Eddie Murphy stars in this spooky story as a hard-sell real estate agent who on his way out for a weekend away with his family makes a little detour to see about representing the owner of Gracey Manor (the haunted mansion) for its sale. Little do he and his family know but the seller is more interested in his family than selling the house. Murphy first suspects something is awry by the graveyard in the back of the house, not to mention a few ghosts looming around the dilapidated place. This is where the adventure starts and all he wants to do is escape the Haunted Mansion.Eddie Murphy is back at it here with his multiple funny guy personalities. He has always made me laugh, especially in the Nutty Professor. That said, with each new film, the laughs are more and more infrequent. Yes, there are some funny one liners here but the jokes are simply too sparse. Along with Murphy is a cast of Jennifer Tilly, Wallace Shawn and Marsha Thomason, who are all simply props for Eddie. The acting here is what you’d expect for a one man show – completely supportive. Eddie Murphy is due for a funny one, and I am still waiting…

Video

The 1080P 2.35:1 transfer is as sharp as any I have seen. In fact, it is so sharp that occasionally you are distracted by Murphy’s facial make up! Blu-ray has another winning transfer here. Color saturation is very good and accurate. Although most of the movie is shot in the dark, the dimly lit scenes, and some better lit scenes, lack necessary contrast. I really noticed it in shots of his wife (her hair in particular). Blacks seemed somewhat crushed in a few instances as well. Overall, blacks were deep and in most scenes, the contrast was adequate. There was some noise noted in the background of a few scenes (mainly in the first 10 minutes) but seemed to disappear after that. No edge enhancements or other artifacts were noted either. All-in-all, this is a very good transfer that contained but a few anomalies.

Audio

I selected the Dolby Digital 5.1 track for audio. I am a dialog stickler and though 95% of the dialog in this film was perfectly integrated and easily intelligible, there were a couple scenes (Jennifer Tilly’s lines) where the dialog was mic’d too close and lines were broken up and edgy. Yes, she plays a head locked in a crystal ball but that is no excuse for screechy dialog! But that is the only nit pick. Surround activity was generous and often with many off screen effects. The cawing of the many black birds was really creepy as they seemed to be all over the room. This film boasts great use of the surrounds! Dynamic range was also first rate. Crackling thunder and lightning as well other smashes and crashes will have you leaping from your seat a few times during this film. Bass was also very strong with deep pulses that will test the mettle of your subwoofer. I found my ButtKicker seat vibrators actually bottomed out at one occasion. Bass is deep into the very low, sub 20 Hz frequencies, and could be system threatening – so be careful at high levels of playback. An excellent soundtrack!

Special Features

• 2nd Audio track: with Producer Don Hahn and Costume and Video Effects personnel OR Director Rob Minkoff and the Costume designer.
• Anatomy of a Scene: Ghost in the Graveyard: This is a “how did they do that” segment featuring the Cemetery scene from the film. The scene is 2 minutes in length but required many Blue Screen shots and other specialty shots and took over 2 days to film. Interesting stuff!
• Movie Showcase: Featurette of the major action sequences in the film. This seems to be a Blu Ray staple. It provides quick access to the best demo scenes.
• Blu-Scape short Film presentation of “Grave Spirits”: This short piece directed by Louie Schwartzberg is a 5 minute HD film. The score is powerful and well recorded and the HD presentation is excellent as well. It is filled with creepy images and sounds from a graveyard and tells a little story about a young, buried girl there.
• History of the “Haunted Mansion” attraction at the Disney them park: This is a history of how the almost 50 year old attraction came to be at Disney. It includes footage from the 50s and Walt Disney himself. It breaks down the design, rumors, ride and everything else you ever wanted to know about this major attraction.

Final Thoughts

This Disney presentation is an offering that the whole family should enjoy. Yes, the story reminded me of Casper and Beauty and the Beast as the story itself is nothing new. That said, the effects were just great and the excellent soundtrack and picture provided a great bit of fun. The film is loaded with extras relative to other Blu-ray offerings as well. Overall, I liked the film and contents of the disc. This is a great film for the whole family – especially the younger kids.