The Witch Trials that took place in Salem, Massachusetts in the late 17th century continue to fascinate and intrigue people to this day. This dark and haunting period in American history serves as a grim reminder of the dangers of mass hysteria and the consequences it can have on innocent lives. The events in Salem began in 1692 when a group of young girls claimed to be possessed by witches. These girls accused several local women of practicing witchcraft, setting off a chain of accusations and trials that resulted in the deaths of 20 people. The accused were subjected to harsh interrogations, often leading to coerced confessions. The evidence against them was largely based on spectral evidence, or the claim that the accused had appeared to the girls in the form of a ghost or specter.

Cursed humpty dumpty

Stars: Nicola Wright, Sian Altman, Kate Sandison, Danielle Scott, Antonia Whillans, Antonia Johnstone, Kate Milner Evans, Chris Cordell, Richard Harfst | Written and Directed by Scott Jeffrey

I’ve said it numerous times in the past, but the horror genre has often used as metaphor. For political issues; societal issues; to tell stories that hit on touchy subjects without smackng the audience in the face with melodrama. The Curse of Humpty Dumpty is one such film.

When their mother Wendy (Nicola Wright) is diagnosed with early-stage dementia, Liz and her younger sister Hazel take her back to the country home where she raised them. Perhaps to jump-start her memories, perhaps to give her solace in familiar surroundings. What Liz and Hazel didn’t expect was the terrifying memories their mother would uncover, all surrounding a creepy doll, Humpty Dumoty (though it looks NOTHING like the nusery rhyme iteration), which Wendy insists used to belong to her years ago, back when the girls father was alive…

If you’re a long time reader of Nerdly you’ll know that we are, well I am, a big advocate for the films of writer, producer and director Scott Jeffrey. Making multiple films on low budgets, Jeffrey’s films vary wildly and I can usually find something to enjoy about his films no matter the subject matter, style and content. But in my wildest dreams, as someone who’s probably watched more of his films than your average reviewer (and someone who literally seeks his films out to watch), I’d never have expected The Curse of Humpty Dumpty.

Why? Well that exploitive title hides a film that is a powerful look at dementia and the impact it has on sufferers and their families. All wrapped up in a film that makes you question whether ANYTHING we’re seeing is real. Anything. And this, unlike some of Jeffrey’s films which lean towards a more “campy” nature, is a very, very, downbeat film. One driven by a superb performance from actress Nicola Wright who, in the past couple of years has seemingly jumped feet first into the horror genre, and Jeffrey’s productions in particular, bringing a lot more kudos to his low budget productions.

Of course this IS a horror film and as such Jeffrey piles on the terror, starting with the titular doll. This Humpty Dumpty is unlike any other (just look at the artwork). Almost life size with a distinctive egg-like face, Humpty seems to shift in size and shape – towering over it’s “victims” at times, at others looking the same size as Child’s Play‘s Chucky. The terrifying toy also seems to be related to Stephen King’s terrifying Pennywise, it’s mouth opening to a myriad of razor-sharp teeth with which it tears it’s “victims” apart…

Now you might ask, why do I keep writing victims in quotation/speech marks? Because Scott Jeffrey cleverly plays with the audiences perception of just what is going on in the film. You see, Wendy has dementia but it turns out she may also have buried some unwanted memories deep-down in her subconscious, memories that – thanks to returning to the old family home and seeing Humpty again – may have been unlocked, unleashing something inside her. Or has it? That’s the question that is constantly asked throughout The Curse of Humpty Dumpty. Is the bloodshed on Humpty’s hands, or Wendy’s? And Nicola Wright’s performance, which starts out sweet and innocent, becomes increasingly unhinged. And Jeffrey’s script always leaves you questioning whether it’s through dementia or insanity.

***** 5/5

Undoubtedly one of Scott Jeffrey’s most accomplished films yet, The Curse of Humpty Dumpty is available to watch now on the V Horror YouTube channel.

Curse of Humpty Dumpty (2021)

Director/Screenplay/Producer – Scott Jeffrey, Photography – Jon/Jonathan Constantinou, Music – Mike Ellaway, Visual Effects – Rhys Waterfield, Special Effects – Chelsea Murphy, Production Design – Leo Calder. Production Company – Jagged Edge Productions.

