Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		5.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.0

Haunted Mansion Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman October 15, 2023

Is it ever a good idea to base a feature film on an amusement park ride? Disney would seem to think it is, considering not just the film currently under discussion, but its predecessors The Haunted Mansion and Muppets Haunted Mansion (still missing on Blu-ray as of the writing of this review), not to mention other "ride adjacent" fare like Jungle Cruise and what is probably the best argument for adapting theme park rides as feature films, the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. I'd argue that one reason the Depp films became so popular is not just due to Depp's inimitable characterization of Jack Sparrow, but the mere fact that the film had characters to connect with in some form or fashion, and at least in the early going a fairly straightforward narrative through line that took elements of the ride while expanding on its context. Disney certainly tries to invest its films with that ever evanescent "human" touch, and it does so again with this third at bat for one of Disneyland's most iconic attractions, and while the interactions between a distraught mother, bullied son and grieving paranormal investigator do provide some emotional interest here, though it's evident everything money could buy was thrown at this film, the result is peculiarly listless and even disjointed, as if one were watching some extended alternate universe version episode of Ghosts.

Rather interestingly if perhaps just a little unexpectedly there are tethers between Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl 4K, with the most salient being a coterie of spirits who are on a mission. The first Pirates of the Caribbean film at least tried to outline its supernatural aspects in a relatively understandable way, but here, due to either inartful writing or unwise editing choices, things are considerably more muddled, to the point that it takes a good, long while before it's disclosed that most of the ghosts in the haunted mansion are not in fact malevolent.

In an almost completely haphazard way, the film has already introduced its living humans, which include that aforementioned distraught mother, Gabbie (Rosario Dawson), recently widowed and transplanted to New Orleans, where she hopes to open a bed and breakfast at the iconic Gracey Mansion (there are a number of understandably unavoidable parallels between this film, the ride, and the Eddie Murphy Haunted Mansion, including the name of the place). Her son, Travis (Chase W. Dillon), who frankly is rather similar in ways to the frightened son in the Murphy enterprise. When Gabbie and Travis quickly realize their "dream home" is haunted, they reach out to a disgraced cleric named Father Kent (Owen Wilson), who in turn approaches a once promising astrophysicist named Ben Matthias (LaKeith Stanfield), who, after his own personal tragedy, of course decided to move on to paranormal research. Ultimately a local historian named Bruce Davis (Danny DeVito) enters the fray as well.

Suffice it to say that a major McGuffin of this film is that the ghosts are not necessarily confined to Gracey Mansion, and that they haunt anyone who sets foot into the house wherever they are, leading the aforementioned quintet to gather together at the mansion to try to figure out what's going on. They recruit a local medium named Harriet (Tiffany Haddish), quickly making this a sextet, and perhaps surprisingly, given the setup that Harriet is a fraud, she actually makes contact with the "other side" (here called the Region Beyond), finally starting to unravel the history of the mansion with a little help from another character fans will know from the ride and the previous cinematic adaptations, Madame Leota (Jamie Lee Curtis).

Director Justin Simien, whose first really big budget feature this is, is on hand in supplements saying how his "job" on the film is not to screw things up, but something somewhere along the line went astray. There are any number of kind of curious narrative moments that made me wonder if some kind of cut and paste job was attempted after the shoot had wrapped. For just one example, there's a relatively early scene where Ben is assembled with the other characters in what is supposedly the only "safe room" in the mansion, but who then says (in true horror movie fashion) he's heading out into the hallways to do some exploring, even as the other characters say they're staying put. Then the very next scene has him in the hallway calling out to these same characters, asking where they are. Was he not listening to them? (In other odd elision, they do just show up after he's afflicted with a haunting.)

The film is intermittently at least a little fun, but my overwhelming response was of watching any number of cast members trying way too hard to deliver punchlines. The horror side of things is also weirdly not that scary, perhaps at least due in part to the revelation that the ghosts are in a way haunted themselves and are not particularly malevolent.

Haunted Mansion Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Haunted Mansion is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Disney / Buena Vista with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1. Captured with Arri cameras and finished at 4K, this is another really appealingly sharp and generally very well detailed looking presentation from Disney. I have long been on record as not liking Arri captures quite as much as some other technologies, but even with some really aggressive grading choices that should be apparent in the screenshots accompanying both this and my 4K UHD review, detail levels are actually surprisingly consistent throughout, especially on practical items like costumes and props. I guess there have been some niggling complaints about the quality of the CGI, but I actually found it contextually fine, even if detail levels are understandably softer and, well, more spectral. Fine detail tends to really pop in isolated well lit moments (the bulk of the film is rather dark and many scenes are supposedly lit only by candles), but even in some of the dimmer material, repeated use of close-ups can help support textures on things like costumes and props. The palette is rather gorgeous throughout in my not so humble opinion, exploiting some really evocative tones that range from sepia browns to lustrous teals and purples, and while I would certainly recommend those with the appropriate equipment opt for Disney's 4K UHD version if they're a fan of the film, this 1080 presentation is often incredibly sumptuous.

Haunted Mansion Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Haunted Mansion features a DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 track on this 1080 disc, one which is perfectly excellent and immersive, though Disney makes "scoring" a bit difficult by upping the ante (in more ways than one) with an equally well done Atmos track on its 4K UHD release. Putting aside, then, any "additional" activity in the Atmos version, this DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 offers clear engagement of the side and rear channels even in early establishing sequences, like the "meet cute" between Ben and his soon to be wife. Once the hauntings kick in, there are all sorts of nice effects ranging from Ben's house being flooded, to later activity in the haunted mansion when, for example, the scurrying of the ghosts away from the Hatbox Ghost offers some really nicely rendered panning effects. I have to say I wasn't particularly impressed with Kris Bowers' score, which seems to be trying to channel Danny Elfman, but it certainly is nicely spacious and offers more clear surround activity. Dialogue, including some voiceover, is presented cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional French, English and Spanish subtitles are available.

Haunted Mansion Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Making Haunted Mansion (HD; 13:18) is a decent EPK with some fun interviews and behind the scenes footage.


• 999 Happy Haunts (HD; 6:59) is a brief overview of some of the film's supposed nods to the original attraction.


• Deleted Scenes (HD; 10:46)


• Bloopers (HD; 2:33)

Disney sent its Best Buy Exclusive SteelBook which includes a 1080 disc for purposes of this review, but it looks like this standalone 1080 release offers a digital copy, DVD and slipcover.

Haunted Mansion Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The law of diminishing returns may have finally set in for at least this particular attraction based adaptation "series", as an evidently rather fulsome budget was met with not so relatively paltry box office returns. There's some good stuff here, but frankly not enough. Home theater aficionados who delight in phantasmagorical imagery and whooshing sound effects may at least get their money's worth, and for anyone considering making a purchase, Haunted Mansion offers secure technical merits and decent supplements.