In 1969, Disneyland unveiled its “Haunted Mansion” attraction, a ride and walk-through that took guests through creepy cemeteries, dark corridors, frightening attics, and more. The attraction, featuring 999 ghosts, is one of Disney’s most iconic rides, which is featured at Disneyland, Walt Disney World, and Disneyland Tokyo. It also inspired two other haunted attractions at other Disney parks. To say the least, the ride is more than a success. 

In 2003, much like Disney’s adaptation of its “Pirates of a Caribbean” attraction into a film and subsequent franchise, Disney released The Haunted Mansion starring Eddie Murphy. The film pretty much flopped and isn’t on anyone’s top 100 list. As expected, based on the recent waves of adaptations and remakes, Disney dipped its hand into the pot once again and released Justin Simien’s Haunted Mansion starring LaKeith Stanfield, Rosario Dawson, and Owen Wilson. Unlike the 2003 film, Haunted Mansion is an adaptation stuffed with as many callbacks to its attraction inspiration as possible while introducing a new, colorful cast of characters whose comedic chemistry just saved the film from being a more than unpleasant experience. 

A single mother, Gabbie (Dawson), moves into the antique house just outside New Orleans with her nine-year-old son Travis (Chase Dillon). Very quickly after arriving, they discover that they are not the only tenants living in the estate. They hire a grieving astrophysicist, Ben (Stanfield), a priest, Father Kent (Wilson), a medium, Harriet (Tiffany Haddish), and a “haunted house expert,” Professor Bruce Davis (Danny DeVito), to hopefully rid the home and themselves of constant haunting. Much like in the film Clue (1985), each character feels like a caricature of themselves. Their personalities and subsequent “arcs” are predictable and surface level, with the exception of one scene from Stanfield, whose moment of true pain and grief made me feel like I was watching a different film. The only saving grace in the film, truly, is the comedic chemistry brought by the star-studded cast. 

Kate Dipold, who previously worked on The Heat (2013) and Ghostbusters (2016), gave a mildly successful script with quick-wit, clean humor to be expected from any Disney adaptation. If you have ever ridden the film’s inspiration, then you’ll notice what felt like too many references to the iconic attraction. Dipold seemed to write the film for the ride rather than produce something that felt original and stand-alone. Thus, the final product left us wanting more of everything except callbacks to the original attraction. 

The deliveries from Wilson, Haddish, and DeVito did have me chuckle at times, and I thoroughly enjoyed when they played off of each other. Stanfield, as leading man, offered an emotional performance at times but ultimately couldn’t save this film. Dawson, though a talented actress, never really shined in her role as a single mother. Her protective nature and chemistry with her on-screen son didn’t exist, and her character felt out of place from the other comedy veterans. Dillon, the youngest member of this colorful cast, offered a surprisingly fun and heartfelt performance that, next to established actors, was never underwhelming or overshadowed. 

Other minor performances offered fun “oh look at that!” moments, including Jamie Lee Curtis’ role as Madame Leota, Hasan Minhaj as the sketch artist, and Winona Ryder as the tour guide, Pat (another callback to the original attraction). The real surprise moment was every time we saw Jared Leto as the hatbox ghost/Crump. My sister, who braved the film with me,  pointed out that Leto’s ghost looked exactly like it did on the ride. She is right. The ghost looked just like an animatronic created in 1969. Disney seems to have an ongoing trend of disappointing or even laughable special effects, but Hatbox truly took the cake. As the main antagonist, it was hard to ever feel a sense of fright or suspense because you were too busy laughing at the monstrosity of what looked like half-assed animation. 

While the characters, story, and execution were nothing more than another failed attempt at capitalizing on audiences’ nostalgia, the film was somewhat enjoyable. I found the comedy to be light-hearted and funny enough to make me, at times, smile. In some true tender moments offered only by Stanfield and Dillon, the film almost said something profound about grief and the afterlife. It’s unfortunate, but I left the theater neither frightened nor moved. The film consists of a lot of “almosts” and attraction references, proving that if you want to visit the Haunted Mansion, you’ll have more fun in a doom buggy than in the theater.

Review Courtesy of Sara Ciplickas

Feature Image via Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures