Sommerleigh Pollonais – Horror Head Writer
Netflix is arguably the best streaming service out there, and with a buttload of original content dropping on a monthly basis there’s usually something for everyone.
Well, everyone who ISN’T a diehard horror fan that is. It’s not that they don’t have horror flicks under that big Red N, it’s that most of them are classics I’ve seen a hundred times over. And if there are new ones they mostly suck, especially if you’re streaming from somewhere outside North America (like I am). So it’s always a pleasant surprise to find a hidden gem among the coals, which is how I felt after watching The Bridge Curse.
Now hidden gem might be overselling it a bit because The Bridge Curse definitely relies heavily on established Asian horror movie tropes. A group of university students plan a “bravery initiation” (basically a dare) for a fellow classmate on a bridge that people say is haunted by a vengeful female ghost. See what I mean about tropes?
That said, I actually had fun with this one and a large part of that was because of two things. The story plays out in both real time and flashbacks, with a reporter covering the mystery in the present time, and then we have the kids who either went missing or died four years ago. Usually I hate this prequel style of storytelling because you already know what happens which takes away from any impact the mystery might have. But if you’re a fan of Asian horror, you know they love to throw a twist or two in there and The Bridge Curse was no exception. This added some positive layers to the story and made it a bit more difficult to tell how the ending would unfold.
Another positive was the cast of characters. Yes, the movie doesn’t really take that much time developing their backstories, yet I still felt genuine sympathy for most of them who honestly didn’t deserve to suffer the way they did. They just did what kids do, try something that seemed harmless on paper, only to find out the truth of the legend in the worst way possible.
With some solid jump scares layered in and the smart choice to keep their low budget antagonist hidden as much as possible, The Bridge Curse doesn’t do anything new with the haunted/cursed genre, but as Netflix Originals go it’s engaging enough to keep a horror fan fed until something meatier comes along.
Rating: 5.5 out of 10
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Sommerleigh of the House Pollonais. First of Her Name. Sushi Lover, Queen of Horror Movies, Comic Books and Binge Watching Netflix. Mother of two beautiful black cats named Vader and Kylo. I think eating Popcorn at the movies should be mandatory, PS4 makes the best games ever and I’ll be talking about movies until the zombie apocalypse comes.
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