Quartile rating: 5.5/10 · 1 rating
Workaholic Jim Evers and his wife/business partner Sara get a call one night from a mansion owner, Edward Gracey, who wants to sell his house. Once the Evers family arrive at the mansion, a torrential thunderstorm of mysterious origin strands them with the brooding, eccentric Gracey, his mysterious butler, and a variety of residents both seen and unseen.
The Haunted Mansion (2003) is a largely forgettable Disney theme-park adaptation. The plot is thin and formulaic, leaning heavily on haunted house clichés without meaningful stakes or surprises. Eddie Murphy's comedic energy feels mismatched with the material, and the supporting cast is underutilized. Visually, the production design captures the gothic atmosphere of the ride reasonably well, giving it a slight edge in cinematography. However, the film offers little that distinguishes it from generic family ghost comedies of the era, and the resolution is rushed and unsatisfying. It sits firmly in below-average territory across most dimensions.