The Haunting of Prince Dom Pedro Review: Decently Entertaining!

The Haunting of Prince Dom Pedro—or more accurately The Haunting of Prince Dom Pedro de Alcântara Francisco António João Carlos Xavier de Paula Miguel Rafael Joaquim José Gonzaga Pascoal Cipriano Serafim—is exactly the kind of title that tells you what sort of experience you’re about to get into. Directed by Don Swanson, this indie horror-comedy leans heavily into parody territory and embraces its micro-budget identity from beginning to end. Rather than attempting to create genuine terror or a polished supernatural mystery, the film chooses to operate within a very specific campy lane and, to its credit, sticks to it consistently.

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The story follows a group of teenagers who accidentally summon the spirit of Brazil’s first emperor after dismissing their history lesson and spending more time staring at their phones than paying attention in class. From there, strange deaths begin occurring while the ghost of Dom Pedro repeatedly threatens the students in Portuguese, which creates most of the film’s intentionally awkward humor.

What I appreciated most about The Haunting of Prince Dom Pedro is that it knows exactly what it wants to be. There’s never a point where it suddenly tries to become a serious horror film or pretends to be something larger than its identity. It fully embraces the campy horror-comedy-mystery vibe throughout the entire runtime. That commitment honestly becomes its biggest strength.

The voice of Dom Pedro constantly threatening the teenagers in the background is a good example of that tone. The delivery is exaggerated and on-the-nose in a way that feels intentionally silly rather than unintentionally awkward. The deaths themselves follow a similar pattern. Characters suddenly collapse or die in absurdly bloodless ways, and what makes it even funnier is how casually everyone reacts afterward; people just accept what happened and move on, which adds to the bizarre comedic atmosphere.

Another small detail I unexpectedly found funny was the film’s use of what I would call “T-shirt storytelling.” There are several moments where shirts themselves are doing half the exposition or humor. During the third act, for example, there’s a band called Rumble performing and people are casually wearing “Rumble Superest Fans” shirts. When characters volunteer at an elderly home, they’re wearing “Senex Home Volunteer” shirts. It’s such a weirdly specific little detail, but it fits perfectly into the intentionally clumsy and self-aware style of the movie.

The film also repeatedly references the director’s previous works and throws in several meta jokes and fake trailers throughout the narrative. Those moments feel like the filmmakers are having fun with the audience rather than simply telling a straightforward story. The entire movie almost plays like a long inside joke that fully expects you to accept its ridiculousness.

That said, there are definitely areas where the movie could have been stronger. The mystery and storytelling aspects could have been developed more. If you look at the basic premise itself—teenagers mocking a supernatural entity and slowly becoming targets—it could have worked really well as an actual suspense-driven horror-thriller. There’s a genuinely interesting structure buried underneath the comedy. The story could have built paranoia, tension, and real fear around Dom Pedro’s presence.

Instead, Don Swanson deliberately chooses the opposite route and leans into absurdity. Surprisingly though, I didn’t really mind that decision because the movie never pretends otherwise. It isn’t trying to scare you; it’s trying to make you smile at how strange and awkward everything becomes. Performance-wise, the cast does a decent job fitting into the film’s tone. Rachel O’Day as Jayden and Madeline Sclichter as Kayden work well enough as the central leads and understand the exaggerated style the movie is going for.

Overall, The Haunting of Prince Dom Pedro isn’t a film you watch expecting a carefully crafted mystery or genuinely frightening horror experience. It’s a movie you accept on its own terms. If you go in expecting a deliberately campy, self-aware, slightly goofy supernatural parody, there’s some fun to be had here. It won’t reinvent anything, but as a casual afternoon watch with an intentionally ridiculous personality, it manages to be decently entertaining. You can now check out ‘The Haunting of Prince Dom Pedro’s’ Instagram page for more updates regarding the release date and streaming options.

‘The Haunting of Prince Dom Pedro’ Rating – 3.25/5

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