Every year, I try to make sure I review some family friendly Halloween movies in addition to the scary slasher-fest films. This year has given us a few decent sequels with Under Wraps 2 and Hocus Pocus 2 but the originals, like Spirit Halloween The Movie, haven’t been as good. Netflix’s The Curse of Bridge Hollow has the potential to be the next big family Halloween movie. Let’s see if it lives up to it.

The Gordon family - Howard (Marlon Wayans), Emily (Kelly Rowland), and Sydney (Priah Ferguson) - are moving from Brooklyn to Bridge Hollow. Since it is Halloween, all of the houses are decorated. Each with it’s own theme. But Howard isn’t a fan of Halloween so there will be no decorations or celebrations of any type at the Gordon house. When some classmates tell Sydney about the history of their old house, she searches the attic for anything cool or haunted. She comes across an old jack-o-lantern and, during an argument with her father, lights it. This awakens the ancient spirit of the town, Stingy Jack. In order to stay in Bridge Hollow after midnight, Stingy Jack has to find another soul to send to hell.

Bridge Hollow is chock full of comedic geniuses. Obviously, there’s Marlon Wayans but there’s also Rob Riggle as the next door neighbor, Lauren Lapkus as the mayor, and John Michael Higgins as the high school principal. And while Priah Ferguson doesn’t have the history that her co-stars do, she has amazing comedic timing. This should have been a shoo-in for a cult classic. But there are a few downfalls.

For the most part, Bridge Hollow is funny and entertaining. However, it also takes a running joke and runs it straight into the ground. Howard, Sydney’s dad, is a science teacher. As a result, he is into science hard core. To the point that at least once in every scene, he says “Pop Quiz…” followed by asking Sydney some science-related question that is supposed to get them out of a sticky situation. It was cute at first but after the fourth “Pop Quiz,” it got tedious. The same goes for Emily’s, Sydney’s mom, baked goods. She is trying to open a bakery featuring vegan, gluten free pastries. But all of her food is terrible. To the point that her own family won’t even pretend to like it. Why would they let her waste money trying to start a business that they know will immediately fail? Why do they let her open a stand at the town festival to sell food to the locals when absolutely everyone says the food in inedible?

If you are able to overlook the minor quips in the script, it is a fun movie. I can’t wait to see where Ferguson’s career takes her. She has a bright future as a comedic actor but I think she could handle more dramatic roles if she wanted. Anyway, Bridge Hollow may not be the “watch every year” cult classic that I hoped it would be. At least I didn’t feel like I wasted my time watching it.