Genre: Comedy, fantasy, family
Movies and series are currently experiencing a high number of remakes and reboots, many of which are unwarranted and unnecessary.
Haunted Mansion is unfortunately one of these.
Released exactly 20 years after the previous movie, this remake offers nothing new except a higher budget, more Easter eggs and more product placements.
The film follows Gabbie, and her son Travis, who encounter ghosts when they move into their new home.
They enlist the help of an unlikely team of eccentric individuals: Ben, a grief-stricken astrophysicist with a camera that can capture ghosts, Father Ken, a fake priest, Harriet, a psychic medium and Bruce, a college professor who is obsessed with the mansion’s history.
The star-studded cast includes Jamie Lee Curtis, LaKeith Stanfield, Rosario Dawson, Tiffany Haddish, Jared Leto, Owen Wilson and Danny DeVito, who all shine.
But despite their attempts, and the handful of funny moments, the story still falls flat.
Especially if you’ve seen the 2003 film starring Eddie Murphy, which had a lower budget and less theatrics but still managed to be a fun watch.
The movie is heavily based on the Haunted Mansion ride at the Disneyland theme park, which means without experiencing the ride, many of the Easter eggs will go unnoticed and unappreciated.
At just over two hours, the film feels unnecessarily long and many scenes could have been removed without affecting the plot.
One thing the film does right is approach the topic of grief with great sensitivity and realism. Ben has to deal with the death of his wife and throughout the film, is able to come to terms with her death and let her go.
Haunted Mansion is available on Disney+.
