In 2003, Walt Disney Pictures released two films based on its theme park rides, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl and The Haunted Mansion. It was during a time when it was unheard of to make a movie adaptation of an attraction – studios didn’t have the hindsight of 20 years of films built off of dolls, action figures, snacks and even mobile games. Or, as Kendall Roy in Succession demands, “Bring me franchisable IP!” Acting as a precursor for what was to come, Pirates was a surprise hit, marking the beginning of a multibillion-dollar series, and The Haunted Mansion, while not as fortunate, especially according to critical reception, was still profitable for Disney.
Therefore, the question of why a reboot of The Haunted Mansion exists in 2023 is not a mystery. But the people behind the film did take some lessons from the original, deciding to hedge their bets with a well-known ensemble cast featuring some comedic heavy-hitters rather than revolving the story around a single actor in Eddie Murphy. They also hired director Justin Simien, whose work on Dear White People and the horror comedy Bad Hair was both satirical and subversive in its exploration of race.
But the end result is far from ideal. It could have been an exercise in experimentation and creativity fit for the excitement of the attraction, but like many major studio blockbusters, the up-and-coming indie filmmaker’s voice is stifled, making way for a safe, inoffensive take on the brand. Aside from one mention of calling the police only being a bit better than facing ghosts, there’s little sign of Simien’s sharp observations here. Meanwhile, the screenplay by Katie Dippold, who has previously written mainstream comedies like The Heat (2013) and Ghostbusters (2016), struggles to navigate through tonal shifts that require the film to juggle family-friendly jokes with a few scares and an investigation into grief – yes, it’s yet another horror movie about grief. The attempts at humor, which mostly fall flat, undercut efforts to find pathos, rendering them inadequate.
This sought-after emotional core is centered around Ben (LaKeith Stanfield), a former astrophysicist who now guides visitors on history tours of New Orleans after his wife, Alyssa (Charity Jordan), died in a car accident. As an astrophysicist, he created a camera that could photograph the unseen, but he was laughed out of the science community for it. Father Kent (Owen Wilson) is aware of Ben’s invention and asks him to help Gabbie (Rosario Dawson) and her son, Travis (Chase W. Dillon), free their new home from the ghosts that live there. But no one tells Ben that if he leaves the house, he will be haunted by ghosts in his everyday life until he returns. After their initial efforts fail, the “Dream Team” enlists the assistance of the psychic Harriet (Tiffany Haddish) and professor Bruce (Danny DeVito). Through the film’s second act, the group uncovers the story behind the old manor and the threat of the Hatbox Ghost (a CGI-enveloped Jared Leto), who is an actual character on the amusement park ride.
Besides being a vehicle to reveal a number of Easter eggs about the iconic Disney attraction, Haunted Mansion does little else to justify its creation. At 122 minutes, the film drags, especially in the first act when it is placing all of its characters together at the house. The cast tries its best with a screenplay filled with wince-inducing egg puns and callbacks that were unfunny the first time, but it mostly results in performances that are uncharacteristically restrained for such charismatic actors. The film also misses the opportunity to derive laughs from Stanfield, who has demonstrated his comedic ability on shows like Atlanta, instead awkwardly forcing him to do most of the heavy lifting on the emotional front. Unlike the two aforementioned Disney films from 2003, this version of Haunted Mansion doesn’t take any risks and therefore, has nothing interesting to say.
Photo courtesy of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
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