Cast

Nicola Wright (Wendy), Sian Altman (Liz), Antonia Whillans (Hazel), Danielle Scott (Beryl), Richard Harfst (Bill), Kate Milner-Evans (Judy “The Shopkeeper”), Antonia Johnstone (Police Officer)

Plot

Liz believes her aging mother Wendy is suffering from dementia. Liz and her sister Hazel take Wendy back to the old family home where she has not lived for years in the hope that this will help her. There Wendy begins to have memories that open up the secrets of the past. At the same time, the doll known as Humpty Dumpty, which may have been involved with devil worship ceremonies, come to life and starts killing people.

Curse of Humpty Dumpty was the eighteenth film from British director Scott Jeffrey. Jeffrey made his first film in 2018 and in the four years since 2017 has made more than fifty films as producer – which is averaging ten films a year – and four, sometimes more, per year as director. This is a production schedule that rivals something like that of the world’s most prolific directors like Jess Franco and Sam Newfield in their heyday. (See below for Scott Jeffrey’s other genre films as director).

Humpty Dumpty is a children’s nursery rhyme that goes back to the 18th Century in its earliest recorded version, although probably originates earlier than that. In the nursery rhyme, the title character sits on a wall and falls where all the king’s men and horses come but cannot put him back together again. In the original texts, there is no specific connotation that Humpty is an egg, although that is the interpretation taken by all modern tellings. There has been some attempts to pinpoint historical antecedents of the term – that Humpty Dumpty was a nickname for a short, rotund individual or for a mediaeval cannon that fell after the king’s army were trying to raise it up a castle wall.

There have been a number of films over the years that give us malevolent versions of characters from Fairytales . Indeed, around the same time, Scott Jeffrey also produced several other horror takes on nursery rhymes and children’s stories with the likes of Toof (2019) about the Tooth Fairy, The Legend of Jack and Jill (2021) and Curse of Jack Frost (2022), most of which have produced sequels, and then had quite a reasonable success with Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey (2023).

Surprisingly enough, there has never been a film devoted to Humpty Dumpty before. The title Curse of Humpty Dumpty creates intriguing suggestions of a malevolent egg-shaped character running around. However, this is something that the film raises in its title and then cheats on the moment you watch the film where Humpty Dumpty proves to no more than a name given to a malevolent doll.

In actuality, Curse of Humpty Dumpty falls into a spate of low-budget films about evil Dolls and Puppets that have emerged since There have been assorted others from Magic (1978), Black Devil Doll from Hell (1984), Dolls (1987), Demonic Toys (1992), Dead Silence (2007), Robert the Doll (2015) and sequels and, of course, the successes of. Child’s Play (1988) and Annabelle (2014) and sequels to either.

To its credit, Curse of Humpty Dumpty produces a malevolent-looking doll, which looks particularly evil once it starts advancing on people with its mouthful of razor sharp teeth open. The main problem is that, aside from one or two deaths, the film never ends up doing much. The problem is also the screenplay’s conceptual point-of-view that seems to shift around between ideas about evil dolls, Devil Worship and something that what happened in the past with Nicola Wright’s husband. Certainly, Scott Jeffrey makes a film that has an undeniable polish – it doesn’t look like a B movie – but it never quite moves as tightly as you want it to.

Curse of Humpty Dumpty 2 (2022) was a sequel.

Scott Jeffrey’s other genre films as director are:- The Bad Nun (2018), Clowndoll (2019), The Final Scream (2019), The Watch 2 (2019), Cupid (2020), Don’t Speak (2020), Bats: The Awakening (2021), Cam Girls (2021), Cannibal Troll (2021), Devil Djinn (2021), Dragon Fury (2021), Hatched (2021), HellKat (2021), The Mutation (2021), Spider from the Attic (2021), Beneath the Surface (2022), Exorcist Vengeance (2022), Kingdom of the Dinosaurs (2022) and Firenado (2022).

‘The Curse of Humpty Dumpty’ Blends a Classic Nursery Rhyme With Creepy Doll Horror [Trailer]

All the king’s horses and all the king’s men won’t be able to put YOU back together again.

The classic English nursery rhyme gets a horror movie adaptation in The Curse of Humpty Dumpty, which has received an official trailer ahead of its release sometime this year.

In the film, “An old doll seemingly returns to life to wreak havoc.”

