July is giving us another Disney remake after the failure of Little Mermaid. Haunted Mansion (2023) is Disney’s newest film with an amazing ensemble cast. The premise of the film revolves around: A single mom named Gabbie hires a tour guide, a psychic, a priest and a historian to help exorcise her newly bought mansion after discovering it is inhabited by ghosts. The film is made on a hefty budget of $157.8 million. Despite having a some very familiar faces, there is absolutely no hype about the film. In fact, I heard about the film for the first when the first reactions came out. Maybe, the film is not made as well as Disney wanted it, hence, the limited marketing or maybe, the film got lost between Oppenheimer and Barbie’s hype. Well, whatever it is, this is what the critics have to say about the film.
Haunted Mansion Reviews Round-Up: A Fun Family Horror Flick?
Kim Newman (Empire Magazine) – “Resembling a kids’-birthday-party remake of 1973’s The Legend Of Hell House, this suffers from being not that funny or spooky. Its saving grace is a cast you’re happy to spend time with.” Original Score: 2/5
Matt Singer (ScreenCrush) – “So possessed with recreating the ride’s details that it misses a bit of its spirit.” Original Score: 5/10
Kristen Lopez (TheWrap) – ““Haunted Mansion” is a fun summer throwback to the likes of 2003’s “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.” Inventive fun for every member of the family with a phenomenal lead performance by Stanfield.”
Luke Y. Thompson (AV Club) – “It would be interesting to see the version of Haunted Mansion that star LaKeith Stanfield seems to think he’s in—one where his jaded, grieving, scientist-turned-wannabe believer in ghosts could see his grounded performance matched”
Nick Schager (The Daily Beast) – “Just as busy, corny, and predictable as its 2003 iteration—as well as destined to swiftly pass into the cinematic afterlife that is both convenience store bargain bins and cluttered streaming platform libraries.”
Meagan Navarro (Bloody Disgusting) – “Simien and Dippold joyfully recreate the feeling of hopping on a Doom Buggy, whisking audiences on a nonstop tour of supernatural whimsy, macabre humor, and heart.” Original Score: 3.5/5
Barry Hertz (Globe and Mail) – “The film’s core problems are amplified by a curiously assembled cast that never gels.”
Robbie Collin {Daily Telegraph (UK)} – “You wouldn’t go so far as to inscribe “Abandon Hope All Ye Who Enter Here” on this mansion’s gatepost, but the Airbnb feedback would fall some way short of great.” Original Score: 2/5
Lucas Trevor (Washington Post) – “It’s too dark for a family film, too weightless and juvenile for grown-ups. In a season notable for high-level action spectacle and important auteur projects, Haunted Mansion is not just confused but inconsequential.” Original Score: 1.5/4
Chris Hewitt (Minneapolis Star Tribune) – “The main thing that haunts Haunted Mansion is the ghost of the movie it might have been.” Original Score: 2/4
Mick LaSalle (San Francisco Chronicle) “Haunted Mansion brings together genuinely skilled and appealing comic actors and gives them little to do but mug.” Original Score: 1/4
Frank Scheck (Hollywood Reporter) – “Beats waiting in line for the ride, but just barely.”
Justin Chang (Los Angeles Times) – “Because no effort has been expended to make any of this even remotely scary — there are only so many times you can watch Stanfield dodge a flying CGI axe — you might at least hope for a belly laugh or two, or at least a few decent jokes.”
Brian Truitt (USA Today) – “A good first horror movie for youngsters where a ghostly mummy won’t have them running for their mommy.” Original Score: 2.5/4
Emily Zemler (Observer) – “Despite a few cartoon-y scenes, Simien and his cast elevate Haunted Mansion to a thoroughly entertaining and oddly emotional good time.” Original Score: 3.5/4
Liz Shannon Miller (Consequence) – “Haunted Mansion succeeds at feeling like an actual film, and not just a thin translation of the very familiar IP. It also happens to be a light, family-friendly, but still occasionally spooky adventure with some real poignancy to it.” Original Score: B+
Tim Grierson (Screen International) – “The Haunted Mansion the ride was a breezy trip that lasted maybe 10 minutes — the film stretches on far longer, offering frighteningly less.”
Moira MacDonald (Seattle Times) – “Alas, Haunted Mansion is yet another reminder that the assembling of a great cast does not guarantee a great movie. Director Justin Simien and screenwriter Katie Dippold can’t seem to find any kind of comedic rhythm.”
Kaely Monahan (Arizona Republic) – “Where “Pirates” had originality, sharp writing and a fully-fledged world to play in, Haunted Mansion is dull and flat.” Original Score: 1.5/5
Peter Bradshaw (Guardian) – “In the end, it’s another piece of Halloween merchandise.” Original Score: 2/4
David Ehrlich (indieWire) – “Too scattershot and herky-jerky to ever approximate the feeling of a ride, the ghost sequences stop and start without any sense of place, rhythm, or purpose.” Original Score: C-
Peter Debruge (Variety) – “While the visual effects are surprisingly weak for a film of this scale, the script proves far better than anyone might expect, establishing an emotional foundation for what might otherwise be a gimmick-driven haunted house movie.”
Greg Nussen (Slant Magazine) – “The film handily invokes the campiness of the iconic Disneyland attraction, if not its kinetics.” Original Score: 2/4
Haunted Mansion (2023) is directed by Justin Simien and the film stars Jared Leto, Ryan Gosling, LaKeith Stanfield, Owen Wilson, Tiffany Haddish, Jamie Lee Curtis, Danny DeVito, Rosario Dawson and Winona Ryder.
Haunted Mansion hits theaters on Friday, July 28 2023.
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