Critic Reviews

• Rick Groen, Globe and Mail

  Along comes Marlon Wayans to do in A Haunted House what he once did in Scary Movie. And do it much, much worse.

• Josh Tapper, Toronto Star

  A movie that offends every moral sensibility but delivers few comedic rewards.

• Sherilyn Connelly, Village Voice

  Does it even qualify as a movie? Why did it take two people to write and cost $2.5 million to make?

• Tom Russo, Boston Globe

  You might chuckle at Wayans huddled in the tub, frantically trying to scrub himself clean of something slightly more earthly-freaky than evil spirits. But watching him get it on with stuffed animals? Ick.

• Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times

  There are vague hints that the story is "really" about the difficulties and anxiety of commitment, but then one of many variations on a fart joke distracts from any actual idea.

• Neil Genzlinger, New York Times

  If the opening gag in your R-rated movie is an extended flatulence joke you should reconsider whether you're qualified to make such a movie.

• Paul Chambers, Movie Chambers

  Truly one of the worst horror spoofs of all time, and there have been some hideous failures over the years. Poorly written, repetitive and offensive on every level without being funny. Wait, I'm just getting started.

• Dave White, Movies.com

  I thought coming down with the flu would be the worst thing to happen to me this week. But that was a few days ago when I was still sweating it out in bed and coughing up my lungs... before my immune system was further compromised by A Haunted House.

• A.A. Dowd, Time Out Chicago

  You know a fright-flick craze is in danger of running its course when Marlon Wayans comes along to broadly, belatedly spoof it.

• Liz Braun, Jam! Movies

  A Haunted House is just what you'd expect of a spoof aimed squarely at adolescent males.

• Jackie K. Cooper, jackiekcooper.com

  Gross, annoying, boring, stupid and above all not funny!

• Kimberley Jones, Austin Chronicle

  It's like watching a snuff film, only it's the audience who's dying inside.

• John Hazelton, Screen International

  Marlon Wayans takes comedic aim at Paranormal Activity and its ilk but scores precious few hits.

• Todd Jorgenson, Cinemalogue.com

  The concept relies too heavily on crude gags that feel more desperate than inspired.

• Cole Smithey, ColeSmithey.com

  Mining the spoof genre he helped reenergize with the "Scary Movie" franchise, Marlon Wayans comes up short with a well-worn scattershot approach that rarely connects with audience funny bones.

• Sandy Schaefer, ScreenRant

  There's no reason to reward or encourage any of the people involved with A Haunted House to continue making this type of off-putting (and disposable) raunch-fest.

• Jeremy Wheeler, TV Guide's Movie Guide

  This found-footage spoof impresses right out of the gate, because in the first five minutes one sacred movie taboo is thrown out the window and pummeled to absolutely absurd lengths.

• Chris Hewitt (St. Paul), St. Paul Pioneer Press

  Who thinks it's high time for a movie that spoofs The Blair Witch Project? Hands! Anyone? Anyone? No?

• Michael Nordine, Slant Magazine

  If you're wondering why A Haunted House exists alongside the upcoming Scary Movie 5 rather than instead of it, you may already have given the subject more thought than Marlon Wayans had hoped.

• Kevin Carr, 7M Pictures

  exactly what you'd expect from a spoof of found footage movies released in January without advanced screenings for critics

Read all 20 critic reviews