Curdled (1996) User Reviews

Not Known For Some Reason

[gavin6942 · 6/10 · 17 February 2014]

Gabriella (Angela Jones), a Colombian immigrant, is obsessed with understanding violent crime. The current string of murders by the Blue Blood Killer of affluent Miami socialites provides her with fodder for her scrapbook of death. She lands a job with a post-murder cleaning service and during a Blue-Blood clean-up job, discovers evidence that police have overlooked.

While this is not a perfect film, it is a fun dark comedy that should appeal to "gore hounds" and fans of Robert Rodriguez. Apparently this exists in the same universe that "From Dusk to Dawn" does, plus features Billy Baldwin as a killer. That is pretty sweet.

I would need to see this a second time to really get a handle on it, but I think I was pleasantly surprised and hope this film somehow makes a resurgence on people's to-see lists.

Cool movie, could've been better, but very cool.

[EmptyLeo · 7/10 · 14 June 1999]

One of my favorite scenes in Pulp Fiction was the one with Butch and Esmeralda Villalobos, the cab ride. Not many people I watched it with, and most of you maybe, didn't really care for it. More than half of the scene didn't make the final cut. I thought it was intriguing, this woman wants to know "what it would feel like to kill a man."

Imagine my surprise when I turned on this movie, CURDLED; starring Esmeralda herself, Angela Jones. Her character, Gabriela is fixated on murders. She keeps scrapbooks of newsclippings and the likes. Then she joins a crime scene clean-up crew. Only she aint too bothered that much with the actual cleaning up. Instead she savors the thought that 'this is where the killing actually happened, right here.'

What miffed me was that I found out that Tarantino was the Exec Producer, but he didn't help out with any of the writing. (IMDb only credits him with the news reports) There were a few scenes he could have spruced up, I'm sure, especially at the cleaning crew's home base. There were a few blahh moments. I also wondered if he could've been ballsy enough to keep Angela Jones as the same character as in Pulp Fiction, instead of the ditzy not-all-there Gabriela. But I guess this was a Reb Braddock vehicle. I see this started out as a short of his. Billy Baldwin is also very good in this.

I give this a 7 or an 8, I'm not sure which I'll choose just yet. It's really a solid 7.5 on IMDb's 1-10 scale.

Definitely check this movie out.

Latin music, chewing gum and a glimpse of Tarantino - nice!

[pingutyyppi · 7/10 · 30 July 2004]

It's surprisingly hard to make fun about serious subjects, like murder. Curdled succeeds in it: it's a hilarious film about a girl obsessed with murder, with a nicely twisted vision of the world. Yes, it has it's faults, but there are some irresistibly funny moments in it as well.

Jones does an excellent job in this black comedy, it really is a shame we haven't heard more of her. Even Baldwin fits in his role! The soundtrack is spicy and quite excellent. Braddock has extended this from a short film, and unfortunately it shows in some places. A few scenes feel, well, boring, and dialogue isn't as sharp as it could be.

Tarantino is often linked to this film, although he was only the producer and wrote a very little piece of script. However, there are connections to his movies in Curdled and they are fun to catch.

My score: 3/5

Tarantino fans: don't miss Curdled.

[joaquim-11 · 5 February 1999]

When Curdled was in the cinemas I missed it, but now I rented the VHS and I'm happy, having seen it. I had a couple of hours of pure fun. This is a very good "black" movie: in Europe we'd rather say "noir with a touch of sophisticated humour"or "black comedy". The actresses are impressive and the plot unique. Just follow my advice: if you loved Pulp Fiction or Reservoir Dogs don't miss it, Curdled it's even better!

Nice little Black Comedy

[JimWile · 7/10 · 14 June 2002]

When you want a black comedy that will tickle you without too much mental action, this makes a good choice. It works much like an old Twilight Zone and won't stress you too badly. Well photographed and acted with an enjoyable soundtrack. Can you hear me Gabriella!?

Maybe it would've been better as a 20 minute short

[Flint-10 · 2/10 · 16 February 1999]

Excruciatingly slow-paced, over-scripted black comedy with a too-clever premise and bad acting.

Maybe this would have worked as a Twilight Zone or Tales from the Crypt episode, but by the last half, you just want it to get to its predictable ending and be done with it already.

