About the film (courtesy of Disney):
Inspired by the classic theme park attraction, Haunted Mansion is about a woman and her son who enlist a motley crew of so-called spiritual experts to help rid their home of supernatural squatters.
Haunted Mansion is a fun and spooky film that is sure to delight fans of the Disney theme park attraction. The film follows a single mother (Rosario Dawson) and her son (Chase Dillon) who move into a haunted mansion, only to discover that it is inhabited by ghosts. To combat the spirits, they hire a former paranormal investigator turned tour guide (LaKeith Stanfield), a priest (Owen Wilson), a psychic (Tiffany Haddish), and a college history professor (Danny DeVito).
Haunted Mansion is directed by Justin Simien, who brings his own unique style to the material. The film is full of humor, heart, and scares, and it never takes itself too seriously. The cast is also pretty solid, with decent performances from LaKeith Stanfield, Tiffany Haddish, Rosario Dawson, and Jamie Lee Curtis.
Haunted Mansion is a faithful adaptation of the theme park attraction, but it also adds its own unique elements. The ghosts are all memorable and well-developed, and the film does a great job of creating a sense of dread and suspense. The film also features some great special effects, and the mansion itself is a sight to behold. The sets are beautifully designed, and the ghosts are both creepy and charming.
On the downside, the pacing can be a bit slow at times and might have you doing more than one watch check. Haunted Mansion weighs in at 122 minutes, but might have been better served if a decision was made to shave about 15 minutes off of that. You have to remember that this is targeting younger audiences to some degree, with the patience and attention span expected to be lacking for some. The other small negative is that some of the humor falls flat, but they keep on trying. So there’s that, I guess.
At the end of the day, Haunted Mansion is a fun and somewhat spooky film that is sure to entertain audiences of all ages, although it might be a little intense for some of the younger ones. It’s a great adaptation of the theme park attraction, and it’s sure to please fans of the Disney brand.
You can see Haunted Mansion only in theaters starting Friday, July 28th with earlier showtimes on Thursday in select theaters.
