Images courtesy of Disney
The Haunted Mansion is obviously Disney's latest attempt to turn a hit ride into hit movie this time. They may have achieved it. Many people may have written this off as a silly movie for kids. I have to say they aren't completely wrong. In many ways this is a kid's movie. In so many other ways it is so much more, becoming almost a primer for horror movies. This is a big budget, well-acted Goosebumps, in all the correct ways.
Kid friendly but a genuinely scary flick The Haunted Mansion hits on themes that even the most adult of horror has a hard time exploring, family, loss and the pain of being left behind. Each character is expertly portrayed by a picture perfect cast that bring to life a haunted world that I have to admit I would want to exist in.
The cast led by LaKeith Stanfield and Rosario Dawson pull you into a world populated by hilarious characters portrayed by the likes of Tiffany Haddish, Danny DeVito, Owen Wilson and Jamie Lee Curtis. Relative newcomer Chase Dillon is enchanting as Travis.
Leaning heavily into the comedy to distract from some of the genuinely scary aspects of the movie, The Haunted Mansion is a lot of fun. Director Justin Simien guides the tale through what could very quickly go off the rails leaning too heavily on the comedy or the horror, instead it stays in its lane on the razors edge.
If you are a fan of the ride the easter eggs are abundant some are a bit more subtle than other all are almost as much fun as trying to find the hidden Mickeys at the parks. You the readers have absolutely no idea how hard it is to not give away some of them, as a few were so clever and subtle while being totally in your face that they are still easy to miss.
The effects do lean pretty heavily on CGI, happily to good results. The characters that are CGI look exactly how they are supposed to look, truly bringing the ride to life. A few times effects do become distracting, I personally didn't think it was too offensive and didn't ruin any of the scenes.
Since the character design was done by Disney roughly fifty years ago and it held up well at the parks, unsurprisingly it holds up well on screen too. Let me tell you seeing some of these characters move about realistically on screen for the first time was super effective and fun to get a little creeped out by.
The soundtrack and score is exactly what you'd expect perfect Disney Parks to a 'T'. Fun orchestral, fun jazz with a touch of more modern music all of it serves the story well, it might not be the ones that are going to win the Oscars for original music, the pieces are super effective.
In the end this is a solid "My First Horror" movie. It's a lot of fun, good laughs and a good heart all portrayed by excellent actors having a bunch of fun working with each other. Not everyone is going to leave as happy as this viewer did. That doesn't mean most of you won't enjoy it. Good fun, good laughs and a ton of heart. This summer of awesome movies continues. Get your butts to the theater and have a good family night at the cinema.
-Trevor West
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