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Cursed in Baja Review
Image Credit: Anchor Bay Entertainment
Loading...Cursed in Baja Review
Jeff Daniel Phillips– Pirelli
Finnegan Seeker Bell– Quinn Kemper
Mark Fite– Thomas Durviage
Robbyn Leigh– Helen Kemper
Jim Storm– Robert Kemper
Barbara Crampton– Jill Garvey
Jacely Fuentes– Young Woman
(check out the rest of the cast here)
Directed by Jeff Daniel Phillips
Screenplay by Jeff Daniel Phillips
Distributed by Anchor Bay Entertainment
Not Rated
Runtime– 80 minutes
Check out the Cursed in Baja official website here
Cursed in Baja, written by, directed by, and starring Jeff Daniel Phillips and set to hit Video on Demand and select theaters October 29th, 2024, is an engrossingly weird mash up of a badass crime movie, a wacked out mystery, and a monster movie. When it’s over and you start thinking about what you just watched, the movie shouldn’t work. It just shouldn’t. And yet, somehow, Cursed in Baja succeeds. It sure as hell is a movie that you won’t forget.
Phillips stars as Pirelli, a troubled ex-lawman who, after getting out of prison, tries to get his life back together with a job as a janitor. All Pirelli wants to do is keep his job, live a generally quiet life, and quell all of his disturbing memories (we see Pirelli’s past through various disjointed flashbacks). One day, Pirelli is contacted by Thomas Durviage (Mark Fite), a representative of the wealthy Kemper family, for potential employment. The Kempers want Pirelli to use his old lawman skills to track down, find, and bring back their grandson Quinn (Finnegan Seeker Bell), who seems to have gone missing somewhere in Baja, Mexico. At first, Pirelli isn’t interested. He just wants to keep living his quiet life and not get into any trouble. But after thinking about the job and experiencing some sense of guilt over his past misdeeds, Pirelli decides to take the assignment. Hooked up with money, a gun, a car, and other necessary supplies, Pirelli heads to Mexico to look for Quinn.
As soon as Pirelli gets to Mexico, Tijuana to be exact, he starts walking the streets and asking questions. While tracking down information and potential leads, Pirelli starts to get worried about his lack of medication (he takes pills for, I guess, his nightmares and his anxiety). Where the heck is he going to get more pills in Mexico? And what is he going to do when he eventually gets deeper into the mystery of what happened to Quinn?
I don’t want to say any more about the plot, as the movie is chock full of bizarre surprises and things you wouldn’t expect to see in a movie that starts out as a “missing person’s case.” I mean, there’s a drug cartel, some sort of cult that has something to do with an old lady, and a “man-in-suit” creature that sort of resembles a combination of a werewolf and a Sasquatch. Why does the story go off in so many different directions? Does any of it make the least bit of sense?
Well, as far as I can tell, the story of Cursed in Baja goes the way it goes because that’s what writer/director Phillips wanted to see in his movie. And the movie does make sense, but it does take a few moments to piece together all of the movie’s disparate elements. It’s best to just accept what you’re seeing is exactly what you’re seeing, and go from there. Would the movie have been “more successful” if Phillips and company had told a more linear story? Maybe, yeah. But then, if Phillips had gone the conventional route with the movie and told a full-on linear story, Cursed in Baja wouldn’t be as interesting as it is. And that’s really the big draw with Cursed in Baja. There is no other movie like it anywhere.
The general look of Cursed in Baja follows its weird plot quite well. The movie starts out with a rather mundane, everyday world look about it. The movie starts to become more visually interesting when Pirelli gets to Mexico (I’m going to assume that Phillips actually shot the movie in Mexico simply because it doesn’t look like a Hollywood backlot). And the last quarter or so of the movie just looks freaking insane. Do not be surprised if you find yourself wondering out loud “What the hell is going on here?” That’s what I did.
The disjointed flashbacks and memories Pirelli experiences are often quite jarring because you’re never quite sure what the heck they have to do with the main plot of the movie. Pay attention to them, as they do figure into how the movie plays itself out. Those flashbacks also help explain who Pirelli is, not to mention what his ongoing mental state is like. There are times where you think the movie is doing that whole “is Pirelli an unreliable narrator?” thing, and it’s not entirely clear if that is what is happening. I don’t think it is, but I could see where someone might say that that is what’s happening. The overall weirdness of the movie helps with all of that.
The monster special effects are fantastic looking. I love how the movie doesn’t try to hide the creature once it’s revealed and keeps it right in front of the audience’s face. You rarely see that in low budget, indie cinema. It’s also great how the creature is as nasty as they come. Again, the movie has no qualms about putting its monster front and center. There really is something special about a monster that isn’t some CGI cartoon.
