Haunted Mansion (2023)

Disney is back at trying to turn one of their most popular rides into a movie. So...I managed to make myself feel old when I looked up the old The Haunted Mansion which came out 20 years ago in 2003. I really thought it was much more recent then that, but no. In this version there are some key differences. First instead of the story focusing on a family and tragic love story, it focuses on a single mom and the friends she picks up along the way. A group of specialists come together to try and help her clear up the ghost situation that she has going on while also finding pieces of themselves in the process. 

I actually enjoyed the acting in this movie. Each character had it's own depth and evolved through the movie. I wouldn't saw that one performance stood out over the others, but that each actor did their part to bring the story to life. Then there was the special effects. Even though they were way over done, everything was really fun. Part of this was their use of vibrant colors throughout the movie with special attention to purples, blues, and greens. This follows Disney's over all color theme for the ride as well.

Even though there was humor in the movie, it wasn't really what I would call a funny movie. One of the funniest parts was when the ghosts were pushing people out of the house with chairs. At the same time there wasn't enough horror/suspense for it to be scary either. Most of the 'scary' scenes had already been outed in the previews so when they happened they didn't have the same jump effect.

Of the movies that I have seen lately this was actually one of the best. 4.5 stars out of 5 or an A-.

Picture 1 From: https://bloody-disgusting.com/movie/3778613/enter-the-new-haunted-mansion-on-disney-this-october/

Picture 2 From: https://variety.com/2023/digital/news/haunted-mansion-disney-plus-streaming-premiere-date-1235718914/

Picture 3 From: https://www.ign.com/videos/haunted-mansion-official-disney-release-date-announcement-trailer

Picture 4 From: https://ew.com/movies/haunted-mansion-ghost-candle-penis/

Picture 5 From: https://www.popsugar.com/entertainment/haunted-mansion-remake-movie-48907398