Director: Craig Johnson
Year: 2025
Country: USA
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Supernatural; Horror/Comedy
Plot:
Arriving at a rented house, a couple hoping to use the experience as a bonding experience to bring their parents together before they get married are thrown off by the bizarre confrontations inside the house that are soon revealed to be due to the ghost haunting the house they chose to host everything.
Review:
This was an overall intriguing if really problematic genre comedy. The central idea here, involving the couple looking at bringing together their disparate families before announcing their upcoming marriage, makes for a fun idea that allows for a solid slew of comedic experiences. Knowing the awkwardness and general sense of uncomfortability many experience in the situation, whether saying the wrong thing so it comes off as a double-entendre, inadvertently spying on family members in compromising situations, saying something that doesn't paint you in a good light, and laying bare all sorts of unexpected thoughts that don’t always align with your views creates a solid series of comedic escapades to start. The physical gags offer a great way to enhance this, as there’s a lot of fun to be had with the situation, taking advantage of the opportunity to get to know the parents and have their ability to cause disruption and chaos, making it even harder for the situation to unfold.
The second half, when it goes for more obvious genre fare in its mounting possessions, spectral ghosts appearing out of nowhere, or outlandish displays of supernatural power, gets more of a chance to build something interesting. Given the backstory about the house, making the incidents come together far more obviously into the idea of these hauntings being the result of something dangerous, this makes for a more energetic experience that ranges from wild possession, body-hopping figures, and some wild ideas trying to put an end to everything. However, this also highlights the main issue here involving the lack of genre fare featured here. With everything having a jokey tone and not always going for the kind of intensity usually associated with this kind of genre, some of the scenes here tend to lack the kind of feeling that’s required to pull off effectively, so it never feels like anyone is truly in danger. It's the main factor here, really bringing it down.
Overview: ***.5/5
A light-on-horror but no less enjoyable genre effort, this one manages to be quite fun overall, even if the biggest issue here is a lighthearted touch in terms of how much genre content it contains. Viewers who are fine with this style and presentation, are curious about it, or are fans of the creative crew, want to give it a shot, while most others wanting more straightforward genre fare will want to heed caution.
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