It seems that when Hollywood makes attempts at turning popular iconic Disney theme park rides into full-length feature films, the results mostly end up being tremendous misfires. Outside of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, other ride adaptations such as Eddie Murphy's disastrous 2003 Haunted Mansion adaptation along with 2021's Jungle Cruise came nowhere close to achieving the same kind of box office nor critical stature as the first Pirates film. Fast-forward twenty years later, Disney makes a second attempt at bringing the popular theme park attraction to the big screen with the much anticipated reboot. With an all-star cast which includes Lakeith Stanfield, Owen Wilson, Rosario Dawson, Danny Devito, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Jared Leto, Disney's latest theme park turned film adaptation provides enough nostalgia for the actual ride and thrills to make it a worthwhile experience for fans.
Haunted Mansion's plot has a woman and her son enlisting help from a crew of so-called spiritual experts in an effort to rid their mansion of the ghosts currently inhabiting it. Whereas Mansion's story doesn't do anything groundbreaking nor reinvents the wheel with the whole scenario involving ghosts occupying a mansion and spooking the guests, it works just well enough to create a reasonably enjoyable experience that's largely attributed to the charm of its main ensemble. Though it certainly is held back by the familiarity of its plot structure and its reliance on old generic tropes, Mansion's talented cast as well as its fun-spiritedness and fan-focused devotion towards honoring the classic ride make it operate as being a reasonably decent reimagining.
Much of the reason why Mansion works is because of the high-level of energy and charming performances put forth by its charismatic cast, who clearly appear to be having a ball with the material. LaKeith Stanfield nails it as astrophysicist turned paranormal tour guide, Ben Matthias. His performance elevates the film with him doing a convincing job of playing a character struggling in dealing with his wife's death while trying to rid the mansion of its spiritual inhabitants. Rosario Dawson is terrific as Gabbie, a widowed doctor from New York who moved to New Orleans with her son to open up a bread and breakfast. Dawson is a delight to watch with both her and Stanfield's chemistry being spot-on. Owen Wilson has a total blast playing Father Kent, who's later revealed to be a conman posing as a priest and trained exorcist. The rest of the cast gives fine work with Danny Devito leaving the audience in stitches as college historian and professor, Bruce Davis, with Jamie Lee Curtis being solid as the psychic Madame Leota, whose responsible for unleashing the ghosts and ultimately being reduced to a head in a glass shell, Chase W. Dillon impressing as Gabbie's son, Travis, Tiffany Haddish as psychic, Harriet, who possessed genuine powers, and Jared Leto in an unrecognizable performance as the Hatbox ghost, Alistair Crump.
As for directing, Dear White People's Justin Simien does well with providing the film with supernatural style violence that's exciting and well-balanced for families, while providing numerous Easter eggs for fans of the ride such as the possessed chair scene and notable ride rooms. He does a fine job of balancing both the supernatural and comedic aspects of the story with the latter almost always following the spooky moments immediately after. Throughout the films 122 minute running time, Simien bathes the story in light horror with the scary moments mostly just startling audiences rather than actually terrify them with the sound effects enhancing their shock value. The films spooky and skeletal ghost effects are solid and give the film an overall look and tone that's similar to that of Goosebumps, Hocus Pocus, and Coraline with stunning imagery including dark hallways and graveyards. As far as directing goes, Simien demonstrates that he has a complete understanding of what the rides fans want to see and delivers numerous nods to it while crafting a family-friendly supernatural tale, that creates the right balance between comedy and spookiness.
What's most interesting about the newest Haunted Mansion is how mature its story comes across with themes such as pain, grief, the loss of loved ones, and teamwork being heavily prevalent throughout the story despite it being family- oriented. The story is very much one that promotes overcoming pain and coping with loss through the power of working with others who also share a common goal. Stanfield's character arc is the heart of the story with him losing the love of his life and choosing to put his past life on hold in order to run her ghost tour. The film's opening does a noteworthy job of establishing this key subplot while giving audiences an anchor to weave through the story. It helps that the script is full of colorful characters who each contribute to the films level of fun, and is given just enough development to shine.Whereas the films themes can be heavy at times, they ultimately land with strong messages pertaining to carrying on with ones life.
Like the ride the inspired it, Mansion's tone can often revert back and forth in an awkward fashion with the film wanting to be scary one minute and hilarious the next and surprisingly emotional. Given the films shifting in tone, it manages to carry a fairly solid mixture of humor and tragedy with the spookiness aspect of it being more on the playful side rather than actually attempting to be scary. As an adaptation of its theme park attraction, Haunted Mansion remains faithful to popular Disneyland ride with numerous nods given. It's immersive production values along with the charisma of its main cast and willingness to get serious with its themes makes it a faithful adaptation that's worth watching, and will leave fans more satisfied in comparison to its 2003 counterpart.
Final Verdict: Worth watching for fans of the popular Disney ride.
Images Courtesy Of Walt Disney Studio's
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