Spooky season is officially here and in full swing. As the big night nears, Turner Classic Movies is getting people into the spirit with a classic scary movie every Tuesday night and the Disney-owned network Freeform is running its annual “31 Days of Halloween” programming schedule. Apple TV has control of the classic Peanuts specials, including none other than It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. Not everyone has or is going to have the opportunity to enjoy any of that seasonal content and that makes for even more proof of the importance and value of physical media. Most of what is on Apple TV, Freeform and TCM is available on either DVD, Blu-ray and/or 4K (as everything seems to be moving toward 4K). Speaking of seasonal fare and physical media, Walt Disney Studios’ reboot of its 2003 movie The Haunted Mansion is expected for release Tuesday on all three major physical platforms. The latest take on the movie, which is itself another work based on a ride at Walt Disney World, is a disappointing new take on the title largely because of the execution of its story, which will be discussed a little later. The movie’s story is surprisingly interesting even with the issues raised by its execution taken into consideration. This will be addressed shortly. The special effects used throughout the movie put the finishing touch to the movie and will be addressed later, too. Each item noted here is important in its own way to the whole of The Haunted Mansion. All things considered, this reimagining of The Haunted Mansion proves to be worth one watch but sadly no more than that.
Walt Disney Studios’ new take of The Haunted Mansion is a disappointing new take on a movie that continues to show exactly why Hollywood’s major studios have got to stop relying so much on not only sequels and prequels, but also all the reboots. A multitude of problems weigh down this movie, but interestingly enough, its story is not one of the problems. The central story in this movie follows as such: Ben (LaKeith Stanfield – Selma, Knives Out, Sorry To Bother You) is a struggling tour guide in New Orleans who is a paranormal investigator. As it turns out (quite late in the movie), Ben’s wife, Alyssa (Charity Jordan – Selma, The Wonder Years, American Refugee) has died ahead of the story, leading him to become very bitter and jaded. This impacts his tour guide business as he becomes quite rude toward the people he guides through the city. By chance, “Father” Kent (Owen Wilson – Night at the Museum 1-3, Wedding Crashers, Bottle Rocket) enters his life and changes things for Ben forever after getting Ben to come to an old mansion owned by Gabbie (Rosario Dawson – Ahsoka, The Lego Batman Movie, Sin City). Gabbie and her son, Travis (Chase Dillon – The Underground Railroad, The Harder They Fall, The Book of Clarence). Not to give away too much, but it is not revealed until much later in the story that Gabbie’s nameless husband had died a year prior to the pair moving down to New Orleans. This issue with the writing is one of so many that plagues the story’s execution and will be addressed more a little later.
Getting back on track, when Ben first comes into the house, he does not immediately believe Gabbie and her son. It is not until it turns out that one of the ghosts haunting the house reveals itself to him in his own home in the French Quarter that he changes his view and goes back, leading to the bigger story. As it turns out, the ghost (a former seafarer played by Creek Wilson – Twisted Metal, Ma, We Have a Ghost) is one of 999 ghosts inhabiting the house, formerly owned by the evil Alistair Crump (Jared Leto – Suicide Squad, Morbius, Dallas Buyers Club). He and the other ghosts are essentially captives in the house because of Crump, who wants one final soul to set him free from the house. The script never explains why he needs approximately 1,000 souls, which is yet another issue with the overall execution. Of course, this story has no connection whatsoever to Disney’s 2003 take of The Haunted Mansion, so to that end it is difficult to compare the two stories. Though the execution of each story can be compared and will be momentarily. What helps this take’s presentation is the incorporation of various paranormal concepts, such as the ability of spirits to attach themselves to the living and their ability to control physical objects despite being in energy form. That the story used these items as part of the whole and that the story is at its core relatively interesting, it makes the story one of very few saving graces for this movie.
While the overall story featured in Disney’s new The Haunted Mansion is actually interesting at its core, the execution thereof makes it very difficult to follow the story. From beginning to end, the script (written by Katie Dippold – Ghostbusters 2016, Parks & Recreation, The Heat) feels like it was crafted by and for members of the ADHD generation. Ben and Gabbie’s backstories are spread out, and the ultimate revelation about even “Father” Kent seems oddly placed in the overall story. As if that is not enough, Kent’s explanation as to why Ben should go to the mansion in the first place just seems so random. What’s more, it is not even until rather late in the story that audiences find out the exact history behind the mansion and its evil owner. Simply put, everything within the story just feels completely misplaced. As a result, it forces audiences to really actively engage themselves in the story in order to get any kind of understanding of the story. This is where the comparison to the 2003 take of The Haunted Mansion comes into play. In regard to that movie, the execution of its story was expect save for the one glaring issue of why Ramsley (Terence Stamp – The Adjustment Bureau, Unfinished Song, The Limey) wanted to kidnap Sara (Marsha Thomason – Safe House, White Collar, Lost). He was the one responsible for the curse on the house but apparently, he thought by bringing another woman in, the curse would be lifted. It just seems contrived in itself. That aside, the bigger story is easy to follow. Jim (Eddie Murphy – Shrek 1-4, 48 Hours 1-2, Coming To America) learns to better appreciate his wife, Sara, as a result of being caught up in Ramsley’s evil plot, and the whole Evers family becomes closer as a result, too. It’s pretty straight forward story that has each of its acts and plays out clearly. That is something that the script for this take of The Haunted Mansion does not do. Keeping that in mind, the execution of the 2023 take of The Haunted Mansion massively detracts from the movie’s presentation. That detraction is not enough to doom the movie, but it certainly does not help the story, either.
Knowing that the execution of The Haunted Mansion’s story is not enough to completely doom the movie, there is one more positive to note. That positive is the special effects that are incorporated into the movie. Yes, there is lots of CG work incorporated into the movie, being a paranormal flick, but it is used tastefully. The way in which the ghosts are presented, all the way down to their glowing auras and costume designs makes them the real stars of the movie. Also, the way in which the mansion expands and contracts (and even creates other dangers, such as alligators) is presented so carefully. It actually makes the visual aspect of The Haunted Mansion the movie’s only other saving grace. Viewers will agree in watching this movie that in an age when there is so much over-the-top CG fare out there, the way in which the special effects were incorporated into this movie makes them the movie’s other saving grace, next to the overall story. When the story and special effects are considered together, the two elements do just enough to barely keep the new take of The Haunted Mansion from becoming scary bad.
Walt Disney Studios’ new take of The Haunted Mansion is a disappointing new presentation that as with so many reboots out there, shows the folly in the practice of reimagining movies (and television shows). Even with a superstar cast of so many well-known actors, it simply falls short of expectations thanks to its execution. The story and special effects incorporated into the story are its only saving graces. Keeping all of this in mind, this movie proves itself worth watching maybe once but sadly no more than that.
The Haunted Mansion is scheduled for release Tuesday on DVD, Blu-ray and 4K UHD. More information on this and other titles from Walt Disney Studios is available at:
Website: https://waltdisneystudios.com
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