After reading all the negative reviews, my daughter and I went to see it with very low expectations. (Basically we both enjoy the Disney attraction and wanted to see what touches from it ended up on the screen.) While I won't go so far as to say this was one of the best films of the year, it certainly was a lot better than it has been portrayed, and I'm sorry if people (especially families) are missing it because unfounded bad reviews.
Even before this movie and "Pirates of the Caribbean" were released, the critics were throwing barbs at the filmmakers for using a theme park ride as an inspiration. When "Pirates" turned out to be excellent fun, I can only think the critics turned their sights on trashing "Mansion" no matter how it turned out.
For those who give it a chance, it's a fun ride (pun intended). The supporting cast (especially the inhabitants of the Mansion) do more interesting work than Eddie, who does unfortunately overact through much of the first half, but the story moves well and has a lot of delightful touches. It also succeeds where so many films fail in combining comedy, horror (or at least a little scary stuff), and genuine emotion (i.e. the "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" television series goal) without getting into the truly violent/gross category of something like "The Frighteners". My daughter and I found it charming.
Even before this movie and "Pirates of the Caribbean" were released, the critics were throwing barbs at the filmmakers for using a theme park ride as an inspiration. When "Pirates" turned out to be excellent fun, I can only think the critics turned their sights on trashing "Mansion" no matter how it turned out.
For those who give it a chance, it's a fun ride (pun intended). The supporting cast (especially the inhabitants of the Mansion) do more interesting work than Eddie, who does unfortunately overact through much of the first half, but the story moves well and has a lot of delightful touches. It also succeeds where so many films fail in combining comedy, horror (or at least a little scary stuff), and genuine emotion (i.e. the "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" television series goal) without getting into the truly violent/gross category of something like "The Frighteners". My daughter and I found it charming.