Disneyland’s original attractions are also a great source of cinematic storytelling. Now the studio that brought us films like “Pirates of the Caribbean” and “The Jungle Cruise” is taking a darker and more faithful to the spirit of the ride approach with “Haunted Mansion.” And they have just materialized a brand new trailer, which teases many chilling visuals and a few more callbacks to the classic buggy trip.
In the film, a single mother, Gabbie (Rosario Dawson), and her son Travis (Chase Dillion) move into a new home in New Orleans, only to discover that it is possessed by an assortment of ghosts that can bend reality at will. So as the wall stretches, hallways twists, and scary ghosts appear, Gabbie enlists a motley crew of so-called spiritual experts consisting of a paranormal tour guide (LaKeith Stanfield), a priest (Owen Wilson), a historian (Danny DeVito), and psychic (Tiffany Haddish) to help rid their home of these supernatural squatters.
The trailer gives us a sneak peek at how scary the mansion is, with Gabbie warning our paranormal tour guide that stepping into her home could change the course of his entire life. While he says, he isn’t afraid of a couple of ghosts, that soon changes when he looks at a reflection to find out they are real. And soon, everyone calls these ghosts as they see them, unhinged squatters who don’t want to leave. Even the priest wishes that these ghosts would move on elsewhere to haunt the “bad people” in the world. To which the psychic agrees.
What’s interesting about this trailer is that it seems to fully embrace the tone of the original attraction, where it’s fun and a bit creepy but not too scary. And so the adaption offers a new way to look at the titular home with a few new spooky features, including hallways twisting, walls warping, and possessing humans. We even get to hear a little bit from Hatbox Ghost himself.
Of course, there will probably be a few more Easter eggs hidden throughout the film, so one wonders how much they included and how much they saved just in case there’s room for one more soul, I mean sequel.
The film also stars Jamie Lee Curtis as Madam Leota and Jared Leto as the infamous Hatbox Ghost.
Directed by Justin Simien from a screenplay by Katie Dippold, “The Haunted Mansion” opens in theaters on July 28, 2023.
Here’s the official plot synopsis for “The Haunted Mansion:”
Inspired by the classic theme park attraction, “Haunted Mansion” is about a woman and her son who enlist a motley crew of so-called spiritual experts to help rid their home of supernatural squatters.
