Haunted Mansion (2023)

6/10

It's been twenty years since the first Haunted Mansion movie which didn't do that well. (Never understood the hate for it. I liked it. Can we at least agree that Terrence Stamp was great in that?) Now, Disney has made a second attempt at doing a film based on its theme park attraction. In this, Ben Matthias (played by Lakeith Stanfield), a down-on-his-luck former astrophysicist dealing with tragic events in his life, becomes involved, based on a previous interest in ghosts, with breaking the curse on Gracey Manor.

This is one of those movies that have some good ideas and moments but fail to reach a cohesive whole. The editing is rather circumspect.

There are many decent lines but not all of them land. 

I like that this movie was more faithful to showing actual elements from the attraction and when you see the ghosts they're definitely fun and one of the highlights of the movie. They can even be a little scary but not too much for kids. You also get them early enough, so that you don't have to wait for them. However, the emphasis is on the human characters more than the ghosts, and I think that was a mistake. The movie's always more entertaining when spooky things happen.

The mansion and and the main antagonist The Hat Box Ghost (voiced by Jared Leto) both have interesting backgrounds to them. Ben's past is pretty emotional and well written. However, all the current goings on just aren't as intriguing or cohesive. There's one subplot involving a ghost that you think would be resolved, but it isn't.

I think that a problem with this is that the movie has too many characters to focus on. Stanfield, Tiffany Haddish, Owen Wilson, Danny DeVito, and Rosario Dawson would be a dream team, but they're not. Part of it is the writing for their characters not being the best to work with, but also there just isn't as much personal interaction between the talented actors as you'd think. Sure they're in a lot of scenes together, but they don't do that much together if you get my drift. 

Lakeith does a great job as Ben who's one of the best written parts. He really is a tragic, three-dimensional character, and a fairly solid guy once his mettle is tested. Second best character is Tiffany Haddish's psychic Harriet. Her character has the second most going on next to Ben. Haddish may be the best actor in this as she really sells a someone who's often trying to put on a confident face. 

Wilson as Father Kent and DeVito as history professor Bruce Davis do their best, especially the latter who shines when given a chance, but they're given so little to work with. I honestly feel Devito got a lot of scenes edited or cut, and he probably had a backstory that didn't make it in.

Dawson as the mansion's owner Gabbie is wasted. She's just a nice mom/love interest who isn't given much to do and definitely not proactive enough. She also gets the worse dialogue. There's one delivery from her that's truly awful, and I hope it was due to direction/editing. Chase Dillon as Gabbie's son Travis is one of those child actors who deliver their lines too much like an adult. Something always feels off about him.

I genuinely liked the villain in this. The Hat Box Ghost is an old school genteel, loquacious baddie, and I liked his retro style. 

Visually, director Justin Simien (Dear White People) has a great sense of visuals for not just the mansion, but all buildings. Even Ben's small place has a distinct look to the exterior.

Not recommended. It's not a hard no. It could be a decent watch for the kids, but there's no need to see this and definitely no reason to spend big bucks on it. I'd say the original Haunted Mansion was better. Yeah, Ben's conflict is definitely better than the "dad who's too busy working and has to learn to spend time with his family" conflict, but the original's overall plot was stronger.