The Curse of Bridge Hollow

Netflix's The Curse of Bridge Hollow is a mundane introduction to horror, with a bit of charm sprinkled in for good measure.

That’s the biggest issue with The Curse of Bridge Hollow: it’s mostly, well, hollow, with a sprinkling of charm here and there. And considering how it doesn’t present a unique version of this particular premise all that well, it suffers from being one of the more mundane Halloween films released this year. The Curse of Bridge Hollow has a familiar premise. Most are there to support the main characters as a means of delivering exposition and/or a few extra screams during chase sequences. After learning of the town’s openly dark past, she tries to warn her father of a looming threat. The Curse of Bridge Hollow’s October release on Netflix is timely.

After lampooning horror films in the Scary Movie series, Marlon Wayans offers a spooky family comedy that's only sporadically funny and not all that spooky.

If anyone were to take the movie super-seriously, the idea that it’s bad for a dad to explain away fears by applying science feels almost offensively dumb. Only Rob Riggle, playing an extreme fan of The Walking Dead, seems to have gotten the memo to be funny. No kid will leave confused by any aspects of the plot except, perhaps, how a digital ouija board app on an iPad can be fully trusted. Daughter Sydney (Stranger Things’ Priah Ferguson) is the main character here, though, making friends with the school’s local paranormal club and accidentally unleashing Stingy Jack from a cursed turnip. It’s also a town that goes all out for Halloween, with elaborate themed yards and houses. In the vein of the Goosebumps movies, Hubie Halloween, Ernest Scared Stupid, and Boo!

A film that provides some light horror comedy fun though is cursed by its own conventions, · The story follows Howard ( ...

A film like this could certainly catch on for those looking for some counterprogramming to the more gore-centered experience of recent horror like [Hellraiser](https://collider.com/hellraiser-lessens-the-terror-of-the-cenobites-mythology-over-menace/) or [Smile](https://collider.com/smile-horror-transmissible-curses/). [creative works that dip their toe into horror while still working for kids](https://collider.com/wendell-and-wild-review-jordan-peele-keegan-michael-key-henry-selick/) though this is not a film that will be remembered as one. This chaotic conclusion ups the stakes sufficiently enough to get you to sit up just a bit though in a manner that increasingly feels like a mishmash of all that preceded it. [Marlon Wayans](https://collider.com/tag/marlon-wayans/)), who is moving with his family from Brooklyn to the small and seemingly safe town of Bridge Hollow for a change of scenery, despite his daughter Sydney ( [Priah Ferguson](https://collider.com/stranger-things-erica-sinclair-underrated-character/)) remaining strongly opposed to the move. [The Happytime Murders](https://collider.com/happytime-murders-review/) and this ends up running into many of the same structural problems despite being much tamer in its tone. The young actress does give it her all and, as a result, you can see parts of that same spark starting to illuminate the otherwise drab direction the rest of the film takes us on.

The Curse of Bridge Hollow review - Netflix is getting into the Halloween spirit with The Curse of Bridge Hollow, starring Stranger Things' Priah Ferguson.

But if you want an undemanding and enjoyable light-hearted romp, you could do a lot worse than paying Bridge Hollow a visit. Priah Ferguson is the main draw and she brings her instant likeability from Erica to Sydney. The endearing connection between Wayans and Ferguson overcomes the familiarity though, even if it's a shame Sydney's mother Emily (Kelly Rowland) isn't given any depth beyond being a terrible baker. As Stingy Jack brings Halloween decorations to life, Sydney teams up with her Halloween-hating father Howard (Marlon Wayans) to save the town. Stingy Jack starts causing his mayhem around 20 minutes in, and what follows is succession of ghoulish set pieces, broken up by exposition dumps to keep the plot moving. She plays Sydney, who, after her family moves to the small town of Bridge Hollow, accidentally wakes up an ancient spirit.

Spooky season is upon us and among the new arrivals includes a new family-oriented Halloween movie starring Marlon Wayans and Priah Ferguson.

- Attic Earlier in 2022, he produced the score for Netflix’s Tyler Perry’s A Madea Homecoming and 13: The Musical. The movie features plenty of themed music and a huge original soundtrack so here’s everything you need to know.