Proving that not every Disney thrill ride translates into a thrilling film, The Haunted Mansion is a disappointingly dull attempt to cash in on the popularity of Pirates of the Caribbean. Eddie Murphy seems to have officially set his career on autopilot, content to take any role that provides him with a paycheck. Although I enjoyed him in Daddy Day Care, Murphy seems to have lost the comedic edge that once made him one of the most bankable stars in Hollywood. Here, he seems to be going through the motions, mugging and preening for the camera, but with an air of boredom.

        Perhaps it's because he realizes the script is a dud, taking an enormous amount of time to build to a climax intended to tug on heartstrings but comes across as silly and contrived.

        The biggest crimes committed, however, are against the otherwise wonderful Terence Stamp who must be suffering some sort of astronomical career crisis of his own to accept a role that requires him to remain absolutely expressionless while delivering lines cobbled together from a Scary Movie Speak 101 textbook.

        Most of the special effects are unspectacular, with the exception of Rick Barker's wonderful zombies that add much needed scares near film's end.

       The DVD package for The Haunted Mansion is pretty decent. The film is offered in both full-screen and 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen in 5.1 Dolby Digital. As you might expect from Disney, the DVD is loaded with interesting bonus features including: two commentary tracks with the crew offering various insights into the film; 'The Haunted Mansion – Secrets Revealed', a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at various effects; 'Anatomy of a Scene: Ghosts In A Graveyard' which is another behind-the-scenes featurette profiling the blue screen work that went into the film's scene in which Murphy travels through the Mansion's backyard graveyard; 'Disney's DVD Virtual Ride: The Haunted Mansion' a virtual tour through Disney's attraction that you control with the arrows on your remote; one deleted scene; an outtakes reel that falls far short of what you might expect from a cast that includes Murphy; a cheesy music video featuring Raven singing a remake of Stevie Wonder's ‘Superstition'; and several DVD-ROM features that I did not have the inclination to check out for this review.

Overall, the only thing frightening about The Haunted Mansion is how poorly conceived it is. It's like one of those thrill rides that looks really good from the outside and then halfway through you realize you should have saved your money.