Disney has released the teaser trailer for Haunted Mansion, its theme park attraction-turned-creepy comedy adventure movie that hits theaters July 28.
Justin Simien directs a cast that includes LaKeith Stanfield, Tiffany Haddish, Owen Wilson, Danny DeVito, Rosario Dawson, Chase W. Dillon and Dan Levy, with Jamie Lee Curtis and Jared Leto. Kate Dippold wrote the script.
The plot centers on a woman (Dawson) and her son (Dillon) who enlist a motley crew of so-called spiritual experts to help rid their home (yes, that home) of supernatural squatters.
The opening shot of the trailer and some hat(box)-tips inside the house will be familiar to all who have been to Disneyland, and the comic-fright balance seems right especially thanks to the vibe put out by Stanfield and Wilson, with Roy Orbison’s “House Without Windows” playing in the background.
Simien introduced the movie originally last summer at Comic-Con, where fans saw a fuller trailer for the film based on the ride that debuted at Disneyland in 1969 with characters including Madame Leota, the skeletal Bride and the cloaked Hatbox Ghost. Eddie Murphy starred in a 2003 movie version.
“For me, there was something about that ride I felt was there in the [new] script,” said Simien, who worked at Disneyland one summer and said Haunted Mansion was his favorite ride. “It was funny and full of interesting characters, but with a dark edge to it. I just related to it. It felt I knew how to make it. I love New Orleans and I felt I had a responsibility here to make sure all the little Easter eggs are there.”
Dan Lin and Jonathan Eirich are producers. Nick Reynolds and Tom Peitzman are executive producers.
Check out the trailer above and the new poster below.
