Curtains (1983)

Director: Richard Ciupka

Starring: John Vernon, Samantha Eggar, Linda Thorson

Six young actresses auditioning for a movie role at a remote mansion are targeted by a mysterious masked murderer.

Director Jonathan Stryker (John Vernon) finally secured the rights to a film called Audra. To prepare for the role, actress Samantha Sherwood (Samantha Eggar) – whom I believe to be Stryker’s girlfriend of some sort – pretends to be insane. As a result she spends a few days in an asylum.

Whilst in the asylum, she reads in a newspaper Stryker is holding auditions for the role of Audra – and this while he promised her the part. So she escapes from the asylum and heads to his mansion where the auditions are held.

Five hopefuls arrive at the mansion for the auditions – interestingly only one of them is an actress. The others are a stand-up comedian, a musician, a ballet dancer, and an ice skater. (If you ask me, the only reason Stryker invited these women to his mansion, is to sleep with them…but that’s just my opinion). Why would he have non-actresses audition for the part?

Self-centered and somewhat arrogant Samantha causes tension between the women, but then they start dying. The killer wears a creepy old woman mask. It becomes an interesting whodunit murder mystery, but I feel the characters could have been better explored. The viewer should have believed that any one of these women could have been the culprit. Jealousy for the sake of the part wasn’t motive enough (for me).

Still, this was an interesting addition to the 80’s horror genre.

Would I watch it again? I don’t think so.

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