The best performance in the movie belongs to its star Phillips. He’s in just about every scene, his Pirelli drives the story, and there is no movie without him. After about ten minutes or so you can tell that Cursed in Baja really is his baby, and he’s putting absolutely everything he has into it. Everything. The movie does have a few other interesting performances. Finnegan Seeker Bell is fascinating as Quinn Kemper. Is he really just a messed up rich kid in over his head in a place that he doesn’t understand, or is something else going on? Mark Fite is quietly sleazy as Kemper handler Durviage. As soon as you see him you immediately think something is up with him. Jacely Fuentes has a nice part as the young woman Pirelli leans on for information while in Mexico. And the great Barbara Crampton pops in for a brief moment as Pirelli’s parole officer (I swear to God, I thought she was playing a ghost).
Cursed in Baja isn’t going to be for everyone. There will be movie watchers that just won’t vibe with it because it’s so dang weird. But if you’re an adventurous movie watcher, or at least someone who likes to take a chance every now and then when it comes to your low budget genre cinema, Cursed in Baja is something you should seek out and embrace. The movie goes places you don’t expect, tells a story that you can’t anticipate, and features a fine performance from star Phillips plus some phenomenal monster effects. Cursed in Baja is bizarre and strange and wonderful. If you give it a chance and accept it on its own terms, I think you’ll dig it.
See Cursed in Baja. See it, see it, see it. Cursed in Baja hits Video on Demand and select theaters starting October 29th, 2024 and comes to us from Anchor Bay Entertainment.
So what do we have here?
Dead bodies: At least 10.
Explosions: None.
Nudity?: None.
Doobage: A crow. A guy riding a dirt bike in the desert. Prison. An elevator. Home movies in slow motion. Janitor hooey. Cardboard boxes being put in a dumpster. A woman chased down via slow motion flashback. Oxygen. More home video flashbacks in slow motion. Barfing. Attempted job protection. Cell phone hooey. A sudden lack of necessary medication. Mexican food. A monster flashback. A cave. A club. Attempted suicide. Dirty cops. An alleyway beating. A trailer out in the middle of nowhere. A laughing woman. Horses. Slow motion shovel attack. Hot food. A history lesson of sorts. A suitcase full of drugs. A monster attack. Chain bondage. An old woman putting on makeup. A weird performance. A guy playing the accordion. A sword. Stomach slicing. Up close intestine eating. Of screen decapitation (maybe). Ring stealing. A suitcase hunt. Shotgun attack. A final monster attack. Car trunk bondage.
Kim Richards? None.
Gratuitous: Jeff Daniel Phillips in prison. Jeff Daniel Phillips constant voiceover. Jeff Daniel Phillips getting out of prison. Jeff Daniel Phillips talking on the phone to Barbara Crampton. Barbara Crampton looking like a ghost. Jeff Daniel Phillips working as a janitor. Jeff Daniel Phillips dust moping a floor, wet moping a floor, wiping down a mirror, cleaning a public bathroom, and vacuuming a rug. Vaping. Shoe removal. Jeff Daniel Phillips looking at a dossier. An indie video store. Jeff Daniel Phillips not knowing anything about social media. Jeff Daniel Phillips using a flip phone. Drinking directly from the faucet. A music video of some sort. Mexico. Tijuana street life. Sex flashbacks. Not being able to open doors in slow motion. Jeff Daniel Phillips foaming at the mouth. A giant statue of Jesus. Two dogs. Lighting a stove burner with a lighter. A monster. A long winding road.
Best lines: “It’s time.” “I thought I found my kindred soul.” “Motherhood brings out the best in most women. Not with her.” “I knew she was damaged. But that wasn’t enough to keep me away.” “It’s happening again.” “Godspeed, Mr. Pirelli. I hope I never see you again.” “You do not understand these people! They are ruthless! Let me take one more drag here, please!” “I don’t drink.” “She’s hooked me again. I think I have to find him.” “What about my job? I’m sure they can find you a temporary replacement.” “Hey, can I borrow your pen?” “Tijuana set me back. Why am I here? Must be a death wish.” “What does he really want the kid for?” “I can help you. I can take all of your pain away.” “You’re here for me, aren’t you?” “A beast?” “So what happened to the suitcase full of cocaine?” “What is this? What is this?” “It looks like the old man was telling the truth.” “Give him the drugs, goddamit!” “They say the last man standing wins. It’s true in his case.” “My promise to the Kemplars was to bring their boy home. Let’s hope he remains alive by the time we get there.”
