There are a couple of ways to summarise The Curse Of Bridge Hollow. I could tell you that it's a bit like another (unoffocial) Goosebumps movie. I could tell you that it's family fun nicely in line with the atmosphere and thrills of the spooky season. Or I could tell you that I watched it last year and forgot to review it until this year. That's not intended to condemn the film, but it does hint at it feeling more like a pleasant distraction as opposed to something more substantial. I'm glad I waited a year to rewatch and review this though, because I think I actually enjoyed it more this time around.
Priah Ferguson plays Sydney Gordon, a teenager who moves into a new town with her parents (played by Marlon Wayans and Kelly Rowland). While her parents seem happy about the move, Sydney is less than pleased. At least the residents of the town seem to be having fun as they get into the spirit of Halloween, but things turn dangerous when a curse starts to bring most of the many Halloween decorations to life. It isn't long until Sydney and her father are battling against spiders, zombies, killer clowns, and more while they try to figure out how to break the curse.
Written by Todd Berger, Robert Rugan, and John R. Morey, with only Berger having a decent selection of feature screenplays already under his belt, this is easygoing entertainment that manages to keep everything weighted more towards the fun than the scares (although those killer clowns may creep out a few viewers). It's not for the very young, but most teens who aren't yet ready for the illicit thrills of higher-certificated content should get a real kick out of this once it all gets going. And it's paced well enough to get going without too much pre-amble. You get to know the characters and the town, but things don't ever really settle down once the consequences of the curse start to become clear to everyone suddenly in danger.
The cast do well to boost the material, with Wayans good fun in the role of "uptight dad" while Ferguson easily proves herself as a very capable young lead. Rowland gets a lot less to do, but she's fine, and it's a wise move to give supporting roles to John Michael Higgins, Lauren Lapkus, and Rob Riggle, all of whom are allowed to add some humour without being overused. Abi Monterey, Holly J. Barrett, and Myles Perez play three other teens who befriend/help our lead, and they also do a good job.
Jeff Wadlow directs with a steady hand, also making great use of special effects and CGI that blend together to make the all-too-lively Halloween decorations feel nicely textured and realised. Most importantly, no one thing overshadows anything else, which means that nothing feels unbalanced. That goes for the cast, the FX work, the chuckles and the chills, and the father-daughter bonding moments amidst the fight against frighteners.
If you're after some spooky family entertainment, or you just fancy watching something yourself that isn't aiming to turn you into a nervous wreck or a traumatised mess, then The Curse Of Bridge Hollow is a good choice for this time of year. I'm glad that I made time this year to rewatch it, and maybe this review will remind others that it is still tucked away on Netflix (as it is all too easy to forget when they spend so much time pushing their newer content to the top of the main page).
7/10
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