Starring LaKeith Stanfield, Tiffany Haddish, Owen Wilson, Danny DeVito, Rosario Dawson, Dan Levy, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Jared Leto

Directed by Justin Simien

Disney, out now

A recently-widowed doctor and her son move into… a haunted mansion!

As one of the poor deprived children who was never taken to Disneyland (Anaheim, Paris or otherwise), I’m afraid I’m not qualified to judge how well Disney’s Haunted Mansion represents the original attraction of the same name. However, as a devotee of comedy horror I feel excellently qualified to declare that Haunted Mansion is a perfect example of its genre – and is nothing else beyond that.

The film hits all the classic notes of comedy, horror and comedy horror: a harrowed young family looking for a fresh start, a flamboyant medium, a mysterious priest, a quirky menagerie of spooks, a star-studded cast of comedic giants, and, of course, an unending stream of hacky jokes. All of these elements are well-crafted, as you would expect of a Disney film, and they play out smoothly and amusingly, exactly as you would expect. That is, in fact, the problem of Haunted Mansion: what you expect is what you get. It is utterly devoid of originality.

Now, as someone who has watched all of the Scary Movies repeatedly, this is not necessarily a problem: I and many others of my generation love a good comedy horror, and Haunted Mansion is the archetypal good comedy horror. The fact that I could have accurately reconstructed the script by merely glancing at the theatrical release poster is no barrier to enjoyment – it’s just a little disappointing. Danny DeVito as an academic-type is Danny DeVito as an academic-type, and Tiffany Haddish as a medium is Tiffany Haddish as a medium. Though it is somewhat refreshing that neither the haunted family nor the grieving Byronic hero is white, the fact that the characters never develop beyond their stereotypical roles represses any sense of originality or progressivism. It is impressive that a film can be so enjoyable and yet so stale.

Verdict: If you’re looking for a good comedy horror to entertain all ages for 120 minutes, then Haunted Mansion is absolutely the film for you. You will laugh, you will puzzle, and you will shiver. However, if you didn’t manage to make it to the cinema, don’t fret – just take a look at the poster, and your imagination will do the rest. 7/10

Sophie Simpson