That old doll, as you probably gathered by the above image, is made in the likeness of classic children’s character Humpty Dumpty, and it’s not one of those dolls that just sits there looking creepy. It looks like an actual actor plays the doll once it gets up and starts moving around, and its final form reminds us of something straight out of Michael Dougherty’s Krampus.

Scott Jeffrey directed this one. Watch the trailer below!

Writer in the horror community since 2008. Editor in Chief of Bloody Disgusting. Owns Eli Roth's prop corpse from Piranha 3D. Has four awesome cats. Still plays with toys.

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‘Scream 7’ – Neve Campbell Would Potentially Return Under “the Right Circumstances”

January 14, 2024

The future of the Scream franchise is quite unclear at the moment, with franchise stars Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega no longer involved in the upcoming Scream 7, and director Christopher Landon exiting the project as well. The project has completely fallen apart behind the scenes, needless to say, and Paramount/Spyglass are scrambling.

A report came out this past November that suggested the studios are hoping to bring Neve Campbell back for Scream 7, and Campbell is open to that – under the right circumstances.

“It’s sad to me that they’re struggling at the moment. I would imagine that the people at the top are spinning a little bit. Trying to make the right decision. I would imagine people want to do the right thing. I would hope,” Campbell tells Indiewire in a new chat this weekend. “I love this franchise. I would hope it doesn’t fall apart.”

When asked if she would ever return, Campbell had this to say: “Given the right circumstances, yes. I made a statement several years ago, and it was the reason I didn’t do [Scream VI] at the time. I just really felt the need to stand up and say that I don’t believe I would’ve been treated that way had I been a man carrying a franchise for 25 years. And that still stands.”

The reason Campbell didn’t return for Scream VI was because she wasn’t being offered the money she felt she was worth, so that’s one of the issues that would need to be resolved before she ever even considers playing Sidney Prescott on the big screen one more time.

The movie needs a new protagonist now that Barrera and Ortega are no longer returning to Woodsboro, so I’d imagine the studios are hungry to bring Campbell back at any cost.

Stay tuned for more on Scream 7 as we learn it. The movie is not only without a star but also without a director, so a lot is going to have to come together for this one to get moving.

Last we heard, James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick are still on board to write the script.

Neve Campbell tells us about her feelings on the current state of the “Scream” franchise and whether or not she would rejoin at some point in the future. pic.twitter.com/hx0IGqXVN3

— IndieWire (@IndieWire) January 14, 2024

Humpty Dumpty

Humpty Dumpty, whom real name was Gregoire Borde, was a minor character and the antagonist of the Dark Parables spin-off bonus game, Cursery: Humpty Dumpty.

After eating the Gluttonous Fruit given to him by Mother Goose, his appetite for food grew into a twisted desire for human flesh.

Humpty Dumpty is based on the English nursery rhyme Humpty Dumpty.

The evidence against them was largely based on spectral evidence, or the claim that the accused had appeared to the girls in the form of a ghost or specter. The trials gained momentum quickly, with hysteria spreading throughout the community. Friends and neighbors turned against each other, and the fear of being accused of witchcraft became a very real threat.

Contents

• 1 Appearance and Personality
• 2 History
• 3 Powers and Abilities
• 4 Relationships
• 5 Trivia
• 6 Quotes
  • 6.1 Quotes by Humpty Dumpty
  • 6.2 Quotes about Humpty Dumpty
  

  The accused were mostly women, although men and children were also targeted. The evidence against them was flimsy at best, and many believe that personal grudges, property disputes, and social tensions played a significant role in fueling the accusations. The trials reached their climax with the execution of 19 people, including 14 women. The accused were either hanged or pressed to death with large stones. In addition to those who were executed, several others died in prison while awaiting trial. It wasn't until the governor's wife was accused of witchcraft that the trials finally came to an end. With the governor intervening and questioning the validity of the accusations, the tide of public opinion began to turn against the trials. The remaining accused were eventually pardoned, and the trials were discredited. The legacy of the Salem Witch Trials is a cautionary tale of the dangers of mass hysteria and the importance of due process. It serves as a chilling reminder of the consequences that can result from false accusations and unchecked fear. In recent years, there has been a renewed interest in Salem's history, with the town embracing its dark past and using it as a tourist attraction. The Witch Trials have become both a somber memorial to the innocent lives lost and a reminder of the enduring fascination with the supernatural and the macabre..

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