Forgettable and familiar horror yarn

[The_Void · 3/10 · 5 July 2005]

From it's uninspiring title to the flat acting performances, Curdled is very much an unremarkable film throughout. The film has gained some fans by way of the fact that Quentin Tarantino's name is attached to it, and the silly and out of place nod to the Rodriguez/Tarantino flick 'From Dusk till Dawn'. These things do not make a great movie, however, and this is more than evident all the way through 'Curdled'. The film suffers from an all too obvious lack of ideas, and it tries to mask this with murders that are meant to be stylish and events that are supposed to be disturbing. The Mexican music score that accompanies many of the sequences in the film is obviously meant to be cool, but it's becomes annoying very quickly; especially as aside from the fact that the lead character is Mexican, it doesn't fit with the tone of the movie. The film's plot is typically offbeat and it follows a gorehound who, because of her obsession with grisly murders, takes a job with a firm that cleans up murder scenes. It sounds boring and it is.

William Baldwin is the only 'name' on the cast list, and even he doesn't make an impression. He hasn't been given anything to do in the movie and aside from talking to his victims and standing around trying to look menacing, he's pretty much wasted. Angela Jones, or rather; the taxi driver from Pulp Fiction, takes the lead role as the murder obsessed young woman, and it is always clear that it's her involvement with Pulp Fiction that won her this role, not her acting ability. She may have been good enough in her small role in Tarantino's masterpiece, but she doesn't have the talent to lead a film by herself. She looks lost and out of place for the majority of the film, and if it weren't for her Latino accent; she wouldn't convince the audience that she's a weirdo on any level. Curdled is a one hundred percent-proof piece of forgettable trash. Films like this often win themselves praise for invention or black comedic antics; but this one fails on all levels. Whether you're a Tarantino fan, William Baldwin fan, horror fan or just a movie buff; this is one to miss.

What a story...

[BigEime · 8/10 · 22 September 1998]

This film was originally a 20 minute short by Reb Braddock. Braddock extended this after seeing the success of his short. Angela Jones plays the lead character superbly. For those of you not familiar with Jones, she is the Taxi Driver in Pulp Fiction. William Baldwin plays the killer. Angela Jones' character is mesmerized by murder scenes and gets a job with a company that cleans up after murders. She soon comes in contact with the murderer on the job site and the suspense begins to build. Great performance by Angela Jones and a brilliant story and dialogue provided by Braddock.

Tarantino's Turkey.

[rob-236 · 2/10 · 6 May 1999]

Proof that not everything Tarantino touches turns to gold. This is most definitely plastic, all the way. Its easy to see that without Quentin's involvement this would have probably sat on the shelf for years, that's assuming it would have ever got produced in the first place. It is about a woman with a fascination of death who gets a job cleaning up after crime scenes, Angela Jones is unconvincing in this role, William Baldwin is better as the Serial Killer who keeps Jones in employment!. All in all pretty poor.

The heads...do they talk?

[ThrownMuse · 10/10 · 7 December 2004]

In my opinion, this is one of the most underrated movies of the 90s, featuring one of my all-time favorite performances by the enchanting Angela Jones. It is based on a short made in 1991, about a childlike murder-obsessed Colombian-American who takes a job as a maid...who cleans up after violent murders. Apparently, Tarantino liked the short so much that he cast Jones in Pulp Fiction and produced a full length version of "Curdled" with Jones and William Baldwin (who is surprisingly great.) This is one of my favorite black comedies and easily the funniest serial killer thriller ever. Angela Jones lights up the screen with her animated facial expressions (think Audrey Tautou) and quirky delivery. Oh, and this movie features one of the best dance sequences in a movie (yes, even better than Britt Ekland's in "The Wicker Man"). The recently released DVD is a blessing and surprisingly chockful of extras (including the original short film) for a movie that is apparently so reviled. The worst thing I can say about "Curdled" is that Braddock didn't go on to make another film and Jones went on to do a freakin "Children of the Corn" sequel. Recommend to all fans of serial killer movies and dark comedies. My rating: 10/10

A well-acted aberration.

[gridoon · 1/10 · 26 December 2003]

Thoughtless, ignorant, ill-conceived, career-killing (where is the talented Angela Jones now?), deeply unfunny garbage. It's no wonder Reb Braddock hasn't directed anything else since - anyone who has a chance to make his first film on his own rules, based on his own script, with the help of Quentin Tarantino himself, and creates something like THIS, anyone who feels that THIS was a story worth telling to the world, doesn't deserve a second break. Under the circumstances, the performances are good - the actors do what they're told to do, and they do it well. It's just that they shouldn't have done it in the first place.

0 out of 4.

Why Short Shouldn't Go Long...

[Bolesroor · 17 March 2009]

Quentin Tarantino, aglow with the buzz-borne light from the soon-to-be-released "Pulp Fiction," was sitting in a darkened theater with his producer/pal Lawrence Bender, enjoying a short-film festival. The short being screened was called "Curdled," and it was about a Latin woman working for a housekeeping service that specialized in cleaning up crime scenes for murderers and killers. I picture our hydro-cephalic hero QT laughing so loud he annoyed everyone in the theater, including the film's writer/director Reb Braddock.

