The Curse of Bridge Hollow is a 2022 Netflix horror comedy directed by Jeff Wadlow. Starring Marlon Wayans as Howard Gordon, a Sciences teacher who moves with his wife Emily (Kelly Rowland) and daughter Sydney (Priah Ferguson) to the eponymous town during Halloween season, which he doesn't really care for due to his skepticism towards the supernatural. His ideas are changelled when Sydney accidentally releases the evil spirit of Stingy Jack, who seeks to possess everything related to Halloween, forcing Howard to face his ideas and team up with Sydney to save the city before it's destroyed by its own Halloween decoration.
This movie contains examples of:
- Adaptational Villainy: In the original tale, Jack's worst crimes were of being a troublemaker and con man and failing to fullfill his promises to become better, as well as making a Deal with the Devil in exchange for not going to Hell. There was nothing about him making a deal to gain powers to cause mayhem during Halloween, let alone making the holiday permanent and Take Over the World.
- Agent Scully: Howard doesn't believe the supernatural and that's why he never celebrates Halloween.
- Dem Bones: As part of Howard's backstory, he once fell into a pit and claimed he saw skeletons moving and reaching him, which doctors dismissed as hallucinations and he himself accepted it. During the chase for the book of spells, he has to face a group of skeletal football players controlled by Jack.
- Giant Spider: One that decorated the nursing comes to life as Howard and Sydney interrogate an old lady whose grandmother stopped the villain the last time.
- Monster Clown: Among the possessed decorations are a bunch of real-sized creepy clowns who chase Howard and Sydney through a maze.
- Pumpkin Person: The local festival includes a contest to choose the best Jack-O-Lantern and place it on a scarecrow. Guess what happens to said pumpkinhead once the curse is released...
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: All the possessed decorations with eyes get these as a sign of being controlled by Stingy Jack.
- Science Hero: Howard is a science teacher and his knowledge comes to use when he has to face living decorations by improvising weapons with whatever he can reach.
- Sealed Evil in a Can: Stingy Jack was sealed inside a jack-o'-lantern turnip decades earlier, and is released when Sydney finds it hidden inside an ark on a secret compartment in the basement and lights it up.
- Shout-Out: Sully is a big fan of The Walking Dead and dresses as Rick Grimes for Halloween.
- Stingy Jack: The legend himself is the Big Bad, who seeks to possess a living person and free himself to reign under a perpetual Halloween season.
