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As a fan of spooky things, and also fun, I of course love the Disney Parks’ Haunted Mansion rides. I want to go on more of them. I hear the ones in Paris and Shanghai and Tokyo are really cool. For fans of these rides, specifically the Disneyland one, Justin Simien’s Haunted Mansion movie has plenty of “Oh hey, it’s that from the ride!” moments. Katie Dippold’s script offers a surprising amount of tragedy to go along with the ghosts, which surprised and delighted. There’s even quite a few scare moments that just stay on the family side of the line. And yet, they felt like it needed to mostly be a weird comedy, too. Some of it worked, some did not.
If you’re someone like my mother, you might have asked “Why would they make another Haunted Mansion movie?” To which I’d reply, “Well, the 2003 Eddie Murphy version was notoriously terrible and people still love the theme park ride.” And it seems like this is the raison d’etre. After years of toying with whether they’d give Guillermo del Toro the keys to the spookiest house in Disney’s neighborhood, the company instead decided to play it very, very safe and effectively just retread a lot of the same ground as the first movie. A family moves in, ghosts haunt them, they have to “find a way out” out of the situation.
The family in question is Gabbie (Rosario Dawson) and her son Travis (Chase Dillion) who buy and move into the Gracey Mansion in Louisiana when they find it for cheap on Zillow. Uh oh, it’s very haunted, so they need some help. The seemingly exorbitantly wealthy single mother then assembles a Dream Team of ghost hunters, including the priest Kent (Owen Wilson), psychic medium Harriet (Tiffany Haddish), and professorial haunted house expert Bruce (Danny DeVito). However, chief among them is physicist-turned-tour guide Ben (LaKeith Stanfield) who had invented a spectral energy camera, prior to a personal tragedy. They have to figure out why the ghosts are so aggressive, and why ghosts follow them home.
In addition to all of these people are some of the ride’s more famous ghosts. We have the psychic-in-a-crystal-ball Madame Leota (Jamie Lee Curtis) who helps them, and the Hat-Box Ghost (Jared Leto) who is the movie’s main villain. Want your Black Widow husband killing ghost? She’s there. The portraits of the two guys killing each other in a duel? Here too. Long hallways, stretching rooms, hitchhiking ghosts, all in attendance. And some of them provide legitimately good scares, the likes of which I wasn’t expecting in a Disney movie.
I’d love to say the movie works all the time. Stanfield gives a remarkably grounded, touching performance as a man dealing with profound grief. All good ghost stories have to have an element of sadness, and this one doesn’t shy away from that. The ghosts are never played for laughs, either, which I think is incredibly smart. The Haunted Mansion ride is fun-spooky. It needs to keep that kind of “ooh!” For the most part, this movie does that. And we learn about the ghosts and their history and how to end this weird curse. The plot and emotion are all there.
However, the biggest issue is they hedged their bets by making it a studio comedy. Haddish, Wilson, and DeVito all have chops for days, and some of what they have to say and do is really funny. Especially Wilson, who has some legitimately funny moments. But did we need them? Did this movie need to be a comedy full of improvised or extended jokes? We also get a number of big-name cameos doing especially silly things. Honestly, it felt like Simien (who directed Bad Hair previously) and Dippold (who wrote 2016’s Ghostbusters) had battling sensibilities that ended up both coming out in the finished film. I know I’m a horror guy first and foremost and others’ mileage may vary, but it just felt unbalanced.
I also need to point out some truly bizarre product placement. Every movie has product placement, but because this movie takes place in an old house, it’s harder to have new products just sitting around. So at various points in the movie, one of the characters will say a store or business by name. I don’t know if I’ve ever noticed it to this degree. It happens at some truly inappropriate times and pulled me right out of the story.
Haunted Mansion is not a train wreck or anything. It’s enjoyable enough. Family horror was something I grew up with and I miss it. I don’t think Hocus Pocus 2 was good at all, and this is much, much better than that. I think it could have been very good if it had let some of the zanier comedy fall by the wayside and embrace the family drama and spooky thrills. Stanfield is doing some amazing work here and I think that alone needs recognition. But I think the movie is not funny enough to warrant so much attempted comedy, especially when the ghost elements work so well on their own. Let the grim, grinning ghosts socialize without lame attempts at comedy getting in the way.
Haunted Mansion ⭐ (3 of 5)
Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor for Nerdist. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Instagram and Letterboxd.
The post Disney’s HAUNTED MANSION Is Surprisingly Scary, Tonally Uneven Ode to the Theme Park Ride appeared first on Nerdist.
As a fan of spooky things, and also fun, I of course love the Disney Parks’ Haunted Mansion rides. I want to go on more of them. I hear the ones in Paris and Shanghai and Tokyo are really cool. For fans of these rides, specifically the Disneyland one, Justin Simien’s Haunted Mansion movie has plenty of “Oh hey, it’s that from the ride!” moments. Katie Dippold’s script offers a surprising amount of tragedy to go along with the ghosts, which surprised and delighted. There’s even quite a few scare moments that just stay on the family side of the line. And yet, they felt like it needed to mostly be a weird comedy, too. Some of it worked, some did not.
