The Haunted Mansion (2003)
February 17, 2004Grade: C+
Went to see Eddie Murphy’s Haunted Mansion this weekend. Now just as with League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, I think I would have felt cheated if I’d seen it at a regular price. But since I saw this flick at the Village 8 for $2 I thought it was okay entertainment.
Based very loosely on the Disneyland ride of the same name, Eddie Murphy is a real estate broker who is putting his career above his family. So when he’s supposed to be taking the family on a trip to the lake he can’t resist a last-minute invite to talk to a potential big client. So he takes the family on a side-trip to an old mansion that turns out to be inhabited by ghosts who think Eddie’s wife is the reincarnation of a woman who died in the mansion.
Now of course the best parts of the flick are picked up from the Disney ride–the gypsy fortuneteller inside a crystal ball, the singing statues, etc. Still, Eddie plays off it fairly well and the actors who play his kids are actually pretty good as well.
It won’t ever win awards, not even from special effects fans or horror buffs, but as a cheap weekend entertainment it’s alright.
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