Haunted Mansion was a 2023 release from Walt Disney Studios, directed by Justin Simien, and starring LaKeith Stanfield, Rosario Dawson, Owen Wilson, Tiffany Haddish, Danny Devito, and Chase Dillon. I know that sounds like a lot of people to be starring in a movie, but I feel they all nearly equally added to the story and were the overall main group and focus of the film, although there were many other star appearances and cameos throughout. The story follows a down on his luck astrophysicist (Stanfield) who created a lens that allows you to capture apparitions on film, before the unfortunate and untimely death of his wife. He is coaxed into meeting a single mother and her son (Dawson and Dillon) by a father with the church (Wilson) and promised payment if he goes and takes pictures of the rooms of their house in an attempt to capture ghosts. He half asses the job and goes home only to find out he was followed by apparitions that draw him back to the house and trap him there with the others.
Hijinks soon ensue as a fortune teller (Haddish) and a college history professor (Devito) join the crew, and the band of merry misfits attempt to solve the mystery of the haunted mansion and free the spirits of the trapped souls in the house. I personally found this film a whole lot of fun. I was a fan of the 2003 adaptation as well, starring Eddie Murphy, but this film had a more star-studded cast, the effects were even better and more fun, the dialogue was more “grown up” funny, and the story in itself was more thorough and in depth than ever before. I’m not sure why it’s necessarily getting the hate that it is from critics because this movie is fun and entertaining for the entire family, maybe a little scary and a bit long for the little ones, but aside from that everyone will get something fun from this. Not too bad for a movie and its lore being adapted from a theme park ride, if I do say so myself.
Everyone played their part so well and Owen Wilson, Tiffany Haddish, and Danny Devito all had hilarious moments and excellently delivered dialogue, but I have to give the best performance to LaKeith Stanfield. He was basically the main focal point of the story and really the only character that had an arc and changed throughout the story, from cold and depressing to warm and inviting. He also showed the largest range of emotions throughout the performance easily and that in itself deserves a tip of the cap. I love horror movies and ghost stories but sometimes you want to hear or watch one not so dark and spooky, more lighthearted and fun, and those are a much rarer commodity than one would imagine. Aside from Ghostbusters and Casper the selection isn’t much, that’s another thing that makes this movie a fun and rare commodity to come by. So, if you’re in the mood for a dark ghost story mixed efficiently with fun, family humor then I would highly recommend giving this one a watch…if you dare! Mwah-hahah!
