The Haunted Mansion

views updated

The Haunted Mansion ★½ 2003 (PG)

Inspired by the popular Disney ride of the same name. Jim Evers (Murphy) is a workaholic real estate agent who takes his family along to see a mansion whose owner wants to sell. They soon find out that the mansion is inhabited with ghosts, lots of them. Coincidentally enough, it turns out that Evers's wife Sara (Thomason) bears a striking resemblance to the owner's long dead lover, who had committed suicide. So why wouldn't they want to live there? While the production design of the mansion is quite impressive, it still doesn't make up for the lack of an original story or dialogue. Murphy's comedic talent is largely wasted. Skip the movie, go for the ride. 99m/C VHS, DVD, Blu-ray Disc . US Eddie Murphy, Marsha Thomason, Terence Stamp, Wallace Shawn, Jennifer Tilly, Nathaniel Parker, Marc John Jeffries, Aree Davis, Dina Spybey; D: Rob Minkoff; W: David Barenbaum; C: Remi Adefarasin; M: Mark Mancina.