Directed by: Justin Simien
Starring: LaKeith Stanfield, Tiffany Haddish, Owen Wilson, Danny DeVito, Rosario Dawson, Dan Levy, Jamie Lee Curtis, Jared Leto
Distributed by: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Running time: 123 minutes
Our Score: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Having visited three Haunted Mansion rides at Disney World, Disneyland and Disneyland Paris, this movie really gets the attraction down! I wasn’t sure what to expect from “The Haunted Mansion” but I walked out of the theater with a smile on my face.
Official Premise: Inspired by the classic theme park attraction, “Haunted Mansion” is about a woman and her son who enlist a motley crew of so-called spiritual experts to help rid their home of supernatural squatters.
LaKeith Stanfield’s character brings the believability to the story. Owen Wilson just played Owen Wilson, the same character. Danny Devito was my personal favorite, simply hilarious… and I didn’t expect that either. I wish Dan Levy was in it longer, and same goes for Jared Leto.
I really enjoyed the darker side of the story. The PG-13 rating really gave it a chance to go deeper into love, loss and finding oneself. But don’t let ’em fool you, the beginning had a good portion of excellent jump scares. The ending also catches you off guard, which I enjoyed quite a bit!
The visual effects were impressive but felt a little cartoony at the end due to the Hat Box ghost appearance. But overall, I think “The Haunted Mansion” did a great job representing the attractions. But just a warning to parents, it is a solid PG-13, so little ones might be left scared.
