Curdled (film)
Encyclopedia
Curdled is 1996 black comedy
written and directed by Reb Braddock. The film stars Angela Jones
as a Colombian
immigrant who takes a crime scene cleanup
job, and discovers evidence about a local serial killer
dubbed the "Blue Blood Killer" for his targeting of socialites. The film is a re-make of a 1991 short film of the same name, which also was directed by Braddock and starred Jones.
Having quit her job at a bakery, she begins work for a cleaning service, headed by a man named Lodger (Barry Corbin), that specializes in mopping up what is left behind at crime scenes after she sees a television commercial advertizing it. She goes to the office, inquires about a job and later is (to the dismay of Elena (Mel Gorham), her cleaning partner) offered the opportunity to clean up after an execution by her favorite at-large serial murderer, The Blue Blood Killer (William Baldwin) (so named because his victims are all wealthy women).
The two women go to the scene of the crime and begin cleaning up the mess. Elena diligently works away, trying to get out of there as soon as possible; meanwhile Gabriela discovers what she believes to be the name of the serial killer - "Paul Guell" - beneath a pool of blood, but covers it up so that Elena won't see and think she is weird. Due to the amount of blood, they have to leave and come back the next day.
While out on a date with ex-colleague Eduardo (Bruce Ramsay), Gabriela reveals to him what she found out and after failing to clearly explain, convinces him to go to the house that same night, before it all gets cleaned up.
Unbeknown to Gabriela and Eduardo, the killer is still in the building after accidentally locking himself in the wine cellar while trying to escape. Gabriela opens the door to the cellar, when Eduardo freaks out and decides he wants to go, leaving the door ajar and the killer an escape route. Eduardo leaves when Gabriela refuses to go with him, and she picks up a knife, dancing around the house where the blood is, acting out what she thinks happened - all while the killer watches.
When Eduardo returns after a second thought, the killer hits him over the head and hides him in a closet. He soon stops Gabriela and forces her to walk him through what happened, checking that she knows the full story, and when they come to the end, they briefly argue about Gabriela's theory of heads talking after decapitation. The killer then decides it's time for Gabriela to die, but in a struggle, he slips and is knocked out on the tiled floor.
When he begins to come to, Gabriela, out of sheer curiosity, picks up the knife and cuts his head off. She slowly lifts up his head and he mumbles her name, to which Gabriela smiles with satisfaction.
, giving the film 17% approval rating, yet a slightly more promising 4.3/10 average rating. Roger Ebert
gave the film two out of four stars, saying that the film "is not very interesting", however praising Jones' ability to play "a tricky role with the right note of deadpan delight". Similarly, Todd McCarthy
, former critic for Variety
, said that Jones "manages to hold viewer interest throughout with a devilishly witty turn... despite having desperately little to work with".
Black comedy
A black comedy, or dark comedy, is a comic work that employs black humor or gallows humor. The definition of black humor is problematic; it has been argued that it corresponds to the earlier concept of gallows humor; and that, as humor has been defined since Freud as a comedic act that anesthetizes...
written and directed by Reb Braddock. The film stars Angela Jones
Angela Jones
Angela Jones is an American actress. She was born in Greensburg, Pennsylvania then raised in Jeannette, Pennsylvania where she graduated in 1986. Both towns are located approximately 25 miles southeast of Pittsburgh. She is a graduate of Point Park College in Pittsburgh.Quentin Tarantino...
as a Colombian
Colombian people
Colombian people are from a multiethnic Spanish speaking nation in South America called Colombia. Colombians are predominantly Roman Catholic and are a mixture of Europeans, Africans, and Amerindians.-Demography:...
immigrant who takes a crime scene cleanup
Crime scene cleanup
Crime scene cleanup is a term applied to any situation involving biological cleaning and or health concerning issues. Such issues may include:*Clandestine methamphetamine laboratory contamination*Flood and sewage backups*Suicides*Homicides...
job, and discovers evidence about a local serial killer
Serial killer
A serial killer, as typically defined, is an individual who has murdered three or more people over a period of more than a month, with down time between the murders, and whose motivation for killing is usually based on psychological gratification...
dubbed the "Blue Blood Killer" for his targeting of socialites. The film is a re-make of a 1991 short film of the same name, which also was directed by Braddock and starred Jones.
Plot
Gabriela (Angela Jones) is a Colombian immigrant living in Miami who has been fascinated with violent death ever since she saw a falling corpse pass by her mother's bakery window as a child. With many television shows and films feeding her obsession, she believes that after someone is decapitated, they still talk for a short while afterwards.Having quit her job at a bakery, she begins work for a cleaning service, headed by a man named Lodger (Barry Corbin), that specializes in mopping up what is left behind at crime scenes after she sees a television commercial advertizing it. She goes to the office, inquires about a job and later is (to the dismay of Elena (Mel Gorham), her cleaning partner) offered the opportunity to clean up after an execution by her favorite at-large serial murderer, The Blue Blood Killer (William Baldwin) (so named because his victims are all wealthy women).
The two women go to the scene of the crime and begin cleaning up the mess. Elena diligently works away, trying to get out of there as soon as possible; meanwhile Gabriela discovers what she believes to be the name of the serial killer - "Paul Guell" - beneath a pool of blood, but covers it up so that Elena won't see and think she is weird. Due to the amount of blood, they have to leave and come back the next day.
