Cut to the chase
An improvement from its predecessor, “Haunted Mansion” squeezes in enough laughs and jumps to warrant a spin in the Doom Buggy. However, the film’s lasting impression will not live up to its source material, a ride which, even at just 9 minutes long, packs in more of a punch than the 2-hour feature.
A scene from Disney’s live-action HAUNTED MANSION. Photo courtesy of Disney. © 2023 Disney Enterprises
A spooky ride
It’s unlikely there was any contingency of moviegoers begging for a redo of the 2003 fiasco adaptation, “The Haunted Mansion”. Based on the beloved ride that has been spooking guests since it opened in 1969 at the Disneyland theme park, that film and its newest incarnation, “Haunted Mansion”, were made with the high hopes of bringing back to life the nostalgia and whimsical terror experienced by Disney fans on the animatronic attraction during its nearly 55 years in operation.
At the very least, “Haunted Mansion” has made some overall improvements and updates for our movie-going experience. Apart from dropping “The” in its title, this new film written by Katie Dippold and directed by Justin Simien, focuses on developing and building up the haunted house trope from scary movie lore, doing away with the gag-filled plot and harnessing the power of the supernatural.
The Eddie Murphy-led film from 20 years ago had little structure and a dilapidated premise. At the very least, this new film builds an impressive, cohesive world that isn’t the worst place to inhabit for a couple of hours. The cast is stacked with high-profile names and talent. The story finds a comfortable rhythm and keeps the action moving; there are no unfortunate mid-ride breakdowns or long periods of stalling. But even so, the scare factor is either too strong for some young viewers or too weak for older audiences, causing “Haunted Mansion” to fall through the cracks often found in such old houses.
(L-R): Chase Dillon as Travis, Rosario Dawson as Gabbie, LaKeith Stanfield as Ben, Owen Wilson as Father Kent, and Tiffany Haddish as Harriet in Disney’s HAUNTED MANSION. Photo by Jalen Marlowe.
Some fixes and improvements
The Disneyland ride uses “Doom Buggies” to transport visitors throughout the haunted house, double-wide chairs with a gothic cape that bend and turn as the various ghosts parade around it. The pace is steady, not fast, which allows the spooks to settle in and reside for a time. By this same token, “Haunted Mansion” is not interested in hard and fast scares, preferring instead to set the scene and develop its characters before the real nightmares commence.
LaKeith Stanfield stars as Ben, an astrophysicist and recent widower living in New Orleans. Stricken by grief, Ben can barely perform on the historical tours of NOLA he has been operating since his wife’s passing. His life changes when Father Kent (Owen Wilson) pops by with a proposition: help photograph ghosts in a remote mansion outside the city using his homemade spectral camera and make some seemingly easy cash.
Gabbie (Rosario Dawson) and her son Travis (Chase Dillon) had moved into the large house looking for a fresh start. It became quickly apparent that this was no normal mansion in Louisiana when ghosts flooded from the woodwork, traumatizing Travis and leaving Gabbie desperate to be rid of the apparitions. With the additional aid of a Bourbon Street medium Harriet (Tiffany Haddish) and local historian Bruce (Danny DeVito), Ben, Gabbie, Travis and Father Kent must solve the mystery and absolve the house of the tormented spirit holding every soul inside hostage.
(L-R): Owen Wilson as Father Kent and Tiffany Haddish as Harriet
No need to strap in
The all-star cast is rounded out by Jamie Lee Curtis as head-in-an-orb psychic Madame Leota and Jared Leto, whose purely voice performance is a wasted use of his talent. The chemistry created amongst the cast carries much of the film, even the scenes that were obviously written in to tie it back to the source material. Winona Ryder makes a small cameo for that reason, donning the Victorian-era maroon dress and headpiece made famous by the attendants working at the Disneyland attraction.
Despite all of this, “Haunted Mansion” won’t make you rethink your favorite spooky movie. Ardent Disney fans will delight in the Easter Eggs, but the joy ends there. As a standalone tale, the film offers no explanation for the haunting or the origins of its evil. Apart from Ben, Gabbie and Travis, the other main characters, though played by actors known for their comedic presence, are underdeveloped. Overall, the film treads in shallow water, never making the leap or taking the chance to set it apart from what it ultimately is: just another movie based on a Disneyland attraction.
Lindsay Lamb as The Bride in Disney’s HAUNTED MANSION. Photo courtesy of Disney.
Know before you go
MPAA rating: PG-13 for some thematic elements and scary action
Recommended age: 10+
Runtime: 122 minutes
Nightmare inducers: Though the film is rated PG-13, it is arguably on the lighter end of that rating. There is nothing that would truly scare adult viewers. Those younger than 10 may be spooked by a few situational shocks and the more gruesome ghosts of the lot. (The murderous phantom bride has long been a staple of the ride’s myth and the main contributor to its sinister atmosphere.) For young viewers easily frightened, there may be enough bump-in-the-night sequences to trigger nightmares. For more mature young viewers, “Haunted Mansion” will be an easier Halloween-time movie selection.
Difficult concepts or emotions: Death is certainly one of the film’s foremost keynotes, given that a majority of its characters live in the ghost realm. But the lead characters are also grappling with the passing of key relationships, which may be triggering for kids who are easily affected by morbid thoughts or the fear of loved ones dying. The young boy Travis is bullied and feels different from his peers. Discussions of “fitting in” and “being yourself” prevails much of his story arc.
