Nicely, I suppose sooner or later there needed to be a present to come back out of this superb surge in grownup animation that may disappoint me. Massive components of Netflix’s new animated enterprise, Haunted Hotel, do not decide to the grownup half — it’s, by and thru, weakly making an attempt to capitalize on one leisure development or one other.
Haunted Lodge follows the Freeling household: latest divorcée Katherine (Eliza Coupe), who has taken over the lodge she inherited from her brother, shifting there along with her two youngsters, Esther (Natalie Palamides) and Ben (Skyler Gisondo). Nevertheless, the Undervale Lodge is massively haunted by a wide range of monsters and ghosts, together with that of Katherine’s late brother Nathan (Will Forte).
It is basically Gravity Falls meets Ghosts meets Hazbin Lodge. The Haunted Lodge workforce comes up with many splendidly putting and kooky ghosts, whereas the principle characters are all charismatic and well-acted, at the least as people. The often spectacular animation and Halloween-style hijinks are pleasurable, however the sequence is comparatively flat in any other case.
Haunted Lodge Fails At Millennial Humor
Haunted Lodge‘s premise is robust sufficient, and its execution truly proves how wealthy the narrative might be. Whereas it’s categorized as grownup animation, the story components that may earn it a extra mature score are scarce, which makes these sequences really feel misplaced, and the entire thing a bit tonally inconsistent.
A extra evident difficulty is that loads of Haunted Lodge‘s humor comes off as lazy, bizarre, or the weaker model of a joke we have heard elsewhere (largely within the exhibits that clearly impressed it). The millennial-to-Gen Z comedic subgenre of nihilism and metatextuality is not lifeless but; Haunted Lodge simply lacks the intelligence and timing of its contemporaries.
That is to not say there aren’t some genuinely intelligent and humorous moments, although they’re far and few. And whereas some punchlines go too far off track into an uncomfortable place, others stem from a whole gimmick being closely spinoff.
Rounding out the principle forged is Abaddon (Jimmi Simpson), a centuries-old demon trapped within the physique of an 18th-century boy. He continuously talks about homicide and torture — however clearly is not any form of horrible menace to the human characters — and might’t wrap his head round trendy know-how and tradition (despite the fact that he has had loads of time to be taught).
Abaddon is even laugh-out-loud humorous at occasions, however he’s basically a unique model of King from The Owl House, with much less justification for him being so clueless. Whilst I used to be critiquing the humor and figuring out which one-episode B-plots had been recycled from outdated tropes, I did have enjoyable watching Haunted Lodge, which evokes chuckles if not breathless laughter. Issues often veer into full-blown horror plots, one other aspect that earns a spot on the listing of shows to watch if you like Gravity Falls.
Haunted Lodge’s Household Storylines Are Heartfelt However Incohesive
If there may be an ethical we’re supposed to remove from Haunted Lodge, it’s most likely the final word significance of household and friendship. The Freeling household is coping with loads of upheaval, with barely tense dynamics value exploring.
There are a couple of one-off subplots a few explicit household battle, that are resolved inside the episode and are totally forgettable. Nevertheless, one standout storyline focuses on the supernatural components clashing with Esther feeling deserted by her neglectful father, and the dialog of how Nathan’s dying affected Katherine might be additional developed into one thing worthwhile.
Moreover, Abaddon is the star within the season finale, backed right into a nook you seemingly noticed coming, the place he’s compelled to reevaluate his relationship with the Freelings, notably black magic-savvy Esther. The present depends on a unique trope at this level in a intelligent manner, and Abaddon’s final resolution is visually well-framed.
Sadly, these components do not come collectively sharply sufficient to make you replicate on the relationships in your personal life. If you’ll indulge me with yet one more Gravity Falls comparability, Haunted Lodge was properly arrange for the same story concerning the parallels between two generations of siblings, however Esther and Ben’s relationship appears high-quality and regular.
Haunted Lodge has a serviceable story, robust animation, and respectable characters, however lacks that additional zest to raise past low-key vacation leisure. It is probably not involved with the struggling lodge storyline in any respect, and it will be too clearly like a number of different animated tv exhibits from the final 10 years.
- Launch Date
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September 19, 2025
- Community
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Netflix
- Administrators
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Erica Hayes
- Typically pleasurable and really spirited viewing for Halloween with full of life characters
- Designs and world-building are wealthy, with a lot of wacky, enjoyable ghosts
- The plot is borrowing too many ideas from different TV exhibits; it’d work higher if viewers haven?t seen this media
- The humor is weak a lot of the time, coming throughout as clichéd moderately than amusing
- The power of the household storylines is mitigated by their lack of cohesion
