A New Wholesome Horror Entry for the Entire Family
Read Time:2 Minute, 16 Second
MOVIE REVIEW
The Curse of Bridge Hollow
TV-14 – 
Genre: Adventure, Comedy, Family
Year Released: 2022
Runtime: 1h 29m
Director(s): Jeff Wadlow
Writer(s): Todd Berger (screenplay,) Robert Rugan (screenplay,) John R. Morey (story)
Cast: Marlon Wayans, Priah Ferguson, Kelly Rowland, Lauren Lapkus, John Michael Higgins, Rob Riggle, Nia Vardalos
Where To Watch: on Netflix on October 14th, 2022
RAVING REVIEW: A new entry into the family-friendly spooky season catalog that doesn’t blaze any new trails but doesn’t make you regret watching it. A rare feat, especially when there are many other “wholesome horror” options that fail terribly.
The film’s cast does quite a bit to lift the straightforward story to the next level. Marlon Wayans, Lauren Lapkus, Rob Riggle, John Michael Higgins, and Kelly Rowland star in the film and helps to add the perfect mix of comedy with a shocking amount of “drama” from such a heavy emphasis on traditionally funny cast members. In what I consider the most critical performance in the film, Priah Ferguson, who you may recognize from STRANGER THINGS (another Netflix production), plays opposite most of the cast, giving a fun but not over-the-top young actor performance.
The story will remind you of the old GOOSEBUMPS TV series, mixed with a bit of HALLOWEENTOWN and a dash of HOCUS POCUS. Yet it works as a creation all on its own as well; it was interesting to see Marlon Wayans play a rather dramatic role (compared to his traditional comedy roles.) Thankfully it wasn’t 100%, and there were a few moments where you could see his genuine self come to the surface, including one scene in a haunted house that calls back to his IN LIVING COLOR days and was one of my favorite moments.
This isn’t going to win any awards, but I also can think of so many other entries into this horror subgenre that were legitimately painful to sit through. There was enough bouncing around in the story that you never got stuck on one particular portion for longer than necessary. Although some subplots seemed to be forgotten about almost as quickly as they were introduced.
Also, did you know where the term jack-o-lantern came from? Well, you still won’t know the entire truth after watching this, but I was intrigued enough to google it and find out!
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This was a fun addition this year. Not great but I loved how the decorations stayed in their true form when they came to life. It would have been so easy to make them “real” but, they kept the artificial look.
I most definitely agree! It took it to a different level by having that look to it! It wasn’t perfect but still enjoyable.
This is definetly one of those movies to get your kids into the idea of horror movies with a soft touch. Cujo and I really enjoyed this but the only thing that really was missing for me was I was expecting more side laughter out of Marlon. We got a little bit here and there.. But I just wanted a few more silly laughs.
Most definitely! It was odd; it was almost like they told Wayans to hold back or something.