If you’re someone like my mother, you might have asked “Why would they make another Haunted Mansion movie?” To which I’d reply, “Well, the 2003 Eddie Murphy version was notoriously terrible and people still love the theme park ride.” And it seems like this is the raison d’etre. After years of toying with whether they’d give Guillermo del Toro the keys to the spookiest house in Disney’s neighborhood, the company instead decided to play it very, very safe and effectively just retread a lot of the same ground as the first movie. A family moves in, ghosts haunt them, they have to “find a way out” out of the situation.
The family in question is Gabbie (Rosario Dawson) and her son Travis (Chase Dillion) who buy and move into the Gracey Mansion in Louisiana when they find it for cheap on Zillow. Uh oh, it’s very haunted, so they need some help. The seemingly exorbitantly wealthy single mother then assembles a Dream Team of ghost hunters, including the priest Kent (Owen Wilson), psychic medium Harriet (Tiffany Haddish), and professorial haunted house expert Bruce (Danny DeVito). However, chief among them is physicist-turned-tour guide Ben (LaKeith Stanfield) who had invented a spectral energy camera, prior to a personal tragedy. They have to figure out why the ghosts are so aggressive, and why ghosts follow them home.
In addition to all of these people are some of the ride’s more famous ghosts. We have the psychic-in-a-crystal-ball Madame Leota (Jamie Lee Curtis) who helps them, and the Hat-Box Ghost (Jared Leto) who is the movie’s main villain. Want your Black Widow husband killing ghost? She’s there. The portraits of the two guys killing each other in a duel? Here too. Long hallways, stretching rooms, hitchhiking ghosts, all in attendance. And some of them provide legitimately good scares, the likes of which I wasn’t expecting in a Disney movie.
I’d love to say the movie works all the time. Stanfield gives a remarkably grounded, touching performance as a man dealing with profound grief. All good ghost stories have to have an element of sadness, and this one doesn’t shy away from that. The ghosts are never played for laughs, either, which I think is incredibly smart. The Haunted Mansion ride is fun-spooky. It needs to keep that kind of “ooh!” For the most part, this movie does that. And we learn about the ghosts and their history and how to end this weird curse. The plot and emotion are all there.
However, the biggest issue is they hedged their bets by making it a studio comedy. Haddish, Wilson, and DeVito all have chops for days, and some of what they have to say and do is really funny. Especially Wilson, who has some legitimately funny moments. But did we need them? Did this movie need to be a comedy full of improvised or extended jokes? We also get a number of big-name cameos doing especially silly things. Honestly, it felt like Simien (who directed Bad Hair previously) and Dippold (who wrote 2016’s Ghostbusters) had battling sensibilities that ended up both coming out in the finished film. I know I’m a horror guy first and foremost and others’ mileage may vary, but it just felt unbalanced.
I also need to point out some truly bizarre product placement. Every movie has product placement, but because this movie takes place in an old house, it’s harder to have new products just sitting around. So at various points in the movie, one of the characters will say a store or business by name. I don’t know if I’ve ever noticed it to this degree. It happens at some truly inappropriate times and pulled me right out of the story.
Haunted Mansion is not a train wreck or anything. It’s enjoyable enough. Family horror was something I grew up with and I miss it. I don’t think Hocus Pocus 2 was good at all, and this is much, much better than that. I think it could have been very good if it had let some of the zanier comedy fall by the wayside and embrace the family drama and spooky thrills. Stanfield is doing some amazing work here and I think that alone needs recognition. But I think the movie is not funny enough to warrant so much attempted comedy, especially when the ghost elements work so well on their own. Let the grim, grinning ghosts socialize without lame attempts at comedy getting in the way.
Haunted Mansion ⭐ (3 of 5)
Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor for Nerdist. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Instagram and Letterboxd.
The post Disney’s HAUNTED MANSION Is Surprisingly Scary, Tonally Uneven Ode to the Theme Park Ride appeared first on Nerdist.
Originally created as part of the streaming platform’s Mountain of Entertainment campaign, Paramount+ is thrilled to be bringing a new iteration of The Lodge to SDCC goers this summer. Immersing attendees in an ultimate ‘mountain lodge’ experience, The Lodge will walk guests through a variety of photo moments and themed decor inspired by some of the summer’s biggest titles, including Good Burger, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, Yellowjackets, Spongebob Squarepants and more. Themed refreshments will be served, allowing you to munch on sliders and fries straight from the Good Burger counter and sip cocktails crafted at the 1923 speakeasy
“Scenes from The Lodge, an off-site activation from Paramount+. Well worth lining up for. You receive two free drink tickets and one free Good Burger ticket (meat or vegetarian slider), plus there are plenty of photo ops and activities from Paramount+. If you are attending SDCC this year stop by and check out Paramount+ Lodge!
Paramount+: The Lodge Experience at San Diego Comic-Con
July 19th
Doors Open & Exclusive Look Begins at 4:00pm
Happy Does – 340 Fifth Ave, San Diego, CA 92101
The post Paramount+ Activation, “The Lodge” appeared first on The Nerd Element.
