Twenty years ago, Eddie Murphy starred in the original “The Haunted Mansion,” which had a totally different narrative. Critics panned the film, but it did well at the box office and developed quite a cult following.
Plans for this remake began way back in 2010, with Guillermo del Toro intending to write and produce. He was off the project by 2013, and for the next seven years the development languished.
The 2023 version of “Haunted Mansion” is directed by Justin Simien, an American filmmaker, actor, and author. His connection to Park City happened in 2014 when his first feature film, “Dear White People,” premiered at Sundance and won the U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Breakthrough Talent. The film was later adapted into the Netflix series of the same name.
The film is based on Disney’s Haunted Mansion attraction. I first experienced it in my early 20s. I remember being mesmerized by the special effects; state-of-the-art for the 70s. I can still close my eyes and recall many of the ghostly faces, the portraits stretching, the statues singing, the woman’s head in the crystal ball calling to me, the misty spirits dancing around the ballroom and toasting at the dining table.
What was fun about this film for me was the nostalgia of seeing all those familiar furnishings and phantoms and finding out the backstory for how and why the mansion was haunted. There are 999 captive souls and always room for one more.
As it turns out, it is the quest of the most evil spirit to get that one more soul and the challenge of the dream team of strangers to prevent that from happening.
Joining forces to become heroes for each other and ‘unhaunt’ the mansion are LaKeith Stanfield, Tiffany Haddish, Rosario Dawson, Owen Wilson, Danny DeVito, Jamie Lee Curtis and Chase Dillon. Without a doubt, a great cast of characters! The story has a touch of sadness, a touch of romance, occasional witty dialogue, some fun sets and special effects but pretty gentle as far as a horror film. Perhaps more often silly than scary, which is OK with me.
I don’t use a rating scale for my reviews but if I did, it would fall in the middle range. I enjoyed elements of the film, but something was definitely lacking.
“Haunted Mansion” is rated PG-13 and runs 2 hours and 5 ghostly minutes.