{"id":34451,"date":"2026-07-08T17:33:59","date_gmt":"2026-07-08T21:33:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/why-youll-never-see-wes-cravens-original-version-of-cursed\/"},"modified":"2026-07-08T17:33:59","modified_gmt":"2026-07-08T21:33:59","slug":"why-youll-never-see-wes-cravens-original-version-of-cursed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/why-youll-never-see-wes-cravens-original-version-of-cursed\/","title":{"rendered":"Why You’ll Never See Wes Craven’s Original Version of ‘Cursed’"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Ever since horror fans learned there was an entirely different version of Wes Craven<\/strong>\u2018s Cursed<\/strong><\/em> sitting in the vaults, one question has never gone away: When are we finally going to see the \u201cCraven Cut?\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Los Angeles-based critic and industry veteran Brian Collins<\/strong>, who has actually watched the unfinished workprint, the answer is simple: never<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Speaking on the Best Movies Never Made<\/a><\/em> podcast, Collins explained that fans often misunderstand what the original version actually is. While many assume there\u2019s a completed director\u2019s cut waiting to be restored, he says that\u2019s simply not the case because the film was never finished.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe thing about the original version, and for this we\u2019re talking about the version with Skeet Ulrich<\/strong>,\u201d Collins said, \u201cis that they never finished filming it. It was never completed\u2026 the movie was about, I think, 85 to 90% finished shooting when they decided to shut down and retool it.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

That\u2019s an important distinction. While years of reporting have chronicled Dimension\u2019s extensive reshoots and rewrites, Collins says the original production never filmed its ending at all.<\/p>\n

Because of that, Collins says fans asking for the original cut to be released are chasing something that doesn\u2019t actually exist.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople are always like, \u2018Oh, can we get the original cut released?\u2019 Well, the thing is, it\u2019s not finished. So it\u2019ll never be a satisfying thing, and you can\u2019t even graft on the ending that they did make because it\u2019s [a completely] different context at this point.\u201d<\/p>\n

In fact, he says the workprint literally ends moments before the climax.<\/p>\n

According to Collins, the surviving footage stops when the main characters enter the film\u2019s wax museum nightclub after realizing the werewolf is inside. \u201cThe cut just stops right there,\u201d he explained. \u201cThere\u2019s no climax.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Nor can the ending from the finished 2005 film simply be inserted.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou couldn\u2019t use the climax that they did shoot because Skeet would all of a sudden morph into Pacey,\u201d Collins joked, referring to Josh Jackson<\/strong>, who replaced Skeet Ulrich<\/strong> during the massive reshoots.<\/p>\n

Collins also shed light on just how dramatically the film changed after production restarted. In the abandoned version, Jesse Eisenberg<\/strong> and Christina Ricci<\/strong> weren\u2019t siblings at all.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the original version, Jesse Eisenberg\u2019s character and Christina Ricci\u2019s character are not siblings. They don\u2019t even know each other, and they do not interact until pretty much this scene,\u201d Collins said. \u201cIt\u2019s very much\u2026 a three-hander about Skeet, Jesse, and Christina.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those comments line up with what has previously surfaced about the original screenplay, which centered on three strangers whose lives intersect after the werewolf attack before the project was almost completely reimagined.<\/p>\n

So should fans keep campaigning for a \u201cRelease the Craven Cut\u201d movement?<\/p>\n

Collins doesn\u2019t think so.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not a satisfying thing to watch. It\u2019s an interesting thing to watch\u2026 and for the people that are like, \u2018When is it gonna get released?\u2019 Never<\/em>, because it\u2019s just not a complete movie.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Interestingly, Collins also revealed that there is another version of Cursed<\/em> that fans have a far better chance of eventually seeing: an alternate ending filmed during the Josh Jackson reshoots<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is another ending for the version that they did release, and I do wish that could come out because it\u2019s a better ending,\u201d Collins said. \u201cIt\u2019s an ending from the reshoot with Josh Jackson. And the ending even tested fairly well, and Weinstein still decided to redo it, and then it tested worse<\/em>, and then they went with the new one anyway.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

