Haunted Mansion (2023 film)
Haunted Mansion is a 2023 American supernatural horror comedy film directed by Justin Simien from a screenplay by Katie Dippold. It stars LaKeith Stanfield, Tiffany Haddish, Owen Wilson, Danny DeVito, Rosario Dawson, Dan Levy, Jamie Lee Curtis and Jared Leto. Produced by Walt Disney Pictures and Rideback, it is the second film adaptation of Disneyland's eponymous attraction, following the initial one from 2003. In the film, a widow and her son enlist the aid of an astrophysicist-turned-tour guide, a struggling psychic, a con man posing as a trained priest and a college historian to help exorcise the ghostly inhabitants of the titular building that they have recently moved into.
Plans for the reboot adaptation based on the Haunted Mansion began in July 2010, when Guillermo del Toro, who intended to write and produce, stated the project would take place in a heightened reality rather than in a real-world setting. Del Toro was no longer attached as the project's director in July 2013. After years in development hell, Disney officially announced Haunted Mansion in August 2020, with Dippold signed on to write a new screenplay. Simien negotiated to direct the film by April 2021, and was officially confirmed three months later. The primary cast was confirmed from July to October, and additional cast was announced the following year. Principal photography took place from mid-October 2021 to late-February 2022 on a $150 million budget.
Haunted Mansion premiered at Disneyland in Anaheim, California, on July 15, 2023, and was released in the United States on July 28 by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. The film received mixed reviews from critics and grossed $118 million worldwide, becoming a box-office bomb and losing Disney an estimated $117 million. Journalists criticized the film for its repeated use of product placement.
Plot
In New Orleans, Ben Matthias, an astrophysicist developing a camera to detect dark matter, marries Alyssa, a tour guide for the city's famously haunted places. Following Alyssa's death in a car crash, a despondent Ben gives up his career and continues to run her tour, despite his disbelief in the supernatural. Meanwhile, widowed doctor Gabbie and her son Travis move into the abandoned Gracey Manor, planning to turn the mansion into a bed and breakfast, only to discover that it is infested with ghosts.Father Kent, an exorcist helping Gabbie, hires Ben to photograph Gracey Manor's ghosts. Unable to find any evidence, he returns home and is haunted by a ghost of a mariner, forcing him to return to the mansion as he learns that the others have fallen victim to hauntings as well. They recruit psychic Harriet and steal the mansion's blueprints from historian Professor Bruce Davis. The group finds a hidden séance room where Harriet contacts the spirit of William Gracey, who writes a message instructing them to talk to legendary medium Madame Leota. A malevolent entity forces Harriet out of the house, while Bruce arrives and is forced out as well.
The group stays at the mansion, searching for Leota. In the attic, Ben runs afoul of ghostly bride Constance Hatchaway and finds a locked trunk containing a crystal ball holding Leota herself. She discloses that Gracey recruited her to contact the spirit of his late wife every night for an entire year, resulting in the mansion's ghosts taking up residence. A malevolent spirit later tricked Gracey into committing suicide and trapped Leota inside her crystal ball; having acquired 999 souls throughout the years, the spirit needs one more in order to escape from the mansion. When Harriet performs an astral projection, Ben is sent out of his body instead and encounters Gracey's ghost and the malevolent spirit, whose head disappears and reappears within a hat box they carries.
A police sketch artist draws the ghost, allowing the group to identify him as Alistair Crump, a wealthy heir who was shunned by his father and high society; after his father's mysterious death, a vengeful Crump lured his fellow socialites to their deaths while developing an obsession with the occult, until he was assassinated by his much-abused staff. Crump seals the mansion but Ben, Kent and Travis escape to his family home, where the mariner leads them to Crump's hat to use in a banishment ritual.
