Uneven ‘Haunted Mansion’ tries to honor iconic Disney ride

While Disney managed to turn their “Pirates of the Caribbean” ride into a juggernaut film franchise, the task of morphing a theme park attraction into a cohesive movie remains near impossible.

The new “Haunted Mansion” film, directed by Justin Simien (“Dear White People”) and written by Katie Dippold (“The Heat”), succeeds in recreating many of the ride’s iconic moments, and it certainly improves on Disney’s previous attempt (the 2003 Eddie Murphy film). Nevertheless, the movie can’t find a fluid balance between its comedic elements and spooky genre mechanics.

As a Disney movie based on a kid-friendly ride, “Haunted Mansion” can’t quite be as intense as a typical ghost-themed thriller. At the same time, too much goofiness undermines the horror ingredients required to present a story with narrative stakes. One might argue the attraction itself manages this balance perfectly, but a 15-minute theme park ride can’t transfer into a feature film without major adjustments.

“Haunted Mansion” benefits from a stellar cast and a solid, if overstuffed, premise. LaKeith Stanfield stars as a former astrophysicist, Ben, who is still reeling from the sudden death of his wife. After developing a camera that can detect dark matter (and possibly ghosts), Ben loses faith and abandons his life work, wasting away as he begrudgingly operates his wife’s New Orleans historic ghost tour.

Meanwhile, single mother Gabbie (Rosario Dawson) and her son Travis (Chase W. Dillon) move into nearby Gracey Manor, where the hauntings of 999 ghouls begin immediately. At Gabbie’s request, a priest, Father Kent, (Owen Wilson) then recruits Ben to come and photograph the paranormal happenings at Gracey Manor.

The hitch here is that anyone who enters Gracey Manor will remain haunted, regardless of whether that person remains in the house. So Gabbie, Travis, Ben and Father Kent work to identify what these ghouls need to do to cross over properly to the other side. It leads to even more recruits, including a historian (Danny DeVito), a psychic (Tiffany Haddish), and eventually, an appearance by Madame Leota (Jamie Lee Curtis), as well as other ride-based surprises.

Haddish and Wilson manage some solid laughs here and Stanfield is a magnetic leading force, especially when the film examines his grief for his wife and how it factors into the adventures at Gracey Manor. The history of the house leads to multiple narrative complications, which stifles the movie’s comedic tone, and the story confusingly underserves the characters of Gabbie and Travis, who appear to be as vital as Ben at the start before the film shifts to focus on the comedians.

The production design of the house is spectacular, with numerous visual references to the ride. The visual effects function well too, creating believable-looking ghosts that don’t veer too far into being terrifying for younger audiences. However, with the comedy being spotty, “Haunted Mansion” could benefit from being just a tad bit scarier. If some of these ghosts are meant to be threatening, then they should be depicted as such.

That balance might be too difficult for any attempt at a “Haunted Mansion” themed movie, though, to Disney’s credit, they did release a delightfully entertaining TV special about Gracey Mannor starring The Muppets in 2021. Muppets usually make everything better.

Fans of the ride will still find enough here to enjoy, and, at the very least, “Haunted Mansion” won’t harm the legacy of what might be Disney’s greatest attraction.

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Tyler Wilson can be reached at twilson@cdapress.com.