Haunted Mansion (2023)-- Movie Ending Explained with spoilers

 

Plot: Ben is recruited by Father Kent to help Gabbie and her son Travis from the hauntings of their newly acquired mansion.

It was in 2003 that The Haunted Mansion, starring Eddie Murphy came out. The movie was based on a Walt Disney theme park attraction.

The movie was panned by critics but managed to earn well at the box office.

And so, a reboot was decided which took years to go into production.

Titled HAUNTED MANSION, the movie came out in July 2023 and unfortunately did not do well. The critics panned it and the movie was a proper box office failure.

But is Haunted Mansion really not worth a watch?

HAUNTED MANSION is actually a pretty decent movie that can be watched with the family. The actors do justice to their roles and there are some well-written comedy scenes that seamlessly help the story flow well.

HAUNTED MANSION Plot

At a party in New Orleans, Ben meets Alyssa and sparks fly when he gives up a drink to impress her. He then shows off about being an astrophysicist and sort of makes fun of Alsyssa for being a tour guide for haunted houses.

Alyssa fortunately has a thicker skin and invites him to one of her tours. Ben is immediately intrigued and clearly smitten by her.

Time passes and we next see a grumpy Ben with longer hair, getting up in a shabby apartment. He goes to a bar where even the bartender remarks that he stinks of yesterday. Ben reluctantly goes to his eager customers who can't wait to visit the ghost houses. Ben immediately douses their enthusaism by pointing out that there are no such things as ghosts and nothing happens after you die.

He then tells them that he has been to several haunted houses but has never experienced anything even remotely scary. The customers don't appear to have their spirits dampened and continue to be dazzled by the sights of haunted houses.

As this scene plays out, we see a red car with U-Haul attached to it, roaming about.

At night, Gabbie gets out of the car with her son Travis, in front of a mansion.

While Gabbie is having an argument with the movers, Travis goes to the front door that magically opens. He steps inside and begins to explore the mansion in his own. Gabbie is planning to turn the mansion into a bed and breakfast and is still busy on the phone so she doesn't notice Travis going off on his own and encountering a ghost.

Travis runs down to tell his mother about his encounter. She tries to comfort him but Travis is looking at a knight armor behind her.

In a blink of an eye, it is standing behind Travis and Gabbie decides that nope, she's not up for this. The two run but a ghost behind them proclaims that they will return.

We then see Ben awaken in the morning by incessant knocking. He ignores it, especially when he hears a man's voice asking for him. It is whe he hears his front door open that he jumps into action. He tells the stranger to get lost but the man claims to be a priest and introduces himself as Father Kent.

He straight away asks Ben if he would like to be a hero to which Ben quickly replies with a hard no. Father Kent then tells him about Gabbie and Travis' predicament with the mansion. Since Ben used to be an astrophysicist and apparently created a camera that can capture ghost images, Father Kent wants him to assist.

Ben again refuses, claiming that does not want to drive all the way to the middle of nowhere to take pictures of ghosts.

Father Kent tells him that Gabbie is paying $2000 for his time and Ben immediately asks for the address.

Once he reaches there, Gabbie opens the door and has dressed herself in homely clothes. She gives Ben the choice to turn back since he cannot walk away from the hauntings once he enters.

Ben scoffs at her and asks for the money upfront. Realizing he will not budge, Gabbie invites him in and tells him about all the hauntings she has experienced so far. Ben does not believe her and pretends to take pictures by making clicking sounds. Gabbie may or may not have bought it.

Ben sees a large picture of a fisherman and again scoffs at the idea of there actually being a haunting. 

He decides to leave after sort of bonding with Travis. Mother and son watch him leave and decide to wait on their porch.

At home, Ben finds himself being haunted. He manages to take a picture with his camera and sees a ghost sitting on his couch who looks like the man in the picture he saw at the mansion. There are wet footprints everywhere and when he goes to the door and finds a cat there, he also sees a stream of water. When he opens the front door, he finds his living room completely immersed in turbulent waters that thrust Ben outside.