While alternate endings for Cursed<\/em> have been discussed by fans for years, Collins\u2019 comments about that Josh Jackson ending testing well before ultimately being replaced add additional context to one of horror\u2019s most famously troubled productions. Existing accounts have noted that an earlier reshot ending received the strongest test scores before Dimension nevertheless ordered yet another round of reshoots, but details about that ending remain scarce.<\/p>\n

You can listen to the first part of the two-part podcast by clicking here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Released in 2005, Cursed<\/em> follows a werewolf loose in Los Angeles that changes the lives of three young adults who, after being mauled by the beast, learn they must kill their attacker if they hope to change their fate to avoid becoming werewolves too. Despite reuniting Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson following the success of the Scream<\/em> films, the heavily reworked production proved to be a major disappointment at the box office. Produced on a reported $38 million budget, Cursed<\/em> grossed just $29.6 million worldwide before fading from theaters, though its infamously troubled production has since made it one of horror\u2019s most endlessly discussed \u201cwhat if?\u201d stories.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTags: Cursed Wes Craven <\/span><\/p>\n

Categorized:News<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ever since horror fans learned there was an entirely different version of Wes Craven\u2018s Cursed sitting in the vaults, one question has never gone away: When are we finally going to see the \u201cCraven Cut?\u201d According to Los Angeles-based critic and industry veteran Brian Collins, who has actually watched the unfinished workprint, the answer is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":34452,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.dreadcentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Cursed.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[11617],"tags":[24475,19003,1171,3164,24474,21664,4015],"class_list":["post-34451","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-horror-global-news","tag-cravens","tag-cursed","tag-original","tag-version","tag-wes","tag-wes-craven","tag-youll"],"rttpg_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/www.dreadcentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Cursed.jpg",0,0,false],"landscape":["https:\/\/www.dreadcentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Cursed.jpg",0,0,false],"portraits":["https:\/\/www.dreadcentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Cursed.jpg",0,0,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.dreadcentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Cursed.jpg",150,150,false],"medium":["https:\/\/www.dreadcentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Cursed.jpg",300,300,false],"large":["https:\/\/www.dreadcentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Cursed.jpg",1024,1024,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.dreadcentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Cursed.jpg",1536,1536,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.dreadcentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Cursed.jpg",2048,2048,false],"post-thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.dreadcentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Cursed.jpg",370,265,false],"kava-thumb-s":["https:\/\/www.dreadcentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Cursed.jpg",150,85,false],"kava-thumb-s-2":["https:\/\/www.dreadcentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Cursed.jpg",230,230,false],"kava-thumb-m":["https:\/\/www.dreadcentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Cursed.jpg",400,400,false],"kava-thumb-m-vertical":["https:\/\/www.dreadcentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Cursed.jpg",370,500,false],"kava-thumb-m-2":["https:\/\/www.dreadcentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Cursed.jpg",570,450,false],"kava-thumb-l":["https:\/\/www.dreadcentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Cursed.jpg",1170,650,false],"kava-thumb-xl":["https:\/\/www.dreadcentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Cursed.jpg",1920,1080,false],"kava-thumb-masonry":["https:\/\/www.dreadcentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Cursed.jpg",600,999,false],"kava-thumb-justify":["https:\/\/www.dreadcentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Cursed.jpg",640,640,false],"kava-thumb-justify-2":["https:\/\/www.dreadcentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Cursed.jpg",1280,640,false]},"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"#RiseCelestialStudios","author_link":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/author\/ralph-c\/"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":"HORROR GLOBAL NEWS<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"Ever since horror fans learned there was an entirely different version of Wes Craven\u2018s Cursed sitting in the vaults, one question has never gone away: When are we finally going to see the \u201cCraven Cut?\u201d According to Los Angeles-based critic and industry veteran Brian Collins, who has actually watched the unfinished workprint, the answer is…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34451","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34451"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34451\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34453,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34451\/revisions\/34453"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34452"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34451"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34451"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34451"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}