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A remake based on a theme park ride; Haunted Mansion (2023) has a cast that brings the energy to a confusing story that is not really sure what it wants to be.

Now, I hate to admit this, but my first time riding The Haunted Mansion at Walt Disney World, I cried before getting on the ride.  I hyped myself up that this ride was going to be so scary that I did not want to ride it.  No, I am not going to tell you my age when this occurred because it is a lot older than I care to admit.  But after some convincing from my parents and siblings, I went on and had an absolute blast.  What is so fascinating about this famous dark ride is that it makes for a great opportunity to tell a whole story about, which you cannot really say about Space Mountain or Test Track.  The first iteration of this specific ride-to-movie concept came to us 20 years ago with Eddie Murphy, so the Disney corporation decided it was time to jump back into the Doom Buggies with a star-studded cast, but even nostalgia cannot help this movie. 

The movie stars LaKeith Stanfield as Ben, a grief-stricken scientist-turned-tour guide and Rosario Dawson as Gabbie, a New York doctor who has recently moved into the Haunted Mansion with her son Travis (Chase W. Dillon).  They are joined by a Tiffany Haddish psychic, an Owen Wilson priest and a Danny DeVito professor.  All of them end up stuck in the aforementioned Haunted Mansion because once you step into the house, the ghosts that live there attach to you, forcing you to return back to the Mansion.  As the group tries to contact the ghosts so they can leave, Madame Leota (Jamie Lee Curtis) tells them the only way is to banish the Hatbox Ghost (Jared Leto).

The cast is the strongest aspect of the film.  Stanfield controls the screen anytime he is on it.  He is the standout performance as he is able to give the best comedic moments while also tugging at your heartstrings during the emotional bits.  Dawson was also fun to watch as the overprotective yet caring mother while the others are just really there for their comedic aspects that is usually brought to the roles they play.  Wilson and Haddish have the opportunity to bring vulnerability to their characters, and while I think Haddish does a better job with what she is given, I wish they all had more to do than just being funny.  Winona Ryder has a fun cameo, Curtis is fine, and nothing is very impressive with Leto’s voice work.

This movie’s biggest issue is that it does not know what tone it is going for.  It seems like it wants to be an emotional piece on grief and how we deal with it when it comes to characters like Stanfield’s and Dillon’s.  But then you have comedic bits that try to take over and make it seem like that is the main vibe they are trying to go for.  There are plenty of movies that can combine comedy with a more serious tone or topic, but this movie’s issue is that it cannot really do either as well as they think.  If it was mostly focused on grief with a few splashes of comedy here and there, it would have worked a lot better than trying to do half grief half comedy.  It also has a PG-13 rating which seems out of place considering the ride is made for children and a lot of jokes that are made have a younger focus to them, so I am confused on why it received this rating.  Yes, I jumped at some of the jump scare moments because I am naturally a jumpy person (see the first paragraph for reference), but there was not anything that is too inappropriate for a PG audience.  It is just very confusing on what audience they are trying to get for this movie.  You can have a PG-13 story on grief or a PG scary-comedy, but it seems like the filmmakers are trying to do both and it just does not mix well together.

The story itself is fine.  The basic premise is fun but there is so much more they could have expanded upon.  This movie is about two hours and while it did not feel long, I wish the script was reworked to give the characters more depth.  A lot of them are one note and have very surface level plotlines, but there was a lot of room for potential.  What frustrates me a bit was that I could see how this story could have been adjusted so it was more of a deeper character-driven film rather than the basic plot it had.  With it being set in New Orleans, I also wish there was some more background on the city’s history and why it is a hotspot for people who love ghosts to visit.  Having been on one of the nighttime walking ghost tours, I can say the city has a lot of interesting and creepy history to it.  I know it is supposed to be “based off of a kids’ ride” but that does not mean a story has to be sacrificed to check that one box.

Overall, there is a lot this film could have been but feels restricted in what it is based off of.  With a confusing tone and a basic storyline, Haunted Mansion is very average with its saving grace being the cast.

Grade: C

Oscar Prospects:
Likely: None
Should be Considered: None

Release Date: July 28th, 2023
Where to Watch: In Theaters