48 years later, one of the best horror movies of the 70s is getting its prequel with 3 actors from Game of Thrones.

What is it about? In 1971, young American Margaret was sent to Rome to serve the church. He soon finds himself confronted by dark forces that make him question his own beliefs and uncover a sinister conspiracy that intends to embody evil…

3 actors!

The Curse: The Origin stars three Game of Thrones actors: Nell Tiger Free, Charles Dance and Ralph Ineson. The fifth and sixth seasons of HBO’s cult series first feature Myrcella Baratheon, who is none other than the biological daughter of Cersei and Jaime Lannister. The other plays Tywin Lannister as both intelligent and cruel. Finally, the third plays the warrior Dagmer Clefjaw, who we don’t see much of but still stands out for her unsettling physique.

Note that Ralph Ineson is particularly familiar with the horror genre, as evidenced by his performances in The Witcher, Boy: The Brahms Curse, The Vatican Exorcist, and Nosferatu.

A prequel to the 1976 film

The Curse: Set before Richard Donner’s 1976 classic, The Curse. Directed by Gregory Peck, the film tells the story of how the United States ambassador in London realizes that his five-year-old son, Damien, is. None other than the reincarnation of the Antichrist. If The Curse: The Origin is part of the legacy of Richard Donner’s work, it is designed to be accessible to fans of the original as well as to the general public.

Arkasha Stevenson, making her feature film debut, explains: “It was also important to us to create a story that stood on its own. We wanted the audience to see or re-watch the original film, but we also had to convey our own message.”

Producer David S. Goyer notes: “I’ve always wondered where Damien came from, how this kid ended up in the arms of Robert and Catherine Thorne. The goal was to create a horror film that was timeless and timeless and could bring the past as well as the present.”

The saga of the curse

The Curse of Richard Donner (1976), the first film in the saga, was a huge commercial success, grossing over $60 million in US theaters. Two more films followed: Damien the Curse 2 (1978) and The Final Curse (1981), both depicting Damien’s rise from adolescence to adulthood.

This was followed by a TV movie, Curse IV: The Awakening (1991), in which a young girl became the new Antichrist. In 2006, John Moore directed a remake called 666: The Curse, which grossed over $120 million on a $25 million budget.

The saga returned to the fore in 2016, this time as a television series created by Glen Mazzara alongside Damien.

filming locations

The film was shot from September 19 to November 22, 2022 in and around Rome, also at Lumina Studios. The team decided to shoot in the Italian capital for added authenticity. Producer Keith Levin says: “It was a pleasure to work there. Usually a film is shot in a completely different location, and the crew spends a lot of time and energy to make it look like the location reference.”

“We were very lucky to be able to shoot in the Italian capital. Certain streets, certain squares have remained as they were from the 1970s, which perfectly reflects the era in which the film takes place.”

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70s paranoid thriller influence

Arkasha Stevenson is a big fan of Alan J. Pakula. Along with co-writer Tim Smith, they drew on 70s paranoid thrillers and psychological horror films to write The Curse: The Origin. Stevenson cites Clute as one of his favorite works: “It may be called a horror film, but it’s a character study first and foremost. We get to know Jane Fonda’s character, we get close to her, and the fear is born from the horrific events she encounters. It’s true horror. It’s grounded in reality and character-driven.”

Smith adds: “We tried to create the sense of omnipotent distrust and danger that characterizes films like Kill or Repel. More than anything, we wanted to delve into the horrors that inhabit us and the times we live in, while doing justice to Damien’s genesis.”