Returning to Gracey Manor, Kent confesses that he is actually a con man, but he and Ben soon rescue their friends. Crump incinerates his hat and, having been impersonating Travis' late father, plots to make him his final soul. Ben convinces Travis not to give in to his grief and they and Gabbie confront Crump in the mansion's graveyard. Kent rallies the ghosts to rebel against Crump, while Harriet frees Leota and Bruce recovers the remnants of the hat to carry out the banishment ritual. Crump tempts Ben to become his final soul and be reunited with Alyssa, but Ben makes his peace with losing her as Crump is sent back to the netherworld upon the ritual's completion.
Ben continues to move on with his life and discovers the cat staying by his door is named Tater Tot, a nod to his wife's love for the food. The group reunites at the mansion for a Halloween party; Ben has returned to teaching, Harriet has regained confidence in her psychic abilities, Kent has been ordained, Travis is elected class vice president, Gabbie has been hired at the local hospital, Bruce maintains his newfound friendships and many of the ghosts have chosen to stay at the mansion, now in harmony with the living residents.
Cast
- LaKeith Stanfield as Ben Matthias, a cynical astrophysicist-turned-tour guide
- Tiffany Haddish as Harriet, a psychic with genuine abilities
- Owen Wilson as Father Kent, a conman posing as a priest and trained exorcist
- Danny DeVito as Bruce Davis, a college historian and professor at Tulane University
- Rosario Dawson as Gabbie, a widowed doctor from New York
- Chase W. Dillon as Travis, Gabbie's son who is elected class vice president
- Jamie Lee Curtis as Madame Leota, the psychic responsible for summoning the mansion's many ghostly occupants
- Jared Leto as the motion capture performance of Alistair Crump, alias the Hatbox Ghost. Leto's likeness was used for the character's appearance in an enhanced facial composite and in the animation depicting his origins. The character's surname is a tribute to Imagineer Rolly Crump, one of the lead designers for the Haunted Mansion ride at Disneyland, who died four months prior to the film's premiere.
- Daniel Levy as Vic, an entertainment tour guide
- Hasan Minhaj as a police sketch artist
- Marilu Henner as Carol, a tourist in New Orleans
- Jo Koy as a bartender
- J. R. Adduci as William Gracey, the first owner of the mansion
- Steve Zissis as Roger
- Winona Ryder as Pat, a New Orleans tour guide
Production
Development
In July 2010, it was announced that a reboot adaptation based on The Haunted Mansion was in development for Walt Disney Pictures, with Guillermo del Toro as writer and producer. Del Toro stated the project would not take place in a real-world setting, but in a heightened reality. He revealed that the Hatbox Ghost would be one of the main characters and said the film would be "scary and fun at the same time, but the scary will be scary". In June 2011, Walt Disney World Imagineer Jason Surrell was brought onto the project as a creative consultant. In August 2012, Del Toro submitted the final draft of his script to Walt Disney Studios, intended for a PG-13 rating. By July 2013, Del Toro announced he was no longer the project's director, but remained as co-writer and executive producer. In April 2015, Ryan Gosling was in early negotiations to star, while D.V. DeVincentis was hired to rewrite the script. In September 2016, Brigham Taylor was hired as producer.File:Justin Simien by Gage Skidmore.jpg|thumb|upright|Director Justin Simien at the 2023 San Diego Comic-Con
In August 2020, it was announced that Katie Dippold signed on to write a new screenplay for the film, after it was decided that Del Toro's script was too scary for family audiences. Dan Lin and Jonathan Eirich were hired as producers. The project would be a joint-venture production between Walt Disney Pictures and Rideback. By April 2021, Justin Simien entered early-negotiations to direct the film, and was officially confirmed as director by July 2021.
Bryan Cogman, Del Toro, DeVincentis, Micah Fitzerman-Blue, Noah Harpster, Justin Haythe, Jeff Nathanson, Matthew Robbins, Simien, Steven Thompson, and Chris Weitz wrote additional literary material for the film.
In a behind-the-features featurette, production designer Darren Gilford revealed that the crew had an after-hours tour on the actual Haunted Mansion ride at Walt Disney World. The crew then pulled details from the ride to use for the sets.