?

2.The small-budget, the performances, the limited sets? The poor direction? Musical score? The high melodramatics?

3.The title and its ironies? The blood curdling for Paul, for Gabriella? For cleaning up the scenes of crimes?

4.Gabriella, the child, the murdered man, Gabriella watching, seeing the blood seep through his clothes? Her obsession with death and blood? The older Gabriella? Her fascination with the series of murders? Her joining the cleaning team, her working with Elena, Elena’s complaints? The friendship with Eduardo, going to the dance, her mind drifting? Taking him to the scene of the crime, his unwillingness? Her cleaning up, the fascination with the blood, the name under the blood? Her defending herself to the boss? Her return to the scene, the confrontation with Paul, her explanation of what he had done, her rehearsing the whole thing, to dance, with the knife? Paul’s reaction, his slipping in the blood, her advancing to cut off his head?

5.Paul, the killer, the audience simply being shown what he did, his being trapped, unlocking the bar to the door, getting out, attacking Eduardo, confronting Gabriella, listening to her reconstruction of the crime, slipping in the blood, his death?

6.Eduardo, friendship, listening to the stories, the dance, going to the crime scene, returning, being knocked out?

7.The boss, his concern, the practicalities? The irony of a company which specialises in cleaning up crime scenes?

8.Elena, practical, not wanting to listen to Gabriella? The other women in the team and their conversations?

9.An interesting thriller – or not? The post-modern, Tarantino era?