The Haunted Mansion remains, to this day, one of the most enduring and popular of Disneyland rides. A stalwart fixture of the parks, this eerie dark adventure first opened 53 years ago and has enthralled tourists for decades. Haunted Mansion represents the second time the ride has been adapted and expanded into a film, and whilst it has some merits, it seldom compares with the thrills of a five-minute theme park ride.

Screenwriter Katie Dippold‘s love for the original ride is apparent from the off, her screenplay akin to giant melting pot of ideas that utilises the key moments from the ride (the sinking room, moving suits of armour, Madame Leota’s levitating crystal ball) and somewhat successfully combines them into a decent narrative. However, whilst devotees of the ride will thrill at the references peppered throughout, the film as a whole feels rather inconsequential.

The problem with Haunted Mansion is that it feels pulled in too many directions tonally. The film is never quite funny enough or scary enough, and the emotional character beats, whilst sweet and good intentioned, don’t always land. Moments here and there work, and some moments will creep out the young ‘uns, but there’s simply too much going on and too many characters jostling for screen-time in a rather packed-out 2 hours.

The excellent cast are therefore largely underserved, particularly Rosario Dawson and Owen Wilson, who barely register here at all as the titular mansion’s tenant and an out-of-his-depth priest respectively. LaKeith Stanfield proves to be a likeable lead and gets some nice moments to shine, particularly in the film’s more melancholy moments, whilst Danny DeVito is an entertaining presence as an eccentric professor, though sadly his character also features a lot less then one would prefer. Thankfully we have Tiffany Haddish here too, who steals the show as the spirited medium Harriet, both in a comedic and serious sense. Haddish brings a lot of warmth and soul to a rather one-note character, and her key moments are some of the biggest highlights of the film.

Also of note is the film’s inspired mix of practical effects, prosthetics, CGI and animation, which all coalesces in order to bring the film (and its rather dead antagonists) to life in a way that looks and feels exciting and inventive. Director Justin Simien wisely uses different techniques to achieve the film’s supernatural effects, and whilst some aspects work better than others, there are more successes than failures here in terms of the visual gags and ghostly set-pieces.

Largely inoffensive and fun in places, but mostly forgettable as a whole, Haunted Mansion is hampered by a bloated cast, an unsteady tone and an overlong story. Like any good thrill-ride, there are moments that hit the spot, but these moments are few in number and very spaced out. Try as it might, this new version of Haunted Mansion lacks the charge and power of the original experience, and ultimately feels more akin to a low-rent Fun Fair ghost train then the grandaddy of haunted theme park attractions.

Haunted Mansion comes to Disney+ and arrives on digital retail from 4 October