“You can book anything on AirB&B.”

Genre: Horror Satires Gone Wobbly
Release Date: 2019
Where I Watched: Vudu Free w/Ads

Gist: Mia and Dalvero are getting married this weekend! Mazel! And Mia scored a great deal on a summer camp, and has put her bridal party on clean-up/set-up duty. But the camp – as well as the town down the way – has a strange history. So when things start getting creepy for Our Gang after night falls? Well, who knows what’s going on? Seriously. Somebody please tell me.

Talky talk: I have to admit that renting a summer camp for a wedding sounds absolutely brilliant. Tons of space, lots of places to crash after the reception, and hello wedding s’mores! I also love a good horror comedy, but Wedding is only fair to middling in that department.

Things start off with the promise of crazy, creepy fun; from the Teddy Ruxpin teddy bear spouting fundamentalist gospel, to the 80s throwback title text and over-the-top music score, I buckled in know you’re for a satirical look at 80s horror. Unfortunately, it turns into a confusing kitchen-sink film that wants to be a homage but ends up being just another film that whiffs it in the second act.

The cast does give 110% though, which kept me from shrugging and changing the channel. And believe me, that was a strong temptation for a while. I get that the camp, the town, and the characters all seem to have something hiding in their back stories, but in trying to keep those things mysterious, Wedding only makes them feel muddy and unfocused.

Luckily things turn around toward campy fun at the climax, after we’ve seen ghosts, religious fundamentalism gone bonkers, childhood bullying, and even possessed zombie people. So Wedding checked not only all the boxes but every goddamn box. Which could have been funny, but with too much going on and 88 minutes to play with? It’s confusing and lacks a compelling narrative. But hey, the ending wraps things up nicely and even has a fun dance number, so I’m not mad. Just disappointed, because this film had the possibility of being so much better.

So to wrap up? The first act promises some good fun, the second act is a complete goddamn mess, and the third Act is just crazy enough to be fun. So it’s basically…okay. Not good, but not bad either. If the creators had been able to do something besides wander aimlessly with the plot in the second act, this would be a freaking cult classic. But they didn’t, so it’s not. Still, if you want a bit of mindless horror fun to watch when you can’t seem to get back to sleep at 3am? Wedding ain’t a bad choice. Even with those repetitive Vudu ads.

Come for: The obviously campy (heh) premise.
Stay for: The crazy weirdness that unfolds in the third act.