While out on a date with ex-colleague Eduardo (Bruce Ramsay), Gabriela reveals to him what she found out and after failing to clearly explain, convinces him to go to the house that same night, before it all gets cleaned up.
Unbeknown to Gabriela and Eduardo, the killer is still in the building after accidentally locking himself in the wine cellar while trying to escape. Gabriela opens the door to the cellar, when Eduardo freaks out and decides he wants to go, leaving the door ajar and the killer an escape route. Eduardo leaves when Gabriela refuses to go with him, and she picks up a knife, dancing around the house where the blood is, acting out what she thinks happened - all while the killer watches.
When Eduardo returns after a second thought, the killer hits him over the head and hides him in a closet. He soon stops Gabriela and forces her to walk him through what happened, checking that she knows the full story, and when they come to the end, they briefly argue about Gabriela's theory of heads talking after decapitation. The killer then decides it's time for Gabriela to die, but in a struggle, he slips and is knocked out on the tiled floor.
When he begins to come to, Gabriela, out of sheer curiosity, picks up the knife and cuts his head off. She slowly lifts up his head and he mumbles her name, to which Gabriela smiles with satisfaction.
Cast
- Angela JonesAngela JonesAngela Jones is an American actress. She was born in Greensburg, Pennsylvania then raised in Jeannette, Pennsylvania where she graduated in 1986. Both towns are located approximately 25 miles southeast of Pittsburgh. She is a graduate of Point Park College in Pittsburgh.Quentin Tarantino...
as Gabriela - William BaldwinWilliam BaldwinWilliam Joseph "Billy" Baldwin is an American actor, producer, and writer, known for his starring roles in such films as Flatliners , Backdraft , Sliver , Fair Game , Virus , Double Bang , as Johnny 13 in Danny Phantom , Art Heist , The Squid and the Whale , as himself...
as Paul Guell / "The Blue Blood Killer" - Bruce RamsayBruce RamsayBruce Ramsay is a Canadian film, television and stage actor.-Early life:Ramsay was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada...
as Eduardo - Mel Gorham as Elena
- Barry CorbinBarry CorbinLeonard Barrie Corbin, known as Barry Corbin , is an American actor with more than one hundred film, television and video game credits.-Early life:...
as Lodger - Lois ChilesLois ChilesLois Cleveland Chiles is an American actress and former fashion model known for her role as Dr. Holly Goodhead in the 1979 James Bond film Moonraker.-Early life:...
as Katrina Brandt - Daisy FuentesDaisy FuentesDaisy Fuentes is a Cuban-American television host, model, and comedian. Daisy Fuentes broke barriers as MTV's first Latina VJ , and as Revlon's first Latina spokesperson to be signed to a worldwide contract.-Early life:Fuentes was born in Havana, Cuba to a Cuban father and Spanish mother...
as Clara - Carmen Lopez as Lourdes
- Vivienne Sendaydiego as Eva
- Caridad Rivelo as Joan
- Sandra Thigpen as Grace
- Kelly PrestonKelly PrestonKelly Preston is an American actress and former model.- Early years :Preston was born Kelly Kamalelehua Smith in Honolulu, Hawaii. Her mother, Linda, was an administrator of a mental health center, and her father, who worked for an agricultural firm, drowned when Preston was three years old...
as Kelly Hogue - Lupita FerrerLupita FerrerLupita Ferrer is a Venezuelan theater, film and television actress.Ferrer was born Yolanda Guadalupe Ferrer in Maracaibo to Spanish immigrant parents. She became famous for her beauty and her strong theatrical presence.Ferrer has a strong theatrical background...
as Marie Clement - Sabrina Cowan as Red Haired Waitress
- Charles Tucker as San the Barback (as Charles J. Tucker)
- Allysa Tacher as Young Gabriela
- Nattacha Amador as Gabriela's Mother
- Therese Marie Gutierrez as PFCS Spokesmaid
- Jay Arnor as Falling Man
- George ClooneyGeorge ClooneyGeorge Timothy Clooney is an American actor, film director, producer, and screenwriter. For his work as an actor, he has received two Golden Globe Awards and an Academy Award...
as Seth GeckoSeth GeckoSeth Gecko is the main protagonist, an anti-hero in the 1996 film From Dusk Till Dawn and it's 2001 spin-off video game of the same name. He is portrayed by George Clooney in both the film and game.-Overview:...
(uncredited) - Quentin TarantinoQuentin TarantinoQuentin Jerome Tarantino is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer and actor. In the early 1990s, he began his career as an independent filmmaker with films employing nonlinear storylines and the aestheticization of violence...
as Richie Gecko (uncredited)
Critical Reception
The film has received mixed to negative reviews, with the film review collection website, Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
, giving the film 17% approval rating, yet a slightly more promising 4.3/10 average rating. Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
gave the film two out of four stars, saying that the film "is not very interesting", however praising Jones' ability to play "a tricky role with the right note of deadpan delight". Similarly, Todd McCarthy
Todd McCarthy
Todd McCarthy is an American film critic. He wrote for Variety for 31 years as its chief film critic before being fired in 2010. He is currently a critic for The Hollywood Reporter....
, former critic for Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
, said that Jones "manages to hold viewer interest throughout with a devilishly witty turn... despite having desperately little to work with".