Spooky Or Silly? — Review of Hallmark's Haunted Wedding (2024)
Before you reach any funny conclusion, yes, I do watch Hallmark movies occasionally and this one caught my eye! Seeing Janel Parrish and Dominic Sherwood as lead actors on the film cover, I grabbed a bowl of popcorn—well, actually biscuits and a malt—and settled in to watch this film.
The title reveals it's a Halloween film but I wasn't so sure if Hallmark could pull off something really horror-scary. Why not give them the benefit of the doubt? More so, Janel Parrish was one of the lead characters in the thriller TV series, Pretty Little Liars and its spin-off where they featured some spooky subplots.
Haunted Wedding (2024) kicks off with a ghost hunter couple, Brian (Dominic Sherwood) and Jana (Janel Parrish), checking for paranormal activities in an old house. They are unsuccessful when Jana is suddenly surprised with a proposal and a ring instead. The couple agree to celebrate their wedding in the haunted Keystone Manor.
It turns out that the ghost of a young lady, Angelique, who lost her betrothed, Malcolm, haunts the manor. It seems like a fine ghost story until Jana and her friend get to the manor, realise it happened truly and everything begins to go wrong. Angelique won't allow the wedding to be held unless she's reunited with Malcolm. Jana and Brian have two days to fulfil this ghost's almost-impossible wish or not have a wedding. Will they succeed in this paranormal quest?
Review
I don't mind ghost movies and the spookiness they bring; that’s exactly what I expected from this film. But Hallmark has a way of making everything appear nice and fluffy and Haunted Wedding is not an exception. The plot is bizarre but intriguing—a wedding in a haunted manor with the condition that the couple must grant a ghost couple their happily ever after. In essence, there are two couples vying for the audience's attention throughout this one hour and twenty-four minutes film.
Though not as spooky as I expected, the storytelling is not bad. The lead cast's performance is good, thanks to Janel Parrish and Dominic Sherwood, but not great. I like that Dominic plays the double role of Brian and Malcolm, adding some intrigue to the film. But I can't express the same fondness for the supporting cast.
This film feels crowded with exaggerated or stereotypical characters who behave weirdly especially in their attempts at humour. Worse, their dialogues sometimes sound cliché. The scene where a scam medium attempts to hold a seance to unite the spirits while at loggerheads with Jana is annoying. I wish that scene is not a part of the film. I think Hallmark is going for something spooky yet fun but they somehow missed the mark with this ridiculous character.
Also, the resolution of the ghost crisis is apparent early on but the scenes feel repetitive as if the characters are going in circles just to stretch the film's runtime. But I’ll commend the cinematography and transitions where the ghosts appear and disappear. It's smooth and most of the scenes are visually stunning.
Overall, Haunted Wedding is a fine Halloween film with no real scare, and lots of silliness in it. I watched it because of the lead actors but was a little disappointed by the storytelling and the supporting cast. I'll give it 2.5 stars out of 5.
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Images are screenshots from the movie
Posted using CineTV