Ben returns to the mansion and demands to know what is going on. Gabbie tells him that she would not be staying in the house and put her son in danger if she could escape it.

Ben advises they use an Exorcist. Cue Father Kent's entry who tells him that he tried that too but it resulted in him being brought back a ghost who wanted him to return.

The only safe place in the mansion happens to be the living room where Travis has already set up a tent. Father Kent is unwilling to give up his couch. Ben is determined to seek out the truth rather than sleep.

He sees several portraits but finds the the hallways are elongated and he is nowhere near the others. A ghost then tells him that he will be happy to take Ben's soul.

In the morning, the group discusses on how to move forward and decide to learn more about the man who owned the mansion, Gracey.

They meet with Professor Bruce who helps them out by telling them the story of Gracey and how he committed suicide after his wife passed away. He also has blueprints on the mansion that Ben and Kent try to make Bruce give to them. Bruce insists on getting involved and visiting the mansion but Ben distracts him and steals the papers.

The next stop is a medium called Harriet who Ben is certain is a phony. She asks whether they have met a person with the letter G in their name. Kent tells her that she did guess right and they have met someone called Gary. Harried immediately tells him that she knows he is lying and the person they have met is Gabbie.

Harriet is invited to visit the mansion and she claims to be surrounded by a grieving spirit. She then leaves and returns two hours later after having a ghost horse run through her bedroom walls. She screams at Gabbie for not warning her and is ashamed of Father Kent.

Ben busies himself with putting up cameras all around the mansion to spot ghosts.

The group then holds a seance and  Harriet warns them not to break the circle no matter what. The first time Harriet begins to snore and Ben, who is cynical about everything, tries to wake her up. Finally, Harriet is able to conduct the seance and summon Gracey. Ben takes a picture with his camera and finds Gracey has indeed come but prefers to communicate through a letter. He writes, "Talk to Leota" in cursive.

Harriet realizes he means the greatest medium ever to live and immediately calls for her but the ghosts in the house push her out by making her sit on a high chair and give her a ride straight out and into the mud.

She is finally out of the house but she was hoping for a way that didn't include her taking a mud bath.

The others come to help Harriet and then see Bruce drive towards the house. Ben sprints behind his car to stop him but Bruce is determined to get his papers back.

Bruce is given the same treatment by the ghosts except he is thrown further and needs to be hospitalized.

Ben and Gabbie come to see him and notice the ghosts have come to harass Bruce until he is coerced into moving into the mansion.

At the mansion, the Hatbox Ghost keeps trying to stir up trouble. He makes Ben believe he has seen Alyssa. Bruce suggests they check the attic for Leota's ghost.

They find the crystal ball in which Leota was trapped by the Hatbox Ghost after she tried to help Gracey make contact with his dead wife Eleanor. She ends up opening the door for the spirits which now haunt the mansion. She also tells them that the Hatbox Ghost trapped Leota in the crystal ball and that he wants a thousand souls to come to full power. He just needs one more soul.

Harriet believes they need to use a banishment spell to send him away and need an item that belonged to the Hatbox ghost in order to do that.

Harriet plans to enter the ghost realm and try to banish Hatbox Ghost. The group is now close enough to share their stories. Harriet talks to Ben about how she lost her father and that since she and her father loved trains, whenever she believes that whenever she hears a train whistle, that is akin to a ghost wink. Ben is moved by the story.

The group gather and are ready with bells to wake up Harriet should she end up staying longer in the ghost realm. However, it is Ben who is pulled into the ghost realm where he meets Gracey who asks him to not let Hatbox Ghost win. Hatbox Ghost ends up possessing Ben and the others have to ring the bells to wake Ben up.

Harriet is miffed that she wasn't able to enter the ghost realm. Ben tells him how Hatbox Ghost promised to give him whatever he wants. He tells his new friends how Alyssa was barely fit, ate a lot of junk and on the day she died, she had been out getting tater tots and ice cream.

