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Jul 28, 2023 · Haunted Mansion is a fun blend of horror and comedy with a great cast and a story that'll be extra entertaining for fans of the ride that inspired it. Read Audience Reviews. TOP CRITIC. Oct 5...
- (250)
- Justin Simien
- PG-13
- Lakeith Stanfield
Jul 28, 2023 · A star-studded but shoddy adaptation of Disney's Haunted Mansion ride, directed by Justin Simien and written by Katie Dippold. The film fails to deliver on its comedic and horror potential, and wastes the talents of its ensemble cast.
Jul 27, 2023 · Like that movie, “Haunted Mansion” features a ragtag group of likable eccentrics battling digital ghosts, but it’s fright-free and far less funny. It’s all setup and no payoff.
- 122 min
- Manohla Dargis
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- A ghost story with horror and soul
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- Haunted Mansion Review
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By Matt Donato
Updated: Jul 25, 2023 9:05 pm
Posted: Jul 25, 2023 9:00 pm
Disney’s second crack at adapting its famous Haunted Mansion attraction into a cinematic experience fares much better than its Eddie Murphy-starring predecessor. In the hands of writer Katie Dippold and director Justin Simien, 2023’s Haunted Mansion is a soulful New Orleans ghost story that expertly speaks to younger audiences about death, grief's stranglehold, and the afterlife. Dippold finds a tender beating heart at the core of her screenplay without sacrificing the gateway horror ambitions of this PG-13 spookshow. Haunted Mansion successfully balances emotional sweetness and just-frightening-enough spectral scares with a Disneyfication of genre tropes, becoming a fun-filled scary movie for (almost) the entire family.
An eclectic ensemble – led by LaKeith Stanfield in the role of Louisiana tour guide Ben Matthias – squares off against the 999 spirits inhabiting single mother Gabbie’s (Rosario Dawson) new residence. Gabbie and her social-outcast son Travis (Chase Dillon) try to flee from the estate when they discover its paranormal infestation — they’re no fools. Dippold acknowledges how silly it’d be for a family to cohabitate with unpredictable entities and writes characters who hardly want to become Ghostbusters. Still, they have to because the film’s rules cleverly establish a logical reason that keeps everyone from a full-sprint exit. From Danny DeVito’s oddball college professor Bruce to Owen Wilson’s suspiciously chill Father Kent to Tiffany Haddish’s cost-effective medium Harriet, there’s no glaring weak link. Haunted Mansion is one of those comedies where everyone seemed to enjoy their time on set, which makes for a loosey-goosey cast playing off one another’s reactions to supernatural absurdity with easygoing chemistry.
As a film that handles tough conversations about a peaceful, even celebratory afterlife, Haunted Mansion does a tremendous job softening the blow of crushing mortality. Death can be a petrifying concept for any audience, let alone youngsters, but Haunted Mansion handles existential dread and immense grief with the fearlessness of a showstopper like Coco. In the context of storytelling (and without forcing beliefs down anyone’s throat), Dippold uses Ben’s broken heart as an entry point into discussions that blur the lines between “life” and “death” as we perceive. The themes of Haunted Mansion are comforting, like mouthfuls of spicy-savory jambalaya warming our hungry stomachs.
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The first attempt at spinning a movie out of the Haunted Mansion was DOA, but Justin Simien finds new life in the premise. Gateway horror can be so fickle because it needs to impress viewers of all ages while gearing scares toward lower tolerances. Haunted Mansion does precisely this with a cast of characters battling their own existential demons i...
Review scoring
great
A soulful ghost story that does an unexpectedly solid job speaking to younger audiences about the afterlife, nailing the film’s appropriately spooky gateway-horror ambitions.
Matt Donato
- Matt Donato
Jul 25, 2023 · ‘Haunted Mansion’ Review: Disney Horror Comedy Channels Its Spooky Illusions From Original Ride. Justin Simien's creative, post-'Pirates' reboot of the Disneyland attraction features decent...
Jul 25, 2023 · ‘Haunted Mansion’ Review: LaKeith Stanfield, Tiffany Haddish and Owen Wilson in Justin Simien’s Deja Vu Disney Ride-Based Film. Rosario Dawson, Jamie Lee Curtis, Jared Leto and Danny DeVito...
Jul 25, 2023 · ‘Haunted Mansion’ Review: Jared Leto Plays a Headless Ghost in Sleepy, Hollow Movie Based on Classic Disneyland Ride. "Dear White People" creator Justin Simien brings some big ideas to a...