Barbie is already the kind of smash hit studio executives dream of when approving a big budget film with an internationally renowned IP. Greta Gerwig’s critically-acclaimed movie now owns the record for biggest debut weekend by a female director. It nearly doubled its expected opening box office in mere days. More impressive is that it already exceeded its $145 million production costs in domestic sales alone. And yet, reviews and tickets sold don’t paint the complete picture of the movie’s accomplishments. Because despite its outsized budget, critical acclaim, packed theaters, all-out-marketing, and branded subject matter, a movie about an iconic toy is also primed to become a modern day The Rocky Horror Picture Show-style cult classic.
There’s no universally agreed upon definition of what qualifies a movie as a “cult classic.” Some have tried, but it’s a distinction with enough exceptions to render a uniform designation almost meaningless. Certain parameters tend to apply to most of them, though. They often have either been box office flops, critically panned, or simply downright ignored when they arrived in theaters. Before you can become a cult movie you typically have to possess almost no cultural cache. Only by being outside the mainstream can a small, extremely devoted audience then elevate your standing. It’s why big successful movies like Star Wars or Star Trek aren’t usually considered cult classics despite swaths of cult-like fans.
None of which applies to an historic, pricey, instantly successful box office blockbuster like Barbie. Especially not one featuring some of the biggest stars in the world and made by Mattel, an international conglomerate. And definitely not when the film, though undeniably subversive and original, is still ultimately a love letter to the iconic toy. There is nothing niche or overlooked about Barbie. It’s a movie that serves as a defense of a problematic toy and has a marketing budget that dwarfs most films. It could not possibly be more in the mainstream.
And yet, anyone who has been to a theater (in good faith) to see it already knows the energy around the movie is entirely different from most blockbuster films. It’s not merely that people are showing up to see it in costumes. People do that for MCU films, too. Women also did it for Sex in the City and Magic Mike. It’s that long lines of pink-clad moviegoers, spanning generations and greeting one another with enthusiastic “Hi, Barbies!,” feels reminiscent of the communities that form around cult classics. Spiritually Barbie isn’t a successor to other event releases, like a Batman movie. The way it’s connecting with women is akin to the kind of connection fans have with The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
No one could have predicted that. I thought Barbie would be a big success even before I saw it. But I knew something was different when I went to my early screening. The audience consisted of press and public alike, and it was very easy to identify my colleagues in the crowd. Most of the non-press arrivals wore pink dresses, pink shorts, pink shoes, pink shirts, pink headbands, pink skirts, and any other article of pink clothing they could find. This was even more true the next night when I returned for my Oppenheimer screening. A second early Barbie showing taking place in the next theater saw so many women show up in pink it felt like it was a mandatory dress code to get in.
Even better was the pure excitement they arrived with. They weren’t there simply to see a movie in costume or even just to enjoy themselves for a couple hours. They were there in celebration. Whether it was to celebrate a toy they love, feminism, femininity, or one another, Barbie is offering something that was clearly desperately needed and wanted. It’s not just a film, it’s a communal event . And the fact it’s really good and giving its audience everything it hoped for is only feeding the energy that surrounds it.
That energy will only grow with time because something magical is going on with this film. It’s impossible to completely capture why, but it’s undeniable. As excited Barbie enthusiasts see it again and again, the community the film has already created will inevitably branch out from costumes and shared greetings. Eventually showings will include singalongs and interaction with the screen. They’ll resemble the joyous midnight showings of The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
Eventually (sooner than later) people will get up perform “I’m Just Ken” in aisles like they do with “Time Warp.” They’ll dance during Barbie’s big disco sequence and yell “Hi, Barbie” every single time a character does. Others will stand and recite America Ferrera’s great monologue when Gloria lets loose. And we’re all going to end up scream-singing the Indigo Girls’ “Closer to Fine” each time it plays. Same with Rob Thomas’ “Push.” Eventually we’ll all end up liking that song so much we’ll become part of the joke. We’ll even cheer guys who bring guitars into the theater because they’ll obviously be in on the fun, too.
Something incredible is going on with this film. It’s engendering a feeling and connection no one can intentionally plan for or make happen because no one can consciously make a cult classic. Does that mean we have to completely reconsider what a cult classic is and can be? And does a Mattel-approved film becoming one ruin the very concept? Who cares! I promise you no one who loves Barbie does. Instead they’re already picking out their next pink outfit, Barbie or Ken costume, or striped Allan shirt for their next viewing. They only care about seeing it again with enjoying it alongside others who feel the same way.
That’s the best thing about loving a cult classic, a concept that transcends genres and can’t be fully defined because it’s more of an idea than something tangible. You don’t have to care what others think. The mainstream opinion—good, bad, or indifferent—doesn’t matter. All that matters is the feeling it evokes. All that matters is the experience of being a part of a movie that means something special to you and a community you’ve become a part of, the way The Rocky Horror Picture Show means so much to so many. So enjoy Barbie now as much as you can at sold-out screenings any time of day. That will make it even more fun someday when we’re watching it at midnight in a packed theater of people in pink.
Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. You can follow him on Twitter at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.
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