10 October 2023 , 09:43
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If you're planning a spooky night's entertainment to get you in the mood for Halloween, then look no further than Haunted Mansion on Disney Plus.
Based on one of the most iconic Disneyland rides, the movie follows Gabbie (Rosario Dawson) and son Travis (Chase W Dillon) as they move into an old mansion they plan to change into a bed and breakfast. But it isn't long before they suspect it may be haunted.
Traditionally, guests don't take too kindly to spectral beings interfering with their weekend break, so in an effort to get rid of the ghosts, they end up gathering an unexpected group of people to help them exorcise their demons. And what a disparate team they prove to be, too. From unconventional priest (Owen Wilson), to a rather cynical tour guide (LaKeith Stanfield) as well as a fashionable medium (Tiffany Haddish), extravagant Madame Leota (Jamie Lee Curtis) and a perky professor (Danny DeVito).
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With a healthy 84 per cent audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, readers were eager to praise Haunted Mansion, even if critics (a paltry 37 per cent rating) weren't.
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Scarily good
Blake posted: "I don't know why critics don't like this movie. It adds a great story to the ride, and the twist really caught me by surprise. It was a good movie, I loved it."
Richard D: "Overall I enjoyed it. While Owen Wilson, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Danny DeVito are not given enough to do, the film does a great job of adapting the ride. There are fun chase sequences and enough emotions to make this a fun family film. It's a little long but overall it's harmless."
Kimberly H: "A pleasantly done film with a noteworthy cast. If we had the opportunity to learn a bit more about the tragic backstory involving the ghosts in the mansion, then it would have earned 5 stars. I suppose there's always room in the sequel."
Michelle T: "Funny and just scary enough for a 7 year old. Great and fun family movie. And it's even more delightful if you've been on the ride."
Whitt A: "It was an all star cast. It sucked me in within the first three minutes. I can't find a single bad thing to say about it. It was refreshing. I hope they find a way to make a part 2. The end was pulling at my heart strings and I teared up."
Scarily poor
But critics weren't so taken with Haunted Mansion, with some saying it was no more than a shameless plug for the ride at Disneyland.
Sergio Burstein of the Los Angeles Times said: "A story that mainly serves as an excuse to publicise the attraction ride, from which countless details and characters are extracted."
Peter Travers of ABC News: "It could have been worse, but that’s no excuse for turning an exciting nine-minute theme-park ride into an overlong, star-stuffed 122 minute feature that is only fitfully funny and scary and soon wears out its welcome."
Jake Wilson of The Age: "No central theme emerges beyond a blandly generalised one about moving on from the past, which is to say that overtly at least, this Haunted Mansion plays it even safer than its 2003 predecessor."
Kevin Maher of The Times: "Not scary. Not funny. Just depressing."
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Brian Lowry of CNN.com: "Even with a solid cast yielding good moments, there’s a general flatness to it, and a sense the movie is seeking to scare up what it can in theaters before settling into its natural haunting grounds on Disney+."
Haunted Mansion is available to stream now on Disney Plus.