The Curse of Bridge Hollow – Movie Review
Director: Jeff Wadlow
Writer: Todd Berger, Robert Rugan (Screenplay)
Writer: John R Morey (Story)
Cast
- Marlon Wayans (Scary Movie)
- Kelly Rowland (Freddy vs Jason)
- Rob Riggle (Dead Rising)
- Priah Ferguson (Stranger Things)
- Lauren Lapkus (Jurassic World)
Plot: A teenage girl, who accidentally releases an ancient and mischievous spirit on Halloween which causes decorations to come alive and wreak havoc, must team up with the last person she’d want to in order to save their town – her father.
Runtime: 1 Hour 27 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: The Curse of Bridge Hollow starts when a Brooklyn family, Howard (Wayans), Emily (Rowland) and teenage daughter Sydney (Ferguson) move to a new town. Bridge Hollow is known as the safest town in America. They move in right on Halloween when Howard being a science teacher doesn’t want to spend time celebrating.
As Sydney learns about the town’s history, she unwittingly releases a curse. This creates a series of events that sees the Halloween decorations come to life causing chaos throughout the town. Sydney must race to work with her father to solve the problem before people are hurt.
Verdict on The Curse of Bridge Hollow
Characters
Sydney is a teenager who doesn’t want to move to the new town, her father has always pushed her toward different hobbies. She sees the new town as a chance to start fresh and celebrate Halloween for the first time. Sydney accidentally releases a curse on the town and must convince her father to help her end it. She is a feisty teenager willing to fight back, showing more courage than her father.
Howard is Sydney’s father and science teacher. He has always managed to explain everything with science. Despite this night not working as he hoped, he still manages to use science to defeat the Halloween props. This offers him a chance to get closer to his daughter and understand that she will start believing in other things.
In the supporting characters, we get the paranormal club from the school, they help Sydney fight back. There are also the locals that Howard and Sydney must trust and work with to fight back.
Performances
Stranger Things Priah Ferguson is great fun in the leading role, it is great to see her taking the leading role after years of the sidekick role in Stranger Things. Marlon Wayans gets to balance his comedy and the serious side of his character, often needing to keep a straight face through sequences. Everyone gets to play their roles well throughout the film, getting the laughs needed to keep the mood light.
Story
The story follows a Brooklyn family moving to a small town to start a new life. Only on Halloween, they accidentally release a curse that once controlled the town that could make Halloween a permanent event. They must come together to end the curse before it becomes a reality.
The story here feels like it could have been ripped out of a ‘Goosebumps’ book. It gets to walk the fine line between silly and serious with the creations. Having a deeper meaning about coming together as a family and dealing with fears, along with following the American obsession with the holiday. This could easily be a gateway horror for a younger generation.
Themes
The Curse of Bridge Hollow is a horror comedy that could easily be placed in the same selection of horror movies as Goosebumps. It would be an easy gateway horror for a younger audience, with most of the comedy not taking away from the bigger side of the movie. The special effects are wonderful, bringing to life the different creations to flawless enter the world.
Where to Watch: The Curse of Bridge Hollow is available on Netflix.
Final Thoughts –The Curse of Bridge Hollow is a great horror movie for the younger generation to get into horror.