MPAA Rating: PG
Distributor: Buena Vista Pictures
Director: Rob Minkoff
Actors: starring Eddie Murphy as Jim Evers, Marsha Thomason as Sara Evers, Terence Stamp as the butler Ramsley, Nathaniel Parker as Master Gracey, Marc John Jefferies as Michael, Aree Davis as Megan.

When Sara Evers receives a spooky phone call, she and her realtor husband, Jim, decide to check out a mansion as a possible real estate deal. But when they gather their two children and drive to the location, they get more than they bargained for. Dad’s famous last words? “It’ll be 20 minutes, tops!” Twenty hours is more like it.

Thunder rolls, lighting flashes ferociously and rain gushes down in torrents as the dripping family is ushered into the foyer. The butler is greatly disappointed that Sara brought her clan with her and secretly rallies his legion of ghouls to isolate her. He succeeds, and Sara is delivered into the care of Master Gracey. Gracey (dead for decades) uses their solitude to attempt to woo Sara (he thinks she is his deceased fiancée reincarnated). Meanwhile, kindlier ghosts send Jim and the kids on a scavenger hunt with promises that upon its completion, they'll be able to save Sara.

Sometimes everything's fun and games, like when marching band instruments chase Jim through the hallways. Other times, things get creepier and much more serious. In one scene, evil spirits swirl into the room from all directions, and a fiery devil ascends to pull them into hell. During Jim's race to save Sara, he and Megan are forced to fight off dozens of decaying corpses who stumble out of their coffins. Rotted flesh hangs off visible skeletons as they gnash their teeth and blindly grope at their victims. God's name is used in vain several times, along with other profanities.

Although the Evers family sticks up for one another and Dad learns to put his family first, this spooky flick ignores what the Bible says is true. It’s scary and gross images of ghosts are not appropriate for kids. Our advice: Haunt some other holiday movie—this Mansion's no bargain.

NOTE: Our comments are not meant to endorse or discredit any particular film; they're just a way for you and your parents to make informed decisions about what enters your eyes and ears (Philippians 4:8).

	Q: What do you get when an antelope and a caribou collide? A: A cantaloupe. Jacy and Joe C., 8 and 6, North Carolina Clubhouse Jr. Click here to subscribe