Growing up as a kid who loved all things spooky, I enjoyed watching Eddie Murphy’s The Haunted Mansion. The concept of haunted houses is a trend that will never grow old. Perhaps this is where my liking for them grew seeing as now as an adult, I try to visit our local haunted Mansion every year for Halloween. Being able to relive that excitement with Disney’s second adaptation of their park ride attraction the Haunted Mansion, releasing in theaters on July 28, 2023, will make heads roll.
Disney has been working on a second film adaptation of the amusement ride since 2010. The project originally included Ryan Gosling as part of their cast and would have been directed by Guillermo del Toro. This was disappointing at first, however, the director behind the final release of this year’s Haunted Mansion movie is Justin Simien, who actually used to work on the park grounds. He would spend most of his breaks riding the attraction so best be assured that he has incorporated the ride’s unique little details, so keep a close eye out for the easter eggs throughout the film.
For this year’s version of the movie, I was most impressed with the selection of the cast starring Rosario Dawson, Owen Wilson, Jamie Lee Curtis, Danny Devito, and Jared Leto. Wow! Some pretty big names to be throwing out there in a Disney film.
Another thing that piqued my interest is how scary they’ve dared to go this year. Especially in the way they make the ghosts look, like when LaKeith Stanfield’s character is walking down a corridor with pictures on the wall of a man standing over a dinner table with a roasted pig and an ax, a subtle change in the portrait after every frame until Stanfield’s character finally turns around to find the man in the pictures holding the ax in his hand as if he was about to swing it at him, sent shivers down my spine and as a horror fan, I love it!
This summer will be a great one with many movies coming out soon that will make me relive fond childhood memories of what I enjoyed when I was a kid. Deep down, that child lives on no matter how old I may get, and I hope you kids can enjoy it, too.