But Braddock needn't have worried. Our fat-headed pop-culture savant got up from his seat when the short was over, sought out Reb and declared, full of his own ego and I can only guess Goobers, "Listen to me, Mr. Braddock, alriiiiiiiight? We're gonna take your short film and make it into a feature, okaaaaaaaaay? You'll write/direct and I'll produce, alriiiiiiiiiiight?"

And so the feature-length version of "Curdled" was born. I'm scarcely exaggerating this story because it is the version told by Quentin himself in the film's bonus material. Could any aspiring director refuse the offer of a then white-hot Tarantino? Could you? Unfortunately for us the feature is nothing more than the 10 min. short stretched out over an hour and a half. Which strangely feels like three hours.

Thrill as Nothing happens in slow motion. Watch the immediately-attractive Angela Jones (Butch's cabbie in Pulp Fiction) become less and less adorable as sheer boredom numbs your senses. Laugh at a one-joke black comedy that manages to kill the joke after twenty minutes. Rock to a movie so bad its writer/director Reb Braddock never wrote/directed anything ever again. At all.

What did we learn today? We learned that short films don't necessarily translate into feature-length. We learned that even Latin women need good story lines to hold onto our attention. And most importantly: If Quentin Tarantino ever approaches you in a theater with greazy fingers and a shlt-eating grin you need to evacuate the premises as soon as possible.

That's what Fire Exits are for.

GRADE: D-

Curdled cheese...

[cwatts-2 · 5/10 · 23 February 2005]

This film is definitely unique in that it's original. Quentin Tarantino produced this film and put it under his now failed Rolling Thunder Pictures. The film in its essence had a lot of potential and really had a great leading actress, but it had its share of problems. If your a fan of Tarantino like I am you prob. will rent this no matter what anyone says, but I would recommend this movie with caution because it just a mediocre middle of the year release that Miramax quickly buried under its large pile of flops. The special features of this film are the best part. With the thesis student film attached to the DVD along with an intro and outro by Quentin himself. Overall not much here but you may find some qualities that can be enjoyed by all.

Stunning black comedy

[goblinhairedguy · 10/10 · 30 September 2003]

Tarantino presents this little gem, which he caught at an Italian genre festival while promoting Reservoir Dogs (he relates the fateful anecdote in an epilogue after the movie on video.) It shares with that director the nervy, hip black-comedy attitude, an absolute command of cinematic techniques, and a post-modern approach steeped in b-movie history. However, where QT's films (and similar triumphs like Go) are explosive, this one is insidiously subtle and dead-pan; so much so that the gradual recognition of the filmmakers' intentions will give you the shivers. The creeping revelations of the themes, the dark pastels, self-referential script and straight-faced performances are reminiscent of earlier successful dark comedies, like Parents and I, Madman. Jones (her solo dance is a knockout) and Baldwin are both dead-on, and the director and editor never miss a beat. This is one of the best films of the 90s. (by the way, did anyone notice that this film opened about the same time as Headless Body in Topless Bar? quite a coincidence.)

Great indie flick

[boondocksaint20 · 8/10 · 6 December 2002]

I really liked this movie, especially the main character. It was really cool linking the similarities between her and Esmerelda Villa Lobos from Pulp Fiction-besides both had Tarantino having some role in them- both characters exhibited an almost childish facination with death and murder. And, I have to admit, Billy Baldwin was really stylish as the Cold Blooded killer. This movie is definitely unique, and a treat to watch.

My only complaint is that, the movie, as a whole, is rather strange. It doesn't decide whether to be a dark comedy or some weird, violent romance. It is definitely dark and weird, but never steps into a comfortable niche to decied which one it really is. This really isn't that big of a deal, really, and after awhile, you learn to just forget the analyzation, and just enjoy the madness being thrown at you. This movie is definitely not for everyone, in that the gore is played so casually, as if it were a normal fixture of a room, like a table or a rug. It also has a few scenes that b\c of the conversational build up during the movie about what it's like to see a crime scene for the first time, and the casual way that the gore is treated, it may not be suitable for everyone. However, I enjoyed it b\c of it's pure creativity and of course, wonderful acting by the two main leads. A give it a strong 8/10 stars for having the courage to be different. That is my story and I am sticking to it.

