You’re never too young to start with horror! Well, no, that’s a lie, but kids like spooky stuff, and it never hurts to encourage such things. So, grab the kids and get along to Disney’s Haunted Mansion, which is screaming—uh, I mean screening—in New Zealand cinemas now.
Well, it’s not really a horror movie, is it? It’s a family-friendly spooktacular directed by Justin Simien (Dear White People) and based on the iconic Disney theme park attraction (which also inspired 2003’s The Haunted Mansion with Eddie Murphy).
In none-more-gothic New Orleans, we find recently widowed doctor Gabbie (Rosario Dawson) and her son Travis (Chase W. Dillon), who’ve relocated from New York to turn an old mansion, Gracey Manor, into a bed and breakfast. But wouldn’t you know it: it’s haunted, so they recruit astrophysicist-turned-ghost guide Ben (LaKeith Stanfield), priest Father Kent (Owen Wilson), psychic Harriet (Tiffany Haddish), and haunted house historian Professor Davis (Danny DeVito) to help clean out their supernatural squatters. These include deceased psychic Madame Leota (Jamie Lee Curtis) and the malevolent Hatbox Ghost (Jared Leto).
That’s quite the cast, you’ll agree, and they’re all having a ball in Disney’s kid friendly ghost story. This one has been long in development, too. About a decade ago Guillermo Del Toro had signed on to write and direct, and we can only assume that whatever he submitted was beyond the pale, so instead we have Simien making his big studio debut, working from a script by comedy veteran Katie Dippold (Parks and Recreation, The Heat).
In keeping with the supernatural theme, we should note that is the 13th movie adapted from a Disney ride, although to be fair about half of those are Pirates of the Caribbean flicks. Will 13 be a lucky number for the Mouse? You know how to find out…
