Halloween decorations–and the teen horror comedy–come to life in The Curse Of Bridge Hollow

It’s time to come to terms with a sad truth: the golden age of the Disney Channel Original Movie (or DCOM, to the form’s loyal fans) is over. And with its demise has come a sharp decline in the production of one particular genre: the late-90s/early-2000s teen horror comedy, popularized by classics such as the original Hocus Pocus and the Halloweentown films. Seriously, when was the last time you watched an unsuspecting dad accidentally give a Mars Bar to a real ghost or goofy goblin? We can’t remember either!

But at long last, this spooky season seems to be serving up more treats than tricks, first with the long-awaited Hocus Pocus 2 and now with Netflix’s The Curse Of Bridge Hollow—a movie with more DCOM energy than any actual DCOM in years.

The movie follows teenage Sydney (Stranger Things’ Priah Ferguson) and her father, a by-the-books science teacher (Marlon Wayans), who have just moved from the big city to a small, suburban town that’s obsessed with Halloween. (Like, that one scene from Wandavision–level obsessed).

After learning that her new house is haunted (of course) by a spirit named Stingy Jack, Sydney accidentally awakens a curse that causes the town’s many, many Halloween decorations to come to life, glowing red eyes and all. This kicks off a sequence of chaos that looks something like a cross between Night At The Museum, Goosebumps, and every Doctor Who holiday special ever made. Chainsaws and skeleton arm swords for all!

The idea of anything at Party City coming to life may be terrifying in theory, but since these clowns bleed only fluff when their limbs are removed, the whole affair just seems like good old-fashioned spooky fun. Here’s hoping no one in Bridge Hollow invested in one of those 12-foot skeletons from Home Depot. Now that could do some real damage.

The Curse Of Bridge Hollow will be available to stream on Netflix on October 14.