This supernatural yarn (Disney’s third attempt to capitalise on the popularity of the theme-park ride) stars LaKeith Stanfield, a wondrously subtle performer, with a nose for a deft script (see Get Out, Sorry to Bother You, Judas and the Black Messiah, Knives Out). In that sense, his latest qualifies as a tale of the unexpected. You’re expecting it to be good? Surprise!
Stanfield is New Orleans astrophysicist, Ben, who wants to see “the unseen”. After a preamble so convoluted it makes your head ache, Ben and a couple of wacky paranormal experts (Owen Wilson’s priest, Tiffany Haddish’s medium) find themselves trapped in the titular mansion, newly owned by down-to-earth, unaccountably wealthy single mum, Gabbie (Rosario Dawson; wasted).
Of course the house contains an evil force, (a heavily disguised Jared Leto; smart move). Eventually, a disembodied psychic from the 1880s, Madame Leota (Jamie Lee Curtis) and a history professor (Danny DeVito) shed light on how the “Hatbox ghost” can be stopped.
With its dreary VFX, limp jokes and implausible plot twists, Haunted Mansion creaks like an old house from the get go. But it’s also ambitious. Director Justin Simien, and scriptwriter Katie Dippold, want to talk about Big Issues (grief; racism; bullying; the need for scientists to keep an open mind).
The end result though is neither fun nor deep, part of a tragic sub-genre that puts the thick into Gothic. Does the fancy camera Ben invents to snap spectres have any practical purpose? Nope. All the ghosts, here, are “seen”, ie visible to the human eye, and he never shares his footage. But hey, at least it gives him something to do with his hands.
It’s possible that studio bigwigs, terrified of ending up with something too edgy for mainstream audiences, interfered with the production, watering down bright ideas and/or rendering them half-baked. Simien got his break with the savage satire, Dear White People. Maybe his next film will be titled Dear Disney Execs.
The movie only gels once, in a sequence featuring Winona Ryder as Pat, a hilariously sour member of the heritage industry. Serenely quirky and coherent, this segment offers a haunting glimpse of what might have been.
125mins, cert 12A
