Did you enjoy the Haunted Mansion attraction at Disneyland? It's been adapted for the big screen in a horrific comedy starring Danny DeVito and Owen Wilson. The film is scheduled for release in French cinemas on July 26, 2023. In the meantime, Disney has released a second trailer.
Like Pirates of the Caribbean, here's a new adaptation of one of Disneyland's most popular attractions. The film, directed by Justin Simien, comes twenty years after the first adaptation, The Haunted Mansion and the 999 Ghosts, starring Eddie Murphy. The cast also includes Rosario Dawson, Jamie Lee Curtis and Jared Leto.
A mother and her nine-year-old son are looking to start a new life. They jump at the chance to buy an affordable mansion in New Orleans. Little do they know that the house is already home to some unexpected residents. When they realize the mansion is haunted, they hire a team of pseudo-experts to help them hunt down the various specters and ghosts haunting their home.
Our verdict
Creaking doors, terrifying paintings, cobwebs on the ceiling - there's no doubt about it, Disney's Haunted Mansion is here to make you shudder. And if you're a fan of the Disneyland attraction, you'll see many similarities. But both are aimed at a very young audience. Because yes, this isn't a horror film per se, but rather a thrill-filled comedy parodying the horror genre. And if you're past your pre-teen years, The Haunted Mansion is unlikely to scare you. In fact, it may be a good gateway to horror cinema for younger viewers. On the other hand, it's decent family entertainment, with a nice moral about grief.
Nevertheless, that's about it, and a fussy audience will find it easier to overlook the film's shortcomings. In trying to stick as closely as possible to the story of the origin of the Haunted House, the film puts storytelling aside and turns its set-up into a filmed attraction. Horrific situations are more often a labyrinth to escape from, with a whole host of ghosts along the way, than a real threat. What's more, the CGI effects aren't particularly exciting, and tend to take us out of the film rather than make us believe in the monsters. This is particularly true of the big bad, played by Jared Leto (completely transformed by CGI), who is unrecognizable and badly designed.
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