The Haunted Mansion (2023)

Released in theaters on July 28, 2023

Released on Disney+ on October 4, 2023

Runtime: 2 Hours 2 Minutes

Rated PG-13

Welcome foolish mortals….

A Ghost tours guide, a parapsychology professor, a medium, and a priest walk into a Haunted Mansion in New Orleans…

Sounds like a joke right?  Well, parts of the movie are and parts of it are a bit more scary. Much like the Disney ride the movie is based off.  Be prepared to jump and laugh as you watch this cast of colorful characters help a mom and son rid their house of evil ghosts and also grow and learn about themselves in the spooky process

Themes: 

Hauntings, ghosts, New Orleans, spiritualism, Catholicism, God, death, loss, grieving, séances, being scared, courage, what happens to us after we die, unfinished business, ghost possession, astral projection, murder, beheadings, suicide, mediums, scrying, dark magic, evil, the Bride, teamwork, being trapped, evil vs. good, hinges creaking, doorless chambers, and happy haunts.

Language: 

I caught four to five religious exclamations, the word “d*mn” once (there may have been a second one, but I wasn’t sure), and the phrase “pissed off” is used once.  The lack of language in this movie ended up surprising me, in a good way.

Stuff to be aware of: 

At the very beginning of the film there is a scene filmed in a bar, but it is brief.  One character drinks several times in the first ten minutes or so.  There are some mature things mentioned in passing (they are not lingered on) such as suicide, being beheaded, your organs being on the outside of your body, and murder.

There are a lot of intense scenes with ghosts, jump scares, alligators chasing people, someone being hit by a car (does not die), the Bride’s beheaded husbands, dark magic, seances, attempted poisonings, skeleton ghosts, axes and spears being thrown, and someone being willing to die.  There is a Quija board, crystal balls, and discussion about medium/psychics.  The scariest ghost (in my opinion) is one at the beginning of the film who resembles a woman in a dress, but her face shakes very fast so you can’t see what she looked like. The heroes at one point in the film have to find a man’s head and discover a skull. Also, the characters also get possessed, talk in deep scary voices, and float.

This is a great gateway horror film if you have preteens that want to get into horror movies, but it may be too much for Elementary aged children and even some middle school kids.

Overall: 

The Haunted Mansion is my favorite ride in the Magic Kingdom.  The Eddie Murphy movie in 2003 was not that great but, this one makes up for it.  The movie does a greater job balancing humor and scares, much like the ride does. Some of the humor is deadpan (see what I did there), but is sprinkled throughout the movie.  It’s mostly cheesy, dad type humor, but it fits what the writer/producer is trying to do.  Overall the story is good, the actors/actresses appear to really be enjoying making the movie, and there is a deep message throughout the movie that deals with grief, loss, and living on after losing someone close to you.  This one is a good “summer movie” flick that I will likely watch in future Octobers. It won’t be for everyone, but if you like horror comedy this one will scratch all the right itches.

There is not mid-credits or post-credits scene, but there are a ton of Easter eggs from the rides (Disney World and Disneyland) in the movie.  If you have a love for the ride, like I do, you will really enjoy this one.  The movie does a good job giving us more insight into the history of the mansion and does a good job explaining why its current guests cant leave.  You will also discover by some of the 999 haunts are happy ones.

Thanks for reading, but there’s a little matter I forgot to mention — beware of hitchhiking ghosts!