As he is crying and Harriet remarks that he is the grieving spirit she has been sensing all this time, Bruce asks if Alyssa ever checked her cholestrol levels which lead to Ben chuckling.

Ben wonders if Alyssa knew how much he loved her but his new friends assure him that she did. Ben seems unsure about that.

Bruce also suggests they try to find out the real identity of Hatbox Ghost and suggest they go see a sketch artist at the police station. The sketch artist is baffled at the description but manages to create a decebt likeness to the ghost Ben has seen.

The group then manages to find out the identity of Hatbox Ghost who used to be a man called Alistair Crump. His tragic story was about his father throwing him out of the house after he cried to much at his mother's funeral. Shunned by the society, Alistair went away only to return as a wealthy tycoon. He threw lavish parties and invited all the people who had turned his backs on him. Since Alistair also dabbled in black magic, he was able to kill those he believed to be his enemies.

One night, sick of the abuse, Alistair's servants beheaded him. His head was never found which leads the group to realize that they need to find something that belonged to the ghost fast to banish him once and for all.

Crump's ghost tries to hurt the group since they have learned of his story.

Ben, Kent, and Travis manage to drive away to safety and head for Crump's manor where they hope to find Alistair's personal possession.

At one point, Kent confesses that he really isn't a priest and that he used to work at a Halloween store and was mistaken to be one and so went along with it.

They join a group who are taking a heritage tour. The tour guides look disinterested and irritated by Ben's constant questioning regarding if everything in the mansion is just a replica or the real thing.

Eventually, the trio head to basement and send Travis in since he is the only one small enough to enter the space. Travis quickly finds a top hat and the skull underneath.

The trio head back to the mansion only to find Harriet and Gabbie missing. Bruce greets them and serves them drinks. Travis is still in the car and talking to his father.

Ben and Kent realize Bruce has been possessed and serving them poison, just in time. They free Harriet and Gabbie who have been tied up. They try to use the banishment spell using the tophat but Bruce throws it into the fireplace.

Gabbie wants to know where Travis is and Ben tells her he is talking to his father. Gabbie says it is impossible considering her husband has died.

Travis is lured to the basement but Ben stops him and explains that his father would never want him to be hurt and he would want him to be safe with his mother.

Angry that his plans are failing, Crump sends ghosts after the group.

HAUNTED MANSION Ending Spoilers

The ghosts controlled by Crump come out to wreak havoc but Kent asks them if they really chose the right side and that Crump did not care about them.

The ghost army considers this information while Harriet seeks out Leota and frees her from the crystal ball.

Outside,  Ben decides to give himself up to Crump who entices him by suggesting that he will be able to see Alyssa again. Harriet and Leota appear and Ben tells them that nope, he wasn't going to actually do it and was tricking Crump.

Bruce appears with the remains of the top hat so that Leota and Harriet can perform the banishment spell.

Crump tries one last time to convince Ben to give himself up by saying he will be able to tell Alyssa that he loves her. Ben tells him that he knows his wife knew how much he loved her. He then cries out to Harriet and Leota to banish Alistair and they have to say it thrice before he is finally sent to the underworld.

Later, Leota returns to the crystal ball but the other ghosts that haunt the mansion, decide to stay on and have a party every night.

Ben goes home and finds the cat that keeps roaming outside his house. He wonders what his name is and sees that his collar says Tater Tots. Ben immediately decides to adopt him rather than find out who its true owners are.

Some time passes and Ben goes up to the mansion to see Gabbie who has invited the others for a party too.

Harriet has embraced herself as a true medium. Kent has decided to become a true minister.

Much later, Ben and Travis go up to the docks and let the fisherman's ghost steal a boat.

The movie ends.

HAUNTED MANSION is an entertaining movie that will keep your interest throughout. However,  the story lacks a standout character that could have helped turn this movie into a franchise.

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