The Gordon family consisting of science teacher father Howard (Marlon Wayans), aspiring vegan baker Emily (Kelly Rowland) and their 14 year-old daughter Sydney "Syd" (Priah Ferguson) have recently moved from Brooklyn to the small town of Bridge Hollow. Bridge Hollow is a town that goes all out for Halloween with the local legend of Stingy Jack a wicked man who was killed by the town residents when the town was first founded said to haunt the town waiting to take revenge upon the descendants of those who've wronged him. Syd is unenthused about the move but intrigued by the town's Halloween spirit, while Howard wants nothing to do with Halloween writing the town's residents off as weirdos much to Syd's annoyance. Syd meets local high school students Ramona (Abi Monterey), Jamie (Holly J. Barrett), and Mario (Myles Vincent Perez) who together are the High School's paranormal society who become friends with Syd and tell her the house she moved into was in fact the home of the gypsy spellcaster who captured Stingy Jack. Syd finds an old jack o'lantern using a Ouija app and against her father's wishes gets into the Halloween spirit including lighting the lantern, but the lantern unleashes a curse that spreads through the town giving life to all the elaborate Halloween decorations. Now Howard and Syd must try and find a way to stop the curse before Stingy Jack makes Halloween last forever and takes over the world.
The Curse of Bridge Hollow is the latest vehicle for Marlon Wayans for streaming service Netflix with Wayans and the service having previously collaborated on Naked and Sextuplets. The movie was announced in 2021 as an untitled Halloween adventure comedy penned by Rob Rugan, Todd Berger, and John R. Morey who have experience on various family projects and sitcoms to their credits. In terms of the kind of movie this is, pretty much everything you've seen in the trailer is indicative of the kind of family Halloween fantasy comedy formula you've seen in things ranging from staples of the genre like Hocus Pocus, 1995's Casper, Ernest Scared Stupid, or Nightmare Before Christmas to even more modern takes like the recent Columbia produced Goosebumps films. This "Halloween run amok" type film is well trodden ground but it's revisited so often because it's an entertaining formula if done correctly. While I don't think The Curse of Bridge Hollow ranks with the best examples of this type of sub-genre, it delivers exactly what it promises and for this time of year that's exactly what you want.
Priah Ferguson is solid as the lead and having proven herself on the Netflix hit series Stranger Things it's little wonder she's able to show natural screen presence and charisma. The movie also boasts some fun production design with the town of Bridge Hollow dressed up in all manner of Halloween iconography with zombies, witches, aliens, mummies, spiders etc., and when they come to life to wreak havoc upon the time it leads to some amusing set pieces. Jeff Wadlow of Kick-Ass 2 and Never Back Down directs the film and he handles the action beats much better here than he did in Kick-Ass 2 with a haunted maze segment in the local high school a particularly fun sequence from how it's shot to the crazed clowns chasing them (of course there are killer clowns, why wouldn't there be). Marlon Wayans has always been hit/miss for me with his movies with his filmography with a cursory glimpse at his filmography not exactly inspiring much confidence, but from his work on In Living Color and certain small comic scenes from his filmography I know he can be funny. Wayans does perfectly fine in this role and dials back some of the more grating aspects of his humor seen in films like White Chicks and Little Man but his delivery does sometimes feel like he's playing a caricature of an uptight dad rather than an uptight dad.
The only criticisms I can think of aren't exactly deal breakers especially since most audience members who see this movie will know exactly what they're in for. The Curse of Bridge Hollow follows the conventions of this genre to a "t" and it does go through them in exactly the fashion you expect them to. I think the script maybe relies a little too heavily on Howard not believing the things that are going on, but not to the point it annoyed me. The movie also doesn't really have a "villain" as Stingy Jack doesn't have a voice and is more a force of nature characterized by red energy taking control of Halloween decorations so that seems like a bit of a lost opportunity not to get a serious actor to give a really hammed up performance as Jack and give the villain some personality. The movie also has a running gag of how much Emily's vegan confections taste terrible and while I say "running gag" it's honestly more of a limping gag because you just feel sorry for Emily during these scenes.
The Curse of Bridge Hollow is exactly the kind of movie you expect it to be, and I think for this time of year that's not bad. I always look forward to this type of moving simply because I grew up on films like this and it does take me back to that time in my youth of eagerly watching various Halloween films and specials before and after my excursions around the neighborhood collecting candy and sort of adding to the ritual. I can't say for sure I'll revisit this film, but it does actually deliver on what it promises.
The Curse of Bridge Hollow is the latest vehicle for Marlon Wayans for streaming service Netflix with Wayans and the service having previously collaborated on Naked and Sextuplets. The movie was announced in 2021 as an untitled Halloween adventure comedy penned by Rob Rugan, Todd Berger, and John R. Morey who have experience on various family projects and sitcoms to their credits. In terms of the kind of movie this is, pretty much everything you've seen in the trailer is indicative of the kind of family Halloween fantasy comedy formula you've seen in things ranging from staples of the genre like Hocus Pocus, 1995's Casper, Ernest Scared Stupid, or Nightmare Before Christmas to even more modern takes like the recent Columbia produced Goosebumps films. This "Halloween run amok" type film is well trodden ground but it's revisited so often because it's an entertaining formula if done correctly. While I don't think The Curse of Bridge Hollow ranks with the best examples of this type of sub-genre, it delivers exactly what it promises and for this time of year that's exactly what you want.
Priah Ferguson is solid as the lead and having proven herself on the Netflix hit series Stranger Things it's little wonder she's able to show natural screen presence and charisma. The movie also boasts some fun production design with the town of Bridge Hollow dressed up in all manner of Halloween iconography with zombies, witches, aliens, mummies, spiders etc., and when they come to life to wreak havoc upon the time it leads to some amusing set pieces. Jeff Wadlow of Kick-Ass 2 and Never Back Down directs the film and he handles the action beats much better here than he did in Kick-Ass 2 with a haunted maze segment in the local high school a particularly fun sequence from how it's shot to the crazed clowns chasing them (of course there are killer clowns, why wouldn't there be). Marlon Wayans has always been hit/miss for me with his movies with his filmography with a cursory glimpse at his filmography not exactly inspiring much confidence, but from his work on In Living Color and certain small comic scenes from his filmography I know he can be funny. Wayans does perfectly fine in this role and dials back some of the more grating aspects of his humor seen in films like White Chicks and Little Man but his delivery does sometimes feel like he's playing a caricature of an uptight dad rather than an uptight dad.
The only criticisms I can think of aren't exactly deal breakers especially since most audience members who see this movie will know exactly what they're in for. The Curse of Bridge Hollow follows the conventions of this genre to a "t" and it does go through them in exactly the fashion you expect them to. I think the script maybe relies a little too heavily on Howard not believing the things that are going on, but not to the point it annoyed me. The movie also doesn't really have a "villain" as Stingy Jack doesn't have a voice and is more a force of nature characterized by red energy taking control of Halloween decorations so that seems like a bit of a lost opportunity not to get a serious actor to give a really hammed up performance as Jack and give the villain some personality. The movie also has a running gag of how much Emily's vegan confections taste terrible and while I say "running gag" it's honestly more of a limping gag because you just feel sorry for Emily during these scenes.
The Curse of Bridge Hollow is exactly the kind of movie you expect it to be, and I think for this time of year that's not bad. I always look forward to this type of moving simply because I grew up on films like this and it does take me back to that time in my youth of eagerly watching various Halloween films and specials before and after my excursions around the neighborhood collecting candy and sort of adding to the ritual. I can't say for sure I'll revisit this film, but it does actually deliver on what it promises.