Horror Movie Review: The Cult of Humpty Dumpty (2022)

Guess whose back? Back again. Humpty’s back. Tell a friend. Or don’t, as they may not thank you for it.

Directed by Jack E. Bell, with a story by Sam Ashurst and Scott Chambers, The Cult of Humpty Dumpty is the sequel to 2021’s The Curse of Humpty Dumpty. A Jagged Edge Production film that turned out to be pretty good.

So good, that this sequel was something to look forward to, which isn’t always something that can be said about a Jagged Edge Production film.

Initially released as The Curse of Humpty Dumpty 2, The Cult of Humpty Dumpty can be seen as both a sequel and a standalone movie. There are few connections to the original, aside from tiny references and the titular villain, and a lot of the more meaningful aspects are absent. If you put this on, not knowing a thing about The Curse of Humpty Dumpty, you wouldn’t be lost.

Here, a group of troubled young women, played by actors that regular watchers of Jagged Edge Productions will recognise, are sent to a camp where they will learn important life skills and healthy living. We have the likes of Georgina Jane, Annabel Hammond, Sarah T. Cohen, May Kelly, and Kelly Rian Sanson forced to ‘cleanse’ themselves, both physically and mentally.

The ‘Green Cleanse’ camp, run by two elderly hippies (Matthew Baunsgard and Gillian Broderick) is just a front though. It’s actually a cult, a cult to Humpty Dumpty and they need to feed it to bring about a prophecy that will grant them power.

If this wasn’t a sequel, this would be a perfectly fine story. Uninspired and unexciting, but perfectly fine. Especially with the calibre of cast members it has at its disposal. However, it is a sequel, and it is so far removed from what made the original good, it’s annoying. The powerful and symbolic focus on dementia and its impact, given a supernatural horror twist, is completely gone here. Instead, we have something more akin to a slasher film, and it delivers pretty much every single trope you’d expect.

Hell, even when it tries to change up a trope, it inevitably delivers another. It’s very disappointing, and hurts the things the movie does well, such as diving into the lore around Humpty Dumpty. Lore that those coming into the franchise fresh may not care about, but those that were invested in the original, will.

It’s this, the good cast, and some well-done creepy scenes, that means The Cult of Humpty Dumpty can’t be considered a bad film. It just pales in comparison to The Curse of Humpty Dumpty. Hopefully, with a third film, they can get back on track and give us something that combines the two.