You can still catch this startling flick through Thursday, click here for movie times. 

After the Eddie Murphy box office disaster of the same title, when attempting to capitalize on a film from one of Disneyland’s popular attractions, I thought at first that it would not sell. However, after seeing the trailer and witnessing the movie, I feel leaning in on this version of Haunted Mansion with some good scares and a whole lot of Halloween Fright with some wit and humor despite the film showcasing as a summer flick. In all honesty, I would say the film would sell much better in October instead of another summer film people want to turn their backs on. Also, Major praise for the New Orleans Marching band variation of “Grim Grinning Ghosts,” along with a good cast of memorable people giving their all to make this a promising film that Disney made all of its efforts to deliver.

Even with the film revolving around the titular mansion housing Nine Hundred and Ninety-Nine Ghosts. I detect some themes of grief and empathy in the film as Ben and Travis have suffered from their respective loss.

Now, without further ado, it’s time to step into such a haunted house of frightening proportions. One way in and the only way out is to solve the Mansion’s mystery…

Plot Spoilers

The movie opens with Ben Matthias, an Astrophysicist, who fell in love with a lady who loves to give ghost tours of Haunted locations in New Orleans. Then, it cuts to Ben being at the bar, a very surly tour guide who also created a camera that detects dark matter. Meanwhile, the recently widowed doctor with her only son moved from New York to the Haunted Mansion, attempting to move and found out at the last minute that the place was haunted.

Thus, she enlists the help of Ben and a priest in an attempt to exorcise the house, only to find out the hard way that it’s haunted by 999 ghosts. Afterwards, they enlist the aid of a Psychic and a historian, winding up potentially facing the same fate. They have to band together and solve the mystery behind the Haunted Mansion, otherwise they’ll all be trapped in it for all eternity. Can they solve it before becoming victims themselves?

Pros and Boos

The story in the film has rather good pacing, along with a good deal of familiar faces and voices in the cast such as Jared Leto, Jamie Lee Curtis, Owen Wilson, Tiffany Haddock, and Danny Devito. The majority of the cast is truly top-notch in their performance, including some improvisation to keep up with the intrigue in the film.

I even find this version of the Hatbox ghost rather frightening that it made my hair turn white along with the lightning being just the proper juxtaposition for a spine-chilling entrance of his. I also like how the introductory credits enter and exit to give such a ghostly vibe followed by the jump scare. Not to mention the dynamic dialogue from Jamie Lee Curtis, Owen Wilson, Danny Devito, and Tiffany Haddock is not only funny but also very witty as well, including the 3 dollar dialogue between Devito and Curtis.

However, I also noticed a few downsides when it comes to the quality of the film. When it comes to Rosario Dawson’s part in this film and her poor execution, resulting in a dull pacing in the film, I feel like her very role and existence are unnecessary. Despite the majority playing an interesting role, I felt that her presence just held the quality of the film back, along with the timing of being released in the summer while it stood a better chance as a Halloween flick, which would result in a more holiday-appropriate audience.

Final Thoughts

In Hindsight the film was filled with Nostalgia from the ride and provided a much more thrilling entertainment (more than the Eddie Murphy version), yet I still felt that the movie would stand a better chance in October, drawing in the Halloween-loving variety in the Audience.

The majority of the Cast does present a lot in the means of wit, humor, as well as some good Halloween frights. And the CGI for the Ghosts is very solid. However in my honest opinion for the story, it could’ve gone better if Disney had learned to move away from its predictable formula and dared to enter into newer territories in storytelling. That goes double for Disney moving away from its usual formulaic storytelling. Timing, Proper Storytelling, all-star cast, as well as movie’s length would be what Disney needs to strive for to create a better story. Not to mention extra time so the studio could be able to polish up the story along with certainty for some proper exposition in the film as well as connecting the dots in the said stories.

As such with the film really caught my fancy for the proper adaptation of one of the most memorable Attractions from Disneyland, it is only fair that 2023’s version of Haunted Mansion be given 8.3 out of 10 stars provided that the audience should give it a chance if the studio showcase the film in October instead of July.

Yongma Lee is a digital media/game maker who lives in Olympia.