Frighteningly bland and tonally jarring, Disney’s Haunted Mansion scares up another unnecessary theme-park-ride-to-movie adaptation (not to mention reboot). It’s not a total loss however, as Justin Simien’s family film does serve as a great showcase for LaKeith Stanfield as Ben. No question about it, the Oscar nominated actor is the MVP here, making the most out of the contrived narrative with a surprisingly emotional and heartfelt turn. Unfortunately, the rest of the performances range from simply amusing (Tiffany Haddish) to downright scenery chewing (Jamie Lee Curtis). And while Owen Wilson and Danny DeVito provide a helping of silly entertainment, their talents are all but wasted – as is poor Rosario Dawson, whose single mother character is relegated more and more to the background as the movie goes on. And goes on it does, with the 2-hour plus runtime being padded with fluff and needless filler. Guys, this could have easily been a 90-minute movie! There’s also a real issue with the film’s tone. The genuine affectingness ends up getting railroaded by lame humour more times than not, while the jumpy frights never make much of an impression. Sure, there are plenty of fun nods to the Disney theme park ride and a fairly slick production design on display, but an overload of uninspired CGI and flat dialogue make for a laboriously forgettable ride!