After giving us a short teaser a few months ago, Disney dropped the full trailer of their upcoming horror-comedy, Haunted Mansion.  And honestly, it looks genuinely creepy, at least for a Disney movie…

We’re treated to dark and creepy settings with jump scares and imagery that feels like a cross between The Further from Insidious and the vibrantly colored ghosts from 2016’s Ghostbusters.  Let’s not count that second point against the movie just yet though.

There’s a genuine sense of danger present, especially as we see one character open a door, just to have a spear thrown at him and just nearly miss killing him.  The trailer boasts that it’s from the same studio that did Pirates of the Caribbean, and that feels like a very apt comparison in terms of tone.

Pirates (the original at least) demonstrated that you could have action, violence, and even some creepy scares, but still maintain an overall fun tone that made the movie enjoyable to watch, that feels very much the case here.  The movie has a strong ensemble with the likes of Danny DeVito, Jamie Lee Curtis, LaKeith Stanfield, Rosario Dawson, Owen Wilson, and many more.

It also doesn’t feel like the humor is at the expense of the horror, which was very much an issue with the 2003 attempt to adapt this theme park ride into a movie.  That one went all in on Eddie Murphy’s post-Shrek stardom, and it didn’t pay off.

At the same time, it looks like a great piece of gateway horror for kids.  It proudly wears its PG-13 rating and will likely be an excellent bridge to introduce kids to the idea of haunted house movies while they’re still too young for Poltergeist (which ironically, is rated PG).  But here, they’re name dropping things like possession and exorcism, which seems odd, but exciting for a Disney movie.
Haunted Mansion is releasing in theaters July 28, 2023! Check out the full trailer here!

What do you think of the new Haunted Mansion trailer?  Will you be seeing the movie? Let us know in the comments!

For more horror news, movie reviews, rankings, and other fun horror/Halloween content, follow Halloween Year-Round on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube!

You can also shop Halloween Year-Round merchandise on Redbubble and support us on Patreon!