A clever, fun dark comedy

[Sabine-2 · 9/10 · 1 September 2002]

By far Billy Baldwin's best work, Angela Jones shines in this quirky dark comedy expanded from a film school thesis short. In a movie world that exists just a few degrees of deviation from our own world, Reb Braddock has lovingly crafted a dangerous innocent - Gabriella, who is so fascinated by violent crime that she takes a job as a maid for the Post-Forensic Cleaning Service.

The only true flaw in this film is the 'question' that Gabriella so sweetly seeks an answer to, but the fantastic soundtrack and hauntingly choreographed 'final dance' make it all worthwhile.

Stylish, Dark and a must-see for fans of black comedy

[lergan29 · 8/10 · 30 July 2013]

This film does everything that it wants to do right, and it does it in a time frame that fits. Unlike most Tarantino flicks this movie has a less than 90 minute run-time, which could leave a certain fan unfulfilled and unsatisfied by the end.

That being said, the film is fantastic in the time it's given, it's full of details, style and a soundtrack that honestly made me stand up and dance.

The main character is a young Columbian woman, Gabriella, who has an obsession for gore and a serial killer "The Blue Blood Killer" who specializes in murdering and cutting off the heads of rich women, clean cut with a Tanto. Gabriella begins working for a forensic clean up crew, but finds more interest with the scene of the crime than the cleaning.

The ending may come a bit sooner than you would think, but it feels very similar to the ending of Inglorious Basterds, and will leave you smiling and satisfied if you see the film for what it is and is trying to be.

A solid 8 out of 10.

Not Funny

[urbanstruggle · 4 December 2000]

This movie had the potential to be a great black comedy with the idea behind it, but it falls very short. There is very little in this film that impressed me or made me laugh. It's like a black comedy without the black (the film tried to be violent and gory, but looked little more than ridiculous) or the comedy. The film is about a woman (Angela Jones) who quits her job and decided to go work for a company called PFCS (Post Forensic Cleaning Service) when she becomes fascinated with a serial killer known as the "Blue Blood Killer", a psychopath who goes around Miami beheading rich women. The company is a cleaning service that is called in to clean up the blood and guts left behind in homes in the aftermath of a murder, after the Cops haul the body and evidence away. The premise for a company like this is funny (one of the only moments in the film that caused me to laugh was their T.V Commercial), but the end result is not.

I can see why Quentin Tarantino was attracted to a project like this. Word on the street is that this was originally a funny short film that was shown at Sundance in the early 90's and after the success of "Reservoir Dogs" and "Pulp Fiction", Tarantino bankrolled this full length version of the movie and released it later on video with his "Rolling Thunder Pictures". Tarantino seems to be very amused and fascinated with the idea of a cleaner or cleaning service to clean up the mess of the deceased. He surely watched Luc Besson's "La Femme Nikita" many times in the later stages of his video store clerk days and used the idea of "Victor the cleaner" for his Winston Wolf character in "Pulp Fiction". The idea of a "cleaner" is quite funny and worked very well in both films, but here, it simply does not work beyond the admitted hilarity of the T.V commercial and of the mock-up sensationalist reality-TV show excerpt in the middle of the film. The rest of the movie is boring and pointless and the acting, apart from Angela Jones, is pretty stale. If you want to see real black comedy that will make you laugh (and cringe, that's another thing this film was missing), I would suggest seeking out the early works of Danny Boyle ("Trainspotting", "Shallow Grave") and the Coen Brother's "Fargo" over a boring film like this. 4 out of 10

The erotic meets the macabre to form an interesting romance.

[genegorman · 8/10 · 5 July 2000]

This film has nothing to do with cottage cheese. It's about a cleaning service in Miami that goes in after murders. The naive Gabreila, played by Angela Jones, is obsessed with a head-hunting serial killer for reasons that go back to her childhood in Colombia. (That part is a little forced but excusable.) Except for Jones and Billy Baldwin, the acting ranges from so-so (Daisy Fuentes and Barry Corbin) to poor (just about everyone else), and the script is adequate without being too inspired. What really drives this film is the morbid fascination and curiosity that most of Quentin Tarantino's fans were born with for some reason. Tarantino was the executive producer on the film, but apparently did little more than shell out some money and guide Reb Braddock, the movie's writer and director, through his first and only feature to date. Tarantino saw Braddock's 1991 20-minute short upon which Curdled is based and encouraged him to turn it into a feature and to make sure he used the same actress in the lead. A great piece of advice. Tarantino also cast Jones as Bruce Willis' cab driver in Pulp Fiction. Curdled is a must-see for Tarantino fans, not because of Tarantino, but because it approaches his big three (Reservoir Dogs, True Romance, and Pulp Fiction) though on a much smaller scale and without the incredible dialogue. The violence and sex are present but only implied, which gives the film some of its charm. The climactic, choreographed last half hour or so makes this a piece of truly delightful filmmaking.

