''Blood Curse'' ( Portuguese: ''Coisa Ruim'') is a 2006 Portuguese supernatural

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, apoca ...

directed by

Tiago Guedes Tiago Guedes (born 20 June 1971) is a Portuguese film director and editor. Guedes' film credits include ''Entre os Dedos'', ''Blood Curse (film), Blood Curse'' and ''Acordar''. His television credits include ''The Domain (film), The Domain'', '' ...

and

Frederico Serra Frederico is a given name. It is a form of Frederick, most commonly found in Portuguese. Literature * Frederico Barbosa, Brazilian poet * Frederico Ghisliero, Italian fencer and soldier who wrote his text Regole di molte cavagliereschi esserciti ...

, which talks about demonic

possession Possession may refer to: Law * Dependent territory, an area of land over which another country exercises sovereignty, but which does not have the full right of participation in that country's governance * Drug possession, a crime * Ownership * ...

, exploring beliefs,

superstitions A superstition is any belief or practice considered by non-practitioners to be irrational or supernatural, attributed to fate or magic, perceived supernatural influence, or fear of that which is unknown. It is commonly applied to beliefs and ...

, skepticism,

fears Fear is an intensely unpleasant emotion in response to perception, perceiving or recognizing a danger or threat. Fear causes physiological changes that may produce behavioral reactions such as mounting an aggressive response or fleeing the thr ...

and suspicions, in the context of a small village. It has been considered the first

horror Horror may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Genres *Horror fiction, a genre of fiction ** Japanese horror, Japanese horror fiction **Korean horror, Korean horror fiction * Horror film, a film genre *Horror comics, comic books focusing o ...

feature film from Portugal.

Plot

Xavier Oliveira Monteiro (

Adriano Luz Adriano Manuel Vieira da Luz (born 9 April 1959) is a Portuguese actor. He has appeared in more than 90 films since 1987. Selected filmography References External links * {{DEFAULTSORT:Luz, Adriano 1959 births Living people People ...

) is a botanical researcher and university professor in the same area. He lives with his wife, children and a baby grandson in an apartment in the center of

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

. One day, Xavier receives news of the death of his uncle, owner of a family manor in a village in the municipality of Seia. Because he is the only legitimate heir, he becomes the owner of that same property. When he wanted to publish a study on the flora of Beira Interior, he decided to move with his family to the same house. Upon arriving at the village, he becomes friends with the locals, who he perceives to be very superstitious and believers in matters related to the occult. At first Xavier tries to abstract himself from that kind of thoughts, but strange events with no logical explanation begin to occur to him, as well as to his family; hitting right with some local beliefs. For that very reason, Xavier then decides to go after the rural beliefs of his new land to find some explanation for what is happening to him. It is there that Vicente, a former village priest ( José Pinto) reveals to him something dark and macabre that happened in the past, and which gave rise to a terrible curse that plagues the village and which is directly related to Xavier and his family.

Cast

Reception

It won the 2006 Portuguese Golden Globe for Best Film.

References

External links

* 2006 horror films 2006 films Films directed by Tiago Guedes Films directed by Frederico Serra Films set in Portugal Portuguese horror films 2000s supernatural horror films Golden Globes (Portugal) winners 2000s Portuguese-language films {{2000s-horror-film-stub