The Haunted Mansion (2003)

“There are worse things than purgatory, madame. I can assure you.” – Ramsley

Number of Times Seen – 1 (16 Apr 2020)

Brief Synopsis – A real estate agent and his family come upon a house that is haunted by a ghost who refuses to let them leave.

My Take on it – This is yet another Eddie Murphy film that I have steered clear away from for years because I didn’t see there being a real reason to check it out.

Since I’m now trying to expand my Murphy knowledge, I decided to finally see what this film is all about.

Unfortunately, it comes across as being a pretty mediocre film that is a horror/comedy family friendly movie.

Murphy is actually pretty good in this film especially since he stays far away from the shenanigans that he usually pulls in his films.

Certain aspects of this movie are a it too predictable for their own good, but that can be expected from something geared towards children and families.

They do have their moments here that make this movie enjoyable despite all of this.

IN addition to Murphy, it’s great seeing Terence Stamp and Wallace Shawn here in some interesting roles.

They both do wonderful work with what they are given here.

The story is a bit too family friendly and that hurts things because some of the choices made here reflect the tame aura that they wanted for this film and they actually dampen the impact that this kind of story could produce.

Regardless, they still manage to find a way to work within the context of what they want to achieve here.

Bottom Line – Pretty mediocre Family horror/comedy that is both hit or miss. Murphy is fine here especially since he steers clear of his usual shenanigans. The story has its moments and that helps keep things enjoyable even if parts of the story are far too predictable for their own good. Great supporting cats that includes Stamp and Shawn who are both great in their respective roles. The story comes across as being a bit too family friendly which forces them to make some tame choices that lessen the impact of things which is a bit of a shame, but still works for what it tries to do here.

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – Much of the movie’s plot is inspired by Phantom Manor, the version of the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland Resort Paris. Unlike the Haunted Mansions in the other parks, Phantom Manor has a clear storyline of a bride, her lost lover, and her haunting the mansion. (From IMDB)

Rating – BAFTA Worthy (5/10)