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4 months ago

Haunted Mansion

a review by r96sk

Simply, quite underwhelming is 'Haunted Mansion'.

The original 2003 movie with Eddie Murphy is one I did enjoy just about, though it's been a long time since I watched it and I can only remember Murphy; no plot details or anything, so it's evidently quite a forgettable movie (or my memory isn't great, who's to say?).

This 2023 reboot holds similarities, in that sense. On paper, I like the cast so will likely remember them going forward. However, nothing else stands out in my thoughts... and I only finished viewing it moments ago, so that's not a positive sign. It holds a good cast list but it is disappointingly one that is wasted.

LaKeith Stanfield stands out most and puts in a solid showing, most notably in an unexpectedly emotive scene; which sadly didn't quite hit due to alternative reasons, nothing to do with Stanfield's fine acting. That scene, actually, also features the best joke, told by a certain Danny DeVito - who is kinda underutilized, really.

Rosario Dawson, Owen Wilson and Tiffany Haddish are alright in their respective roles, though Jamie Lee Curtis and Jared Leto are very meh in their parts; wouldn't have even known it was Leto to be honest, if not for the opening credits. Still, as you can tell by the names involved, it's a promising bunch with, in the end, unmined potential.

The story doesn't hold anything that I could find interesting, the visuals are boring and the scare attempts are easily predictable and of low quality. It is also a film that overruns, this ought to have been a 90 minute production (like the Murphy flick was) in my humble opinion.

This should've been good, it unfortunately isn't.