Cursed Words: A horror love letter to Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead

Cursed Words is the latest horror short from Joe and Lloyd Stas, the filmmaking duo behind Holomax. Some phrases should remain unspoken…

From the first frame of Cursed Words, you know you are in for a treat. We might as well get this out in the open now. This entire six-minute short is going to be sheer bliss for those individuals who love old school horror. Imagine if Sam Raimi directed a film written by Edgar Wright and William Peter Blatty, the end result would be this latest effort from Joe and Lloyd Stas.

It is no mistake that the Stas brothers are influenced by the Evil Dead director because he produced their Monty Python inspired dystopian sci-fi comedy, The Worst Planet on Earth. Cursed Words left us wishing that it was a full-length feature.

These talented filmmakers have managed to snatch the essence of Evil Dead and marry it with the humor of Shaun of the Dead with a nod to The Exorcist. You know there will be trouble when we get a title card explaining that there are “Three words in the English language that if heard or read in sequence cause irreparable and unspeakable damage to one’s mind, body and soul.”

That phrase sets the mood. Right off the bat, your mind can’t help but think of “Klaatu, Varada, Nikto” (or was it necktie?).

However, when we go inside The Plough Inn, where our story takes place, everything looks fairly innocuous. It appears to be a typical night where friends gather in the pub to drink and consort.

Well, not everyone is having a good time. Our focus is drawn to a young gentleman, who is agonizing on whether or not he should read a letter that he found in the pocket of his brand-new jacket. Immediately, something isn’t right because the seal on the envelope is leaking blood. At least that is what that red stuff looks like it definitely isn’t wax.

Of course, curiosity gets the best of him, he opens it and upon reading the words transforms into for all intent and purposes, a Deadite. Cue the chaos because from here on out, viewers will have fun with all the Easter Eggs. A favorite of ours was a deer head mounted on the wall reminding us of a certain cabin in the woods.

There is also a blatant reference to The Exorcist that involves projectile vomit. The Stas brothers have created a memorable production that is perfect fuel for horror fans to discuss for days. You will want to watch it over and over again to catch as many homages as possible to classic genre films.

Thanks to Joe and Lloyd for creating this little piece of horror heaven and making us fall in love with the genre all over again.

What did you think of Cursed Words? Did you catch all the references? Let us know in the comments.