The Cure: Lost In The Labyrinth

Written by Fantasma el Rey

The title sounds as if this DVD might have some real insight to it and the description on the back makes this seem even more so. As I gave this disk a spin, I found all that to be… well, false. I was excited about this disk as any Cure fan would be and was let down to find that for just over an hour, I sat and got no real information about one of my favorite bands. On the other hand, I am glad that I have had this chance to view it before I had any interest in paying for it.

I was so excited about this disk that I invited a fellow Cure fan to watch with me as I figured it to be an interesting film to see. Right from the start though, we were concerned that this disk had a disclaimer stating that this film contained no original music and is not endorsed by the band or anybody really affiliated with them. Not a good start but many a good documentary has been made with no consent from the subject. Yet, as this one began to get going, we quickly realized that this was going to be a train wreck.

After about fifteen minutes, any real interest was gone, and there was still forty-five minutes of filler left to go. The highlight of the film by far, was the time spent on Cure founder/vocalist Robert Smith’s involvement with Siouxsie and the Banshees. Siouxsie and company were very influential in the direction that Robert and The Cure were going, from look and stage appearance to sound as well. The only interview of interest is that with Steve Severin of the banshees and The Glove, a side project of his and Robert’s; Other than that we get to hear opinions from DJs and writers, who’s involvement with the band is never specified.

There are maybe one to two minutes of crackly recordings of a Smith interview, other than that there is nothing; no footage of the band behind the scenes or in the studio. Nothing. We get close-ups of still photos and that’s it. The history of the band could have just as easily been read online, accompanied by better pictures. The last half of The Cure’s output is rushed through and my only thought at this point, was that maybe the filmmakers were getting just as bored with this thing as my friend and I were; Just a question.

The bonus features on this disk are all right, there is a trivia game which is fun to play before the film to see how much you know already, so by the end you can find out that you are a bigger fan than you thought or that you got next to nothing out of this documentary. The discography is hands-down the best part of the DVD; it contains not only standard listings of albums and singles but also an interesting and in-depth list of bootleg albums.

Lost In The Labyrinth has a great name and that’s it; the rest of the film goes nowhere fast. To be perfectly honest, I don’t know why a promotional copy would be sent out for this one, it truly seems that to make a buck a company would need to put this one out under the radar and dupe a few people into picking it up. Really, I would have had a more informative hour sitting and talking about The Cure with my buddy and some of my other friends who are Cure fans. Hell, even the ones who aren’t would have had a more interesting point of view. So to all The Cure followers, who may happen upon my work, I say avoid this one like the plague; go out and get the video collection instead. Its more informative and way more entertaining.