The Bridge Curse is Netflix’s latest horror movie. It is directed by Lester Hsi and stars Ning Chang, Cheng Ko, Summer Meng, Vera Yen and J.C. Lin.
Got me there!
The Bridge Curse follows a journalist who is investigating a case from a few years ago, where a group of undergraduate students died under mysterious circumstances. While investigating it though, she realises she’s in too deep.
I am just gonna start with the fact that The Bridge Curse has its moments. The movie starts out as a creepy atmospheric horror film. However, the basic premise of the movie, albeit with a good twist, is cliched. There are things that you have seen many a times before – water splashing suddenly, pots banging, ghosts screaming and not letting you poop in peace – things that we are used to watching, and, somewhere down the line also expect to watch. Also, the ghost is not scary at all. However, a better part of the movie relies heavily on the suspense, and we are left to wonder sometimes what actually is going on.
The Bridge Curse is shot either traditionally or with very shaky camera work. It feels great at first, but after a while it’s confusing and annoying, especially because they switch from one to the other in fast succession. The characters too are nothing of note. They’re very forgettable, and kind of annoying. And, for some reason, the girls fall down a lot for no discernible reason.
The kills, too, you’ll be able to figure out from miles away. The moment you see someone straying away from the group, you know that the end is near. However, even with all these things in mind, the movie shines with its end twist. It’s quite fun to watch when it comes and hits you. The performances too, are quite nice and believable.
However, my biggest problem with this movie is probably the fact that the CGI is absolutely atrocious. The ghost, with close-ups of her hand and feet, just look horrible and take away from the overall look and feel of the film. I wish they hadn’t shown any of these things, and instead focused on the twist and the group of students.
As I said previously, the idea behind the urban legend, and the legend in general, is quite interesting. The urban legend is well-woven and refined as the film progresses, giving it a life of its own. Had the characters, too, been meshed into the story better, it would’ve been a treat to watch. Similarly, with the journalist – her character just seems there to tell the story, with little to no backstory. We aren’t invested with the characters to feel for them when they eventually come across a hurdle or die. It’s important for the audience to be invested in a horror story’s characters, otherwise it just becomes scene-after-scene of silly jumscares.
Summing up: The Bridge Curse
The Bridge Curse does its best to hold on to the suspense and thrill throughout its 1 hour 27 minutes runtime. And for most of it, it succeeds as well. However, the cliched jumpscares, the kills, and the sad CGI work take much of it away. The urban legend is pretty creepy and given a life of its own, although you can’t say the same about the people living the legend.
It’s a decent, but forgettable, thriller that keeps you entertained for the most part.
The Bridge Curse is streaming on Netflix.
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