Disney's 'Haunted Mansion' fights off frights with humor over scares

SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — Haunted Mansion
3 out of 5 Stars
Director: Justin Simien
Writer: Katie Dippold
Starring: LaKeith Stanfield, Tiffany Haddish, Owen Wilson, Danny DeVito, Rosario Dawson, Chase W. Dillon, Jamie Lee Curtis, Jared Leto
Genre: Comedy
Rated: PG-13 for some thematic elements and scary action

SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) – Studio Synopsis: 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.

Review: To the surprise of no one, one of my favorite attractions at Disneyland is the Haunted Mansion. It might surprise you that the ride I was most afraid of as a child was Peter Pan’s Flight because I was convinced that Captain Hook was out to get me. I still think Captain Hook is out to get me.

I skipped Disney’s 2003 “Haunted Mansion.” I just wasn’t interested. So, 2023’s “Haunted Mansion” isn’t the palate cleanser for me as it appears to be for others. I went in with only the hope that the film would capture the spirit of the attraction.

Writer Katie Dippold’s narrative is built around two converging stories. The first follows Ben Matthias (LaKeith Stanfield), a grieving New Orleans ghost tour guide who used to be an astrophysicist. The second sees Gabbie (Rosario Dawson) and her son Travis (Chase Dillon) moving into an old, dusty mansion believing a change of scenery will help them make a fresh start at life.

Gabbie and Travis quickly realize that the home they’ve bought is haunted. The duo enlists Father Kent (Owen Wilson) to cleanse the mansion. When that fails, Father Kent goes to recruit Ben who agrees to visit Gabbie and Travis. Ben doesn’t believe in ghosts and is only doing it for the money.

I don’t think it is a spoiler to say that Ben soon discovers that he is wrong. The mansion is in fact haunted.

The rest of the film is figuring out why and what to do about it.

Dippold works in a considerable number of scenes from the ride into the screenplay. It’s fairly seamless. Of course my obsessive-compulsive side was disappointed that it wasn’t in the same order as the ride. This complaint is utterly ridiculous.

“Haunted Mansion” is mostly fun with a little bit of scary. I wanted more scary: just something along the lines of the Goosebump films. Dippold’s script always follows a scary moment with something incredibly silly. The scares are never sustained. That’s fine and well for audiences who don’t want to be frightened. I’m of a completely different mind. Still, there are a couple of plot points in the final act that are heavier than I was expecting. There’s a lot more they could have done with some of the idea, but the fact that the film has any substance whatsoever is appreciated.

“Haunted Mansion” isn’t nearly as enjoyable (or frightening) as the ride it is based on, but there is enough here to recommend it to Disney fans and families seeking refuge from the summer heat.