Release: March 3, 2015
Focus: The Haunted Mansion (2003)
Tagline: General Zod is in the film... and it still sucks??? Oh yeah, because when I think Haunted Mansion, my first thought is Eddie Murphy!
This review provides examples of:
- Actor Allusion: In-Universe, the Critic recognizes Ramsley as Terence Stamp, who also did General Zod.
- Bait-and-Switch: In-Universe, Kanye West (Malcolm) as Goliath says "I'm stoned by day, and batshit-crazy monster by night… also i'm apparently in a movie."
- Call-Back
- According to the Critic, Eddie Murphy's role as Jim Evers makes as much sense as Will Ferrell as Batman (from The Dark Knight Trilogy), Sarah Silverman in Sophie, or even Pierce Brosnan as one of the three possible dads from Mamma Mia!... which he just reviewed a fortnight ago.
- Also, he compares the film's plot (a neglectful black father trying to prove his love for his family) to that of Ghost Dad.
- When the Critic discovers that General Zod is now reduced to a porn actor, "Dawg" and Tina (now played by Tamara) reappear to persuade him to resume work, but not before Zod makes allusions to the time when Superman zapped his genitals.
- Casting Gag: Doug once again plays Zod, a role he hasn't reprised since 2013.
- Follow the Leader: The Critic acknowledges the film's origins in Disney attempting to ride on the wave of the popularity of Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl by creating another movie based on a theme park ride, only for it to fare poorly in comparison.
- The Precious, Precious Car: Critic pokes fun at how blatantly this is telegraphed, and also at how meager the pay-off is (by the time the car gets damaged, he's already moved on to caring more about his family).
- Questionable Casting: In-Universe, this is the Critic's biggest complaint about the film — it's not that Eddie Murphy is not funny (though he made good movies few and far in between), it's just that he's ill-fitted to star in a horror-comedy flick.
- Trailer Spoof: The two halves of the review are divided with a "trailer" for a Gargoyles live-action adaptation with just as much blatant miscasting as this film, starring Kanye West (Malcolm) as Goliath, Ellen DeGeneres (Tamara) as Elisa Maza and Kevin Costner (Doug) as Xanatos.
That is absurd.
