What if your high school history class came back to literally haunt you? That’s the bizarre but oddly compelling premise behind The Haunting of Prince Dom Pedro, an indie supernatural comedy that gleefully mashes up haunted house tropes, teen slasher parody, historical satire, and musical numbers into one sprawling fever dream of a film. Directed by Don Swanson and written by Joe Fishel (who also stars), this offbeat experiment is equal parts spoof and sincere homage to the kind of films most would call “so bad, they’re good.”
At its core, the story follows a disinterested group of high school students at Mors High who—too absorbed in their smartphones—can’t be bothered to pay attention during Latin American History class. Their apathy is punished when the ghost of Prince Dom Pedro I, Brazil’s real-life 19th-century liberator, begins picking them off one by one. The message? Maybe history does matter, after all.
Fishel plays multiple roles (including the titular Dom Pedro, a history teacher named Señor Clarke, and even Bigfoot), and he’s joined by an eclectic ensemble that includes Jennifer Lynn Warren, Allen Enlow, Phil Nardozzi, and Kathy A. Bates (no, not that one). The cast seems to be having a blast, and that infectious energy is hard to ignore, even when the film takes some pretty wild tonal detours.
And make no mistake—this movie is wild. From a cursed history test to spectral whispers in Portuguese, to unexpected fight scenes and musical numbers about Brazilian independence, Dom Pedro feels like a late-night cult flick tailor-made for viewers who thrive on chaos. It's self-aware to the point of parody, with repeated gags (like every student being named something that ends in “-ayden”) and intentionally lo-fi visuals that channel the charm of VHS-era filmmaking. One moment, you're watching a possessed smartphone wreak havoc; the next, you're deep in a martial arts tournament subplot complete with Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu flashbacks.
While some of these choices work—especially for fans of tongue-in-cheek mystery—others fall flat. Certain scenes, particularly the more indulgent comedic side quests, test the audience’s patience. It’s not that the jokes aren’t funny—they often are—it’s that the film struggles to balance its many ideas within a single cohesive arc. You may find yourself laughing out loud one minute and scratching your head the next.
Still, there’s an undeniable charm in how earnestly The Haunting of Prince Dom Pedro commits to its bizarre vision. Swanson and Fishel aren’t trying to make a traditional horror film—they’re creating a cinematic playground for low-budget absurdism. From the inclusion of fake trailers for other films in the shared “universe” to recurring characters like Bigfoot and the mysterious Gamemaster, there's a sense of expanding mythology at play here that could reward return viewers.
For all its uneven pacing and narrative detours, the film does strike a relevant chord: in a world where history often feels ignored or forgotten, Dom Pedro makes the case—albeit with a wink and a nudge—that maybe we should all pay a little more attention in class.
The Haunting of Prince Dom Pedro is a strange, self-aware genre mashup that delights in its own madness. It’s occasionally incoherent, but also funny, clever, and weirdly endearing. If you're in the mood for a haunted history lesson told through the lens of camp horror and chaotic comedy, this indie flick might just be your new cult favorite.
Jessie Hobson