Disney’s new theme-park movie is a hot mess, even if it’s a sporadically entertaining one.
is a hot mess, but it’s a sporadically entertaining one. Family-friendly horror-comedies have always been a tough subgenre: You need the scares to prove your horror bona fides, but go too far and the children will run screaming from the theater; rely too much on comedy and you’ll undermine the thrills. This one also comes with franchise expectations and a big price tag, as it’s based on a theme-park attraction. That’s a lot to ask of any film.
Having once developed a lens that can photograph dark matter — a “ghost camera,” if you will — the grieving Ben is roped into helping Gabbie , a single mom who has moved into an abandoned local mansion with her introverted son, Travis , only to discover that it’s crammed with ghosts. Our mopey hero doesn’t really want any part of this, but he bonds with the shy Travis, who misses his father and is ostracized at school.
The team grows to include Father Kent , a dodgy exorcist; Harriet , a clumsy psychic; and Professor Bruce Davis , a hibachi-happy historian who happens to be an expert in haunted houses. That’s a game cast, and when the film leaves them to their devices, a certain camaraderie peeks through. The actors seem to be having fun with one another, and their energy occasionally carries over to us as well. Stanfield and Wilson in particular make a fun comic duo.
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