Very black and bloody horror comedy

[Indyrod · 9/10 · 1 June 2009]

This very black and bloody horror comedy is a real favorite of mine, ever since I first saw it on cable several years ago. Tarantino saw the original short film while promoting his Reservior Dogs at an Italian film festival, and suggested the filmmakers to expand it to a feature film, and he would produce it. They did of course, and to me, this is a work of art, with a film score that fits about as perfect to the scenes as any I have seen. Angela Jones plays Gabriela, a Columbian beauty that has moved to Miami, and has an obsession with bloody crime scenes. She gets a job with a company that cleans up crime scenes, and she starts following the news accounts of a serial killer played by William Baldwin. After his recent murder, she gets assigned the job of cleaning up the bloody mess, and doesn't know it, but the killer is locked in the wine closet because he left a clue to his identity. Soon, there is the grand finale, which is a danse macabre between the two, with an ending that knocked me out of my chair when I first saw it. This is black comedy at it's darkest and most fun, and the DVD is loaded with features including an intro and outro by Tarantino. It also contains the original 30 minute short version of the movie. I absolutely love this movie, and recommend it very highly.

Cool And Quirky Horror/Dark-Comedy/Thriller....

[EVOL666 · 8/10 · 18 May 2006]

I picked this one up at the recommendation of a few people that I "trust" - and though it is not the typical sleaze/gore/trash that I pump into my brain at a record-pace - it is a truly funny, well-made and entertaining little number. Although there is some blood, don't expect a bloodbath, and there's no nudity (which DOES suck...) but this one is good on it's own merits as a fun and pretty original film...

Gabriella is a sweet young girl, who has been obsessed with murder and death since an early age. To satisfy this obsession, she takes a job with a cleaning agency that specializes in cleaning up murder/accident scenes. When the opportunity arises to clean the house where one of a string of the "Blueblood" serial-killer murders occurred - Gabriella jumps at the chance. Unfortunately - her enthusiasm may bring her just a bit closer to the murders than she really wants to be...or does she???

CURDLED truly is an enjoyable and original film. More than anything - the performances carry the film. Angela Jones as Gabriella is both naive and adorable, but also strangely sexy and intense. There are a ton of people you'll "recognize" in this one, in both large and small roles - William Baldwin, Kelly Preston, Daisy Fuentes, a quick shot of Clooney and Tarantino from DUSK TIL DAWN on a "crime-show", and the guy that plays Gabriella's boss (I forget his name, but he's been in a ton of stuff too - he was the one big "boss" in WAR GAMES...) - and all the performances are pretty top-notch. The directing is also confident and well done, and the music direction adds to the overall "quirkiness" of the whole film. If you dig strange black-comedies, you'll probably dig this one. 8/10

Limp "black comedy"

[acky · 30 September 1999]

This is a very typical early 90's black comedy which menas that it's jarringly aware of it's own cleverness, shares the same faded primary colors as "Natural Born Killers" or "Freeway", and involves a serial killer. Frankly for anything like this to work it would need some basis in reality and the fact that William Baldwin kills women without using gloves avoiding touching things or even getting rid of his fingerprints immediately annoyed me. Nothing in this movie is real enough or gruesome enough to actually be funny or disturbing. The director poars on the stage blood but every murder is done in a clean emotionless tarantino type of way and all the crime scenes just contain neat little pool of blood. haven't they ever read that after a week you have to wear thigh length boots to prevent maggots from crawling up your legs or that you wear air masks when cleaning up these places or that most of it is done with an ultrapowful wet-dry vac? realistic details such as these would have helped this film. After reading that this was a short I could believe it because the entire film feels like it was very thinly stretched.

Little pretensions, great satisfaction

[napje · 10/10 · 7 May 2001]

Really a great movie. I did know of it's existence till last week when I saw it at the video-rent. I think it is really witty. I've read people are disappointed it is not black comedy. Well I have to agree. i do think it is comedy and the idea behind it is black. Just like gabriela does not think it is sick to be obsessed with the idea. The photography was also great with the wide shots, especially for a movie with so little pretensions.

And what about the end? It is so sudden and surprising and at the same time, in my opinion, completely satisfying. That's what makes this movie so special.

A neat little film

[Necro Joe · 10/10 · 3 August 2002]

Why hardly anyone has heard of this movie is beyond me. Angela Jones delivers a great performance and I easily understand why Quentin Tarantino wanted to keep her in the feature film version. An original story along with great acting make this one a must see.