Cursed Waters begins as a familiar tale of a Navy ship pursuing pirates across the high seas, but when the pirates flee to a mysterious island, they soon discover they’re not alone. What happens when they come face-to-face with its supernatural inhabitants?
Off the coast of Mexico, the naval warship U.S.S. Perry is in pursuit of a ship full of pirates who free slaves. The ship isn’t to be damaged because it’s actually a stolen Navy ship, the U.S.S. Frost, newly renamed “The Chain Breaker.” So, a strategic shot is fired to hit the starboard side. When pirate Captain Bure (Glenn Plummer) retaliates, it infuriates Naval Commodore Oliver (Michael J. Andre), who has an ulterior motive and orders all cannons to be fired.
The story jumps forward to a pirate crew member, former merchant marine Tiberius Shaw (John Wells), being prosecuted for freeing runaway slaves, piracy, and destroying the U.S.S. Perry. As the court case unfolds, it is revealed that after the bombing of The Chain Breaker, Captain Bure and his band of pirates boarded the U.S.S. Perry and engaged in battle. During the scuffle, Bure is hurt and orders his men to abandon ship. The dying Bure comes face-to-face with Commodore Oliver, and it is revealed that Bure was once a slave belonging to Oliver’s family.
A gray-bearded man in a dark vest sits on a wooden bench as a smiling woman looks on in Cursed Waters.
“Off the coast of Mexico, the naval warship U.S.S. Perry is in pursuit of a ship full of pirates who free slaves.”
The U.S.S. Perry is heavily damaged, and The Chain Breaker is essentially toast, so Oliver orders his men to head to the island to chase after the pirates. When the pirates and the naval crew get to the island, they encounter a hospitable local village. The men from both crews soon learn that these villagers have been on the island for hundreds of years and are not what they’re cracked up to be. The trial of Shaw eventually leads to the truth behind the inhabitants of the island and the missing crews.
Executing a good pirate movie isn’t an easy task; that’s why we haven’t seen a lot of them outside of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. Here, Director Adam Werth wisely balances his budget with some smart workarounds. The first thing to note is that if you’re naming a film Cursed Waters, you need ships on the water, or at least the appearance of ships on the water. Werth properly frames the on-ship scenes with tight shots that make it seem like the crew is on a ship in the ocean, when they are likely on a soundstage with a proper green-screen background or backdrop appearing as open sky and water. The story then sensibly moves to land.
If you’re making a film on a limited budget, you always want to get some recognizable names, and here, Werth landed some excellent talent. Glenn Plummer (Speed) as Captain Bure was perfect casting as a former slave now running his own ship, The Chain Breaker, with a proper backstory. Michael Paré (Streets of Fire) is solid as Captain Arnold and serves as a sounding board and voice of reason for Commodore Oliver. There’s also the legendary Vernon Wells (The Road Warrior, Commando) as the Prosecutor. It’s a great lineup of actors in roles that get them in and out efficiently while helping the rest of the cast move the story forward.
While it may not have the scale of a big-budget pirate epic, Cursed Waters offers enough action and supernatural intrigue to make the voyage worthwhile.
"…Executing a good pirate movie isn't an easy task..."
