The Curse of Sleeping Beauty

Lore & Background

The film follows Thomas Kaiser, a painter who experiences recurring dreams of a sleeping girl he cannot wake. After inheriting a property from his estranged uncle, he discovers the building matches the one in his dreams. He awakens the girl, Briar Rose, but learns that his family is cursed by a djinn, dating back to the Crusades. Thomas, along with a realtor named Linda and a paranormal investigator named Richard Meyers, attempts to break the curse by awakening Rose, only to find that doing so will unleash demons from Thomas's bloodline and trigger the apocalypse.

Reader's Guide

The Curse of Sleeping Beauty is significant as a modern reinterpretation of classic fairy tale sources, combining the Brothers Grimm and Charles Perrault's Little Briar Rose with a comic book adaptation. Its release on Friday the 13th in 2016 capitalized on horror genre conventions, but critical reception was largely negative. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 17% rating based on 12 reviews, with critics like Luke Thompson of Forbes and Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter panning it for being derivative and unengaging. A television series based on the film was announced in October 2017 but as of 2026 no further news has emerged, leaving the film's legacy as a minor, poorly received entry in the fantasy horror genre.

Did You Know?

• The film is based on a comic book of the same name by Everette Hartsoe.
• Filming took place in Los Angeles, California.
• The film was released on Friday the 13th, May 13, 2016.
• A television series based on the film was announced in October 2017 but no news has been heard as of 2026.