In Netflix’s latest family friendly horror-comedy, The Curse Of Bridge Hollow, a science-obsessed father must team up with his daughter to prevent an ancient curse from overtaking their new town during the Halloween season.
The film opens with high school science teacher, Howard Gordon (Marlon Wayans), moving his family away from the hustle and bustle of Brooklyn to the small and quaint town of Bridge Hollow. Howard’s kind and health obsessed wife, Emily (Kelly Rowland), is optimistic and excited about the family’s new town. Their teenage daughter, Sydney (Priah Ferguson), is less optimistic about the move. Her interest is piqued when a neighbor informs them that their new house is haunted.
Sydney has always been intrigued by the existence of the supernatural, much to her father’s chagrin. He’s a firm believer in science and logic. Even after an ancient curse causes Halloween decorations to come to life and terrorize the towns people, Howard is still reluctant to believe in the supernatural events playing out right before him. He reluctantly bands together with Sydney and her new group of paranormal-obsessed friends to save the town from certain doom.
The Curse Of Bridge Hollow is a funny and spooky film perfect for the Halloween season. As a Black film viewer and critic, I feel that so many movies that focus on people of color tend to deal with racism, poverty, etc. Not exclusively, but there are more of those types of films than ones in which a Black, Brown, etc. family finds themselves caught in the middle of supernatural hijinks. It was refreshing to watch a contemporary Black family play the heroes to their town when supernatural terrors have been unleashed.
Marlon Wayans and Priah Ferguson portray a realistic and refreshing father-daughter duo. Wayan’s Howard wants the best for his daughter and tends to force his own opinions and values on to her instead of letting her be her own person. This has led to tension in their relationship and is fracturing their otherwise tight bond. Kelly Rowland does an excellent job as Emily. When she isn’t busy keeping her husband and daughter in their separate corners of the ring, she’s baking gluten-free goodies. Rowland is underutilized here until the very end, and it would have been nice to see her involved more in the main story.
Ferguson absolutely shines here as the tough, smart, and resourceful Sydney. Ferguson’s star has been rising since her breakout role on the hit series, Stranger Things, and it’s exciting to her in a lead role. Like Wayans, she has great comedic timing and balances it well with the more serious moments of the film. She’s a talented actress, and like the actor who portrays her fictional father, she definitely has a future in the comedy genre.
Lauren Lapkus, John Michael Higgins, Holly J. Barrett, Rob Riggle, Myles Vincent Perez, Abi Monterey and Nia Vardalos round out the film’s supporting cast. All of them do decent jobs in their roles and contribute to the film’s balance between horror and comedy.
The Curse of Bridge Hollow is an entertaining, spooky, and comedic film to watch with the family on Halloween night. It’s a lighthearted tale and it’s easy to keep track of the plot in-between handing out treats to eager trick-or-treaters.
The Curse of Bridge Hollow is an entertaining, spooky, and comedic film to watch with the family on Halloween night.
Writer. Video Essayist. Film/TV Critic. Pop Culture Enthusiast.
When he isn’t writing for Geek Vibes Nation or The Cinema Spot, Tristian can be found typing away at one of the novels or screenplays he’s been working on forever.
