Haunted Mansion director 'obsessed' over specific camera angle in Disney movie

Justin Simien must be somewhat relieved now that his Haunted Mansion movie is out of the way.

Screening in UK cinemas from August 11, the latest effort to turn Disneyland's beloved attraction into a Hollywood hit - don't talk to us about the Eddie Murphy stinker of 2003 - features Rosario Dawson (Ahsoka) as Gabbie, whose new home Gracey Manor has a rather annoying spectral issue.

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In conversation with Entertainment Weekly, director Simien revealed the lengths he went to in recreating those first spine-chilling moments of the ride experience.

"We got down to the point where we were obsessing over the angle you first see the mansion when you walk onto the ride in Disneyland, when we see it through the gates and we see the pillars," he said.

"That angle has to hit. That's how specific we were. When you first glide through the dining hall and you see the waltzing dancers, that angle had to be right, because that's the one where you gasp on the ride."

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Meanwhile, the filmmaker, who made his name with Dear White People, also weighed in on Haunted Mansion's toughest Easter egg to spot.

"There's a painting on the wall of the seance room that people don't really notice. It's the painting of the woman who ages slowly as you walk by her, and, if you look at that painting throughout the film, she ages as you get closer to the end of the film," revealed Simien.

"Gradually, through the film, she gets older, just like she does on the ride."

Haunted Mansion is scheduled to hit UK cinemas on August 11.

Watch: Haunted Mansion premieres in Hollywood without its actors