'The Haunted Mansion' Review: The Right Disney Movie At The Wrong Time
A priest, a psychic, and an astrophysicist walk into a haunted house. While you might think that’s a setup for some cheesy joke, it’s a partial plot description for Disney’s latest film adaptation of its iconic theme park attraction, ‘The Haunted Mansion’.
Courtesy of Walt Disney Studios.
Now, many might recall that this isn’t Disney’s first effort at bringing the ride to the big screen. Twenty years ago, there was an attempt to build a story around the ride in the form of a family film starring Eddie Murphy. Despite being a commercial success, it was critically panned and felt too far-removed from the source material. The new version has a lot more going for it, thankfully, but sadly that’s still not saying much.
Courtesy of Walt Disney Studios.
The film opens with our protagonist, Ben (played by Academy Award nominee LaKeith Stanfield), at a New Years Eve party. There he meets a young woman named Alyssa, and the two hit it off talking about their careers. Ben is the aforementioned astrophysicist. He’s obsessed with creating a device that captures things invisible to the human eye, although he doesn’t believe in ghosts. Alyssa is a tour guide for local haunted attractions. She implores him to attend one of her tours so she can change his mind. He agrees. And then the film flashes forward to the present.
Ben is at a bar, drunk, disheveled, and reluctant to begin his day. Right when you think he’s about to head off to his astrophysicist job, it’s revealed that he’s actually taken over Alyssa’s job as a tour guide. As we later come to find out, Alyssa died. In the aftermath of her death, Ben clings to job because it’s the only thing he has left that reminds him of her. Still, he doesn’t believe in ghosts.
A few days later, a priest named Kent (played by the always-enjoyable Owen Wilson) shows up to his doorstep with an opportunity for some easy money. He says he’s been approached by a single mother who believes her new home - the titular Mansion - is haunted. Aware that Ben has a device that can capture pictures of ghosts, Kent tells him that the mother just wants him to take some photos to see if there really is an entity at the mansion. Motivated only by the money, Ben agrees. And he is so sure that there are no ghosts that he fakes taking pictures at the residence. When he leaves, however, something follows him. And when he tries to go back to find out what that something is, he not only learns that ghosts are real but that the ones in the house might actually be scared of something more sinister than anyone could imagine.
Courtesy of Walt Disney Studios.
The film’s best quality is its cast. Rosario Dawson joins Stanfield and Wilson as the single mother who inherits the Haunted Mansion. When the three of them realize that they are going to need help to solve the mansion’s mystery they enlist a psychic played by Tiffany Haddish and an old history professor played by Danny DeVito. On the surface, it may seem like there are just too many eccentric characters in the film, and you could never imagine some of them being compatible with each other, most have incredible chemistry that crafts quite the enjoyable experience. The only exceptions are Jamie Lee Curtis and Jared Leto who play Madame Leota and the Hat Box Ghost respectively. Curtis, while good, is a glorified cameo. Leto, on the other hand, plays the same type of menace he’s become known for - in what can only be described as in a different font. Whenever Wilson, Haddish, and DeVito are especially onscreen together brainstorming - or even just bantering - it’s hard not to crack a smile. That’s where the mansion really comes to life. There’s this riveting séance sequence with the entire cast that yields some of the loudest laughs of the entire film.
To date, director Justin Simien has only done two other features: Dear White People and Bad Hair. The former is terrific, while the latter is awful. So it honestly could have gone either way here. Fortunately Simien’s direction is another one of the film’s strengths. Unlike the last adaptation, the mansion feels way more fleshed out - almost like a character itself. Now, it’s no Overlook Hotel, but Simien navigates the mansion in a way that will give fans of the attraction - and even those who are new to this world - a deeper appreciation of the lore.
On a similar note, there are so many Easter eggs in this film for diehard fans of the attraction to pick out and try to find with countless rewatches that it makes the film feel destined to become a Halloween classic. However, given the film’s peculiar July release that might be easier said than done. And that ties into some of the film’s real issues.
Given the fact that Disney just released a majority of its slate over the course of the last two months, it would have made more sense to save this film for late September or early October to take advantage of the Halloween fever. Not to say that horror films can only be released during that time of the year. Horror films are released all year long. However, the strikes and “Barbenheimer” aside, the release of this film feels very off. Granted, the reason for “early” release could be because Disney wants it on streaming just in time for Halloween, but watching this in a theater midsummer feels a bit off.
In regards to the problems within the actual film, it is extremely predictable. That’s not to say the film is not enjoyable. However, if you are expecting something new or groundbreaking, don’t. Additionally, the third act descends into complete madness. It’s not that the story becomes hard to follow, but there is so much happening that you start to question where the film is actually headed. It seems as if even the characters are aware of how loaded the third act is because half of them take a break to stop at Burger King. And in case that isn’t a big enough hint, there is quite a bit of oddly-placed product placement in the film as well.
Overall, The Haunted Mansion is still good. Despite its contrived and occasionally quizzical story - the attention paid to the lore, coupled with the A-list cast’s chemistry and comedic timing make it quite an enjoyable ride for Disney fans new and old.