The Bridge Curse: Ritual

This movie definitely gets way too much hate. Firstly, it's definitely better than its predecessor by leaps and bounds. The visual effects are not great and the plot is pretty unoriginal to say the very least, but the acting is solid, the message is deeper than I expected from a film if this caliber, and it's pretty easy to follow.

If you're a fan of Taiwanese horror movies, you will definitely love this one for sure. Don't listen to the other reviews and check it out if you're on the fence. It's obviously nowhere near the best horror movies that's done out of Taiwan, but it's certainly a good one to be sure.

Having watched the 2020 horror movie "The Bridge Curse" and finding it to be mediocre, I can't really claim that I was particularly thrilled when I stumbled upon the 2023 sequel "The Bridge Curse: Ritual" here in 2024. But of course I opted to sit down and watch it, after all it was a horror movie that I hadn't already seen.

And who knows, maybe it would prove better than the first movie. So of course I opted to give director Lester Hsi's 2023 movie a fair chance.

Writers Keng-Ming Chang, Po-Hsiang Hao and Shih-Yuan Lu put together a script and storyline that felt like a heap of random scenes written and shot independently of one another, and then handed over to director Lester Hsi to put together and attempt to make a coherent movie. It didn't really work out, because there was a horrifying lack of red thread throughout the course of the movie, and that made for a somewhat disjointed and boring viewing experience.

I wasn't familiar with the cast ensemble in the movie, but it should be said that the acting performances were actually fair. They had a good group of actors and actresses put together to portray the various characters in the movie.

And the title of the movie "The Bridge Curse: Ritual" just made zero sense when you look at the narrative and the contents of the script that the writers managed to concoct.

My rating of "The Bridge Curse: Ritual" lands on a three out of ten stars.

The Bridge Curse: Ritual: Taiwanese horror film. Set in 2019 this is more of a prequel rather than a remake. The bridge and it's angry ghosts feature but these are mostly in relation to one character. The action centres around the university's buildings and again is largely composed of found footage. In 2016 a student tries to beta test a Role Playing Game he is creating, to see if it will also arouse the interest of reputed ghosts. Things go horribly wrong as he is attacked by invisible forces and ends up in a coma. 2019, his sister along with other students try to finish creating his game. She beta rests it in the same building and despite being twice attacked, apparently by ghosts she is intent on continuing as are her student friends. Have this lot never watched a horror film? Some effective jump scares and convincing ghosts along with an in-between dimension which has to be traversed. Time slips are also involved. Things do get a bit confusing as the film chops back and forward betwixt the timelines. There are some very angry ghosts and warped Feng Shui at work here. A ten minute cut it's running time might have improved things as well, still it's worth watching. Directed by Lester Hsi, Writers Keng-Ming Chang, Po-Hsiang Hao and Shih-yuan Lu. On Netflix. 6/10.

After viewing the original I was shocked to see that this was touted as a remake and not a sequel and after enjoying the original I thought I would sit down and watch this remake.

So last night I settled in and watched.

Boy do I wish I didn't.

Firstly it barely had anything to do with the bridge from the original one, so why the same title?

The first 29 minutes were good and I was enjoying it but when they went to the library and did the four corners game, the film ruined itself. There were way to many special effects that ruined the tension of the movie.

If they had kept to the bare minimum of effects and kept the tension up then this would have been a really good film but no they went with substance over style and ruined the whole thing.

After that the film got worse and worse.

Okay the ending was good and screamed out for a sequel, if they do I hope that they go the way if the original and not the remake.

Overall very disappointing movie, stick to the original.

TIME WASTING...KHANKI MAGI MOVIE.... "Khankir Chele" (translating roughly to "The Whore's Son") is not a movie that tiptoes around sensitive issues. Directed by emerging filmmaker Shafiq Rahman, this intense social drama dives headfirst into the underbelly of society, exploring themes of identity, shame, stigma, and self-discovery. With a name as provocative as its premise, "Khankir Chele" sets out to disturb, engage, and ultimately challenge viewers to rethink the way we judge and marginalize others.

The story follows Rakib, a young man growing up in the slums of Dhaka, known mostly as "Khankir Chele" due to his mother's occupation as a sex worker. From his earliest days, Rakib is ridiculed, beaten, and ostracized, not for anything he has done, but simply because of who his mother is. Society stamps him as dirty, criminal, and unwanted before he ever gets a chance to speak for himself.