Two decades have passed since the last attempt to bring The Haunted Mansion to life on the big screen. Now, Justin Simien is spilling the secrets of how his reboot will avoid the pitfalls of the Eddie Murphy flop.
The new film takes inspiration from the beloved Disneyland ride but with a twist.
A widowed mother and her son enlist a team of ghostbusters to rid the cursed mansion of its restless spirits. Will they survive the horrors that lurk within? Or will they join the ranks of the 999 happy haunts?
Entertainment Weekly got the scoop on the upcoming Haunted Mansion reboot in their summer preview. They chatted with Justin Simien, the director who dared to take on the challenge of adapting the spooky Disneyland ride.
Simien confessed that he and his team did their homework for the project, including watching the 2003 Eddie Murphy disaster to learn what not to do. Here’s what he had to say:
We looked at Eddie Murphy’s Haunted Mansion for how we could] go awry. We got down to the point where we were obsessing over the angle you first see the mansion when you walk onto the ride in Disneyland when we see it through the gates, and we see the pillars. That angle has to hit. That’s how specific we were. When you first glide through the dining hall, and you see the waltzing dancers, that angle had to be right because that’s the one where you gasp on the ride.
Murphy’s The Haunted Mansion movie was a nightmare for critics, who slammed it for being unfunny, unscary, and unoriginal.
Despite having a comedy star as its lead, the film failed to deliver any laughs or chills in its haunted house setting.
Instead, it took itself way too seriously, with a dull and confusing plot that tried to cram in too much of the ride’s lore. The film was a haunted mess that left critics and fans cold.
Surprisingly, Murphy’s iteration has risen from the grave of bad reviews and low ratings on Rotten Tomatoes, where it still rots with a paltry 14 percent from critics and 31 percent from audiences.
The film is now seen in a new light by some fans, who compare it to other Disney gems like Hocus Pocus and ’80s cult favorites like Clue and The Monster Squad. These fans grew up with the film and still love its mix of horror and comedy.
The first trailer for the new film has already teased some of the ride’s most notable features, like the stretching room, Jared Leto’s creepy Hatbox Ghost, and the ghostly bride with a bloody past, Constance Hatchaway.
Will the new film be a scream or a bore? We’ll find out soon enough.
About Haunted Mansion
The Haunted Mansion is an upcoming horror-comedy movie based on the Disney amusement ride of the same name.
It is written by Katie Dippold and will be directed by Justin Simien. Dan Lin and Jonathan producing under the banner of Rideback alongside Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.
It will follow a mother and son who come across a mansion that is more than it seems, being surrounded by quirky characters who are essential to solving its mysteries.
Cast includes Owen Wilson, Tiffany Haddish, Danny DeVito, LaKeith Stanfield and Rosario Dawson. Release date is TBA.
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