(2023) Haunted Mansion - A Reboot of the 2003 Film Based on Popular Theme Park Attraction in Disneyland

As I said in my previous post, yesterday I had a movie marathon with my wife and this was the second film that we saw in the same location. It was a horror comedy movie which we believed would be giving us some fun. OK, I will dive into it now.

Brief Story Line

Ben (LaKeith Stanfield - Knives Out, Judas and the Black Messiah etc) was a former astrophysicist who now worked as a ghost tour guide though he did not believe in ghost at all. However, his life was turned upside down when he was approached by the priest Father Kent (Owen Wilson - Loki TV series, Cars 3 etc) who requested his help to take pictures of possible ghost sighting in a mansion. The new owners of the mansion, Gabbie (Rosario Dawson - Unforgettable, Luke Cage TV series etc) and her 9 year old son Travis (Chase W. Dillon) were the ones who were being haunted.

Realizing that they would not be able to handle the ghosts, Ben and Father Kent enlisted the help of the psychic Harriet (Tiffany Haddish - The Angry Birds Movie 2, The Lego Movie 2 etc) and looked for information of the mansion from a history professor Bruce (Danny DeVito - Jumanji: The Next Level, Smallfoot etc). There were apparently many ghosts in the mansion, but the worst was the Hatbox Ghost (Jared Leto - Morbius, Dallas Buyers Club etc) who even scared other ghosts. The only one who might be able to fend off Hatbox was Madame Leota (Jamie Lee Curtis - Everything Everywhere All At Once, Halloween etc).

So how would the story conclude? You could find out in this movie.

End of Brief Story Line

OK, that was a pleasant surprise. I honestly do not have high expectation on this movie as having seen the trailer, it looked fine but did not seem promising with its dark background making it a bit hard to see. The movie began with introduction of Ben but the funny moments started when Father Kent appeared and later they interacted with Gabbie and Travis. It got more exciting as soon as Harriet and Bruce emerged with their unique style. And as the story progressed and we got to know the characters better, the movie felt more entertaining. 

Although sometime the humor might be a bit cheesy, but my wife and I enjoyed them as did the audience who filled up two third of the studio. There were a lot of times where we laughed and once or twice out loud. Even if the movie was classified as horror, but the comedic nature was so strong that we did not feel frightened. It has very few jump scare scenes with one of them did give a surprised feeling to my wife. Oh, the movie was rated PG-13 (R13+ in Indonesia) which I believed was correct as it did have some disturbing scenes. 

This movie was actually a reboot of 2003 film of the same title with the lead star Eddie Murphy. I could not remember if I had seen the whole movie or just caught glimpses of it but my wife did have memory that it was a funny film. And since I do not have full recollection, I could not really make comparison with that one. Both of these movies were actually adaptation of the theme park attraction in Disneyland, like what they did for Jungle Cruise. It was just another proof that Disney had so many Intellectual Properties they could use. 

The cast in general performed their roles as what they were expected, but if I have to single out whom I liked the most, it would have to be Owen Wilson who showed his usual charming self and his humor seemed to just come out naturally. Danny DeVito also provided few funny moments including one of his remarks that seemed out of place but did lighten up the mood. Oh, while Jamie Lee Curtis was easily recognized, but my wife amazingly could spot Jared Leto as the Hatbox ghost. In addition to those names, there were minor support cast such as Dan Levy (Schitt's Creek TV series etc) as entertainment tour guide named Vic, Hasan Minhaj (The Spy Who Dumped Me etc) as sketch artist and a cameo of well known actress.

For a movie directed by Justin Simien (Dear White People etc) and written by Katie Dippold (writer of The Heat etc) that got mixed review by critics, this one looked to be better appreciated by audience. But because of its high production budget, it might be a major challenge to have this one profitable and could make Disney be wary of creating films like this in future. Regardless of the outcome, my wife and I were among the audience who were quite entertained by it and had fun seeing it in the theater. So if you are not a fan of supernatural horror movie like me and my wife, nothing to worry as it is not a scary film and instead it would make you laugh or at least smiled.

Mike's movie moments rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars