For a few years there back in the early 80s, Disney took a turn to the dark side, releasing live-action movies like The Watcher in the Woods (featuring a creepy late-career Bette Davis) and Something Wicked This Way Comes (from the mind of Ray Bradbury) that were intense enough to inspire nightmares in kids, at least. The youngsters of that time are now parents, and some are surely asking themselves how far they can trust Disney not to traumatize another generation when a movie like Haunted Mansion comes along.
Truth be told, the PG-13-rated feature which marks the studios second big-screen adaptation of its spooky theme park attraction isnt really that scary. Director Justin Simien (Dear White People) leans more on comedy than horror, bringing together a handful of funny stars to deal with Gracey Manors ghost problem. The result is certainly a lot less frightening than the prospect of having to revisit the 2003 Eddie Murphy version, which paled in comparison with that years Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl on all fronts (but didnt seem half as desperate as 2002s Country Bears).
These days, practically every Disney movie seems to be haunted by the specters of what came before, as the company keeps exploring ways to tap into its existing IP. You know the fairytale/animated feature/ride, now see the movie or so goes the pitch, as the studio counts on audiences to make the connections between each film and whatever inspired it. Haunted Mansion benefits from the example of Pirates, taking what parkgoers love about the ride (clever sight gags and imaginative ghosts, in this case) and treating those as Easter eggs in a fairly compelling stand-alone story.
While the visual effects are surprisingly weak for a film of this scale, the script (from Ghostbusters writer Katie Dippold) proves far better than anyone might expect, establishing an emotional foundation for what might otherwise be a gimmick-driven haunted house movie. The film opens on a meet-cute between a skeptical astrophysicist, Ben (LaKeith Stanfield), and a woman who puts much more faith in all things supernatural (played by Charity Jordan), then skips forward a few years, after tragedy has cut their marriage short.
Ben has become a surly alcoholic, rescued from his downward spiral by a visit from Father Kent (Owen Wilson), an eccentric priest who looks like someones dime-store Halloween-costume version of a character from The Exorcist. Ben needs something to believe in, and the movie will give him that, not so much in the form of ghosts though the phantoms are undeniably real to its characters as through his connection to single mom Gabbie (Rosario Dawson) and her 9-year-old son, Travis (Chase Dillon), whos still mourning the loss of his dad. Father Kent enlists Ben in using his scientific background to identify the spirit haunting Gracey Manor, a big old Louisiana house with a very complicated history.
The movies first few paranormal illusions are fairly effective, as Simien takes his cues from the Disneyland ride. (Come to find, Simien actually worked at the park one summer in film school.) But as the film unfolds and other characters join the ghost-busting operation including a loudmouthed medium named Harriet (Tiffany Haddish) and Bruce (Danny DeVito), a dyspeptic Tulane professor who specializes in all things supernatural Haunted Mansion starts to require more elaborate CGI, and visual effects supervisor Edwin Rivera and the team at Industrial Light Magic seem overwhelmed. Meanwhile, Al Nelsons sound design adds an invisible but essential boost to the ambiance.
As mystical Madame Leota, Jamie Lee Curtis appears awkwardly superimposed on a crystal ball, looking like something out of a low-budget Goosebumps episode. And Simien took the trouble to cast Jared Leto as the headless Hatbox Ghost, whos intriguing when glimpsed in silhouette or quick flashes here and there, but disappoints when finally revealed as a subpar CG ghoul with cartoonish features. Even so, the films single funniest scene involves Stanfield (as the films sullen straight man) and DeVito (who took a shining to horror in the early 2010s, tapping into that dark streak here) describing said apparation to a police sketch artist.
The more this overlong movie relies on ghosts, the less engaging it becomes, and though Simien presents a few optical illusions such as endless hallways and a stretching room modeled after the rides trompe loeil antechamber the ideas are more interesting than the execution. While most of the cast gets laughs by bickering, Ben and Travis deliver the films more serious message (this is a Disney movie, after all). Both characters have lost loved ones and might be tempted to join them on the other side. Haunted Mansion honors their grieving process, even as it attempts to put smiles on audiences faces.