‘Haunted Mansion’ Turns Disneyland Ride Into a Family Popcorn Distraction

Alci Rengifo

Before Disney churned out superheroes and an assembly line of live-action remakes of its animated catalog, it found success in turning popular theme park rides into movies. “Haunted Mansion” is not a remake of the 2003 hit pulled from one of Disneyland’s popular rides, but more of a full-on reimagining, with new characters and a completely different plot. But like its predecessor, it knows how to flesh out a story around the initial concept of a big, haunted house. On a few levels the themes even work a little better with family-friendly explorations of parenting, loneliness and learning not to commit fraud. It also boasts the kind of simplicity of popcorn movies that weren’t trying too hard to also cater to audience members over 25. You get goofy ghosts, evil ghouls and plenty of jokes.

Ben Matthias (LaKeith Stanfield) is a New Orleans astrophysicist-turned-tour guide who rolls his eyes at visitors who inquire about the city’s famous haunted spots. He’s still not over the death of his wife, Alyssa (Charity Jordan), who was into paranormal phenomena. The once rational scientist has now invented a “spectral photography” camera to try and contact Alyssa. He is then approached by a quirky priest, Father Kent (Owen Wilson) who recruits Ben for a gig involving a single mother, Gabbie (Rosario Dawson), who is convinced her new, rundown mansion is haunted. Ben meets Gabbie and her young son, Travis (Chase W. Dillon), and fakes taking a few photos. Ah, but then when he returns home the ghosts have followed. Scared out of his wits, Ben returns to the mansion with a medium, Harriet (Tiffany Haddish) and a Tulane University professor, Bruce (Danny DeVito). 

“Haunted Mansion” is an imperfect entertainment, which was also the case with the 2003 movie starring Eddie Murphy. That one was savaged by critics but liked by audiences, who responded to its breakneck energy and Murphy’s slapstick humor. It features a dime novel plot about a ghost wanting to reunite with his wife’s spirit, who he mistakes for Murphy’s wife. There was charm there and some in this one as well. Director Justin Simien is best known for socially conscious films like “Dear White People” and “Bad Hair.” Here his task is to take familiar sights from the Disneyland ride and incorporate them into a coherent story. A medieval armor begins chasing Gabbie and Travis around. Ben sees floating apparitions and gets terrified by visions of his place being flooded. Jamie Lee Curtis is Madame Leota, a head floating around a crystal ball. There’s a whole assortment of ghosts that eventually gang up near the end, including a Hatchet Ghost (Ben Bladon) and Mariner Ghost (Creek Wilson). Some cackle, some are sweet, others leap out at you from walls and others just dance around in the mansion’s grand ballroom. Skeletons crawl out of corners and other ghouls play the organ. None of it is too shocking for any unimpressionable kids over the age of 7.

The special effects in “Haunted Mansion” are impressive in their combination of practical devices and CGI, including the mansion itself which is one of those vast, spider web-strewn places out of a classic Disney gothic nightmare. The clunky side of the movie can be found in the script’s overly packed style with all of the characters, subplots and emotional detours. Yet each one would work individually. Ben’s character is a skeptic turned believer still processing loss and those big questions of an afterlife. The main villain, the headless Hatbox Ghost (Jared Leto) is used to reveal a 19th century origin story involving a family of crooked barons named Crump. You don’t have to think too hard to realize what the political satire and subtext here are with that name. Leto sadly isn’t allowed to show off his usual knack for colorful acting, since his character is pretty much a full CGI animation with a voice any decent actor could pull off. This doesn’t take away from the entertaining value of the role, or how it plays into some funny jokes, as when Bruce and Ben get a police sketch artist to draw Hatbox from the most jumbled description of all time. 

A movie like “Haunted Mansion” will not please the more nit-picky critical crowd, because it doesn’t aim to be more than what it sets out to do. The 2003 movie had the same issue and in terms of Disneyland rides turned into films, suffered from later comparisons with “Pirates of the Caribbean.” This may not be a title to recommend to the “Oppenheimer” or even “Barbie” crowds, but if you’re seeking a goofy movie about haunted mansions with floating ghosts, long lost tales of mean barons and cameras that can snap supernatural presences, this one still delivers. The cast knows it too. Owen Wilson plays Owen Wilson as a nice priest with a particular secret. Danny DeVito gets whacky as the professor who specializes in haunted houses and has a heart condition. Rosario Dawson is meant to look worried about the ghosts in her mansion and that’s what she does. Tiffany Haddish has a total ball as the diva medium. LaKeith Stanfield is a bit too low-key but entertaining as the hero. “Haunted Mansion” might just play like that outsider someone discovers by chance down the hall of the theater. It will probably gain a larger audience via streaming on Disney Plus. Maybe the theatrical release is a case of misguided timing, because on Halloween this one will play just right.

“Haunted Mansion” releases July 28 in theaters nationwide.