Eight For Silver Review

4 star brooding and atmospheric folk horror tale.

Eight for Silver is a 2021 gothic horror film. Written and direcetd by Sean Ellis (Anthropoid, The Broken), it is also known as The Cursed.

It is available in the UK on Blu-ray and DVD from 30th January 2023, courtesy of Mediumrare Entertainment.

“We have protected it for generations and it has protected our generations.”

In a small French village in 1881, a group of Romani gypsies have moved onto land near to the village. Although they have a claim to the land, wealthy local land baron Seamus Laurent (Alistair Petrie – Hellboy, Rush) wants to get rid of them and employs brutal means to do so.

Suspecting that something bad is coming, they use their traditional magic to create a set of silver teeth set into a jawbone. Sure enough, soon the mob arrives, stringing up a male clan member on a scarecrow and burying the clan leader alive with the dentures clutched in her hand.

Soon after, the local children including Charlotte (Amelia Crouch – Kate, Extinction) and Edward Laurent (Max Mackintosh – Rocketman) begin to have nightmares about the scarecrow. When Timmy (Tommy Rodger – I’ll Find You) announces that he knows the whereabouts of the scarecrow, the children waste no time in going to find it.

When Timmy gets too close, he is compelled to dig up and don the teeth, biting Edward and setting in motion an ancient chain of events. Pathologist John McBride (Boyd Holbrook – Vengeance, The Sandman) is in town investigating the Romani clan. Can he help distraught mother Isabelle Laurent (Kelly Reilly – Eli, Promises) find her son and put an end to this before it’s too late?

“Eight for silver, nine for gold, ten for a wolf and you won’t die old.”

Eight For Silver is an enjoyable watch and an interesting take on the Werewolf genre. It’s a good creature feature, we see the creature clearly as well as the transformation sequences, which look very impressive.

The whole thing is very atmospheric and creepy, with the filming style nicely complementing the themes. It makes some astute observations about the divide between rich and poor and offers up social commentary alongside gory and explicit attacks.

A welcome addition to the genre and well worth adding to your collection.

“The first time I saw it, it was covered in fresh blood., just outside our village. By the time I got back there, it was too late.”

Eight For Silver is available to buy on Blu-ray and DVD from 30th January 2023.