From the creators of Rick and Morty comes a horror-tinged Netflix oddity with a killer hook. At a breezy ten episodes, Haunted Hotel is an easy-to-recommend binge that pays tribute to all manner of genre iconography. Along for the ride is an all-star vocal cast that perfectly fit their respective roles. The five core roles that make up the dysfunctional family unit at the center of the chaos have a unique chemistry together that feels rife for future installments. Maybe a larger overarching story would have created a bit more thrust to the proceedings; however, the easy-watch nature of this sublime surprise feels timeless. An early spooky season delight, Haunted Hotel presents a bloody, campy burst of cartoonish mayhem.
Family matriarch Kathy (Eliza Coupe) has just inherited sprawling hotel, The Undervale, owned by her recently-deceased brother, Nathan (Will Forte). There’s just one small problem: haunting the place are spirits, demons, the supernatural, and literal masked murderers. There’s even a ghost train for good measure! Bizarrely enough, Uncle Nathan is still in the picture, too: his ghostly presence keeps Kathy and her two kids company as they grapple with the realities of a business overflowing with the strange and unusual. Thirteen-year-old Ben (Skyler Gisondo) develops a fling with a flapper spirit trying to take advantage of his conduit abilities; Ben’s sister, the young Esther (Natalie Palamides), emboldens a fascination with the eerie occurrences at the hotel. Meanwhile, the seemingly invincible Abaddon (Jimmi Simpson), an all-powerful demon that has taken the shape of a preteen boy, always seems up to no good.
Each family member remains constantly on the precipice of a real death, but one would assume they could remain in the picture anyway—dying on the grounds can trap a ghost there so long as they have unfinished business. The series pretty much resets to the status quo at the end of each episode, with our group of five central players still struggling to stay afloat in the difficult hotel landscape. A sandbox of horror movie references keeps each entry feeling fresh and distinct. The creatives clearly have a blast in tackling various horror tropes and subgenres. From slashers to possessions to parasitic invaders, Haunted Hotel packs a hell of a punch in its exploration of the genre at large. We barely see the actual hotel guests, but each time we do, they tend to leave a mark. Far more interesting are the ghosts—folks like Manson-esque Stabby Paul or the oddball Candle Ghost recur throughout the run thus far.
The perfect horror-comedy tone still leaves plenty of room to develop the family dynamics. Coexisting with the undead brings its own unique set of challenges specific to each character. Nathan acts more as a kind of moderator at times between Kathy and the other ghosts, who are reluctant to have her now steering the ship. Ben’s hormonal brain see him constantly distracted by a cute girl or unique opportunities such as a diary that writes back to its author, or a mirror that grants idealized wish-versions of the boy into reality. Esther could be friends with Beetlejuice‘s Lydia Deets—her obsession with the hotel’s hidden secrets often finds her getting into trouble. Her knack for manipulating ghosts and ability to see everything around her as a puzzle to be solved certainly comes in handy during some of the trickier situations. Kathy, meanwhile, tries to maintain normalcy in the face of the constant chaos; she still ends up enshrined by issues as the reluctant overseer of a hotel hellgate. Childlike and petulant, Abaddon gets into trouble on his way to becoming a fan-favorite character. In the season finale, Abaddon is quite a standout, and proves his worth.
Under the absurd pressure of the hotel’s colorful guests, the family ties weave believable relationships. Kathy and her brother have a notably tangible connection, whilst the siblings are more traditionally competitive with one another, as siblings are wont to do. The concierge of the whole series though is creator Matt Roller. Roller’s voice can be felt through all of Haunted Hotel, infusing the animated show with a wild creativity and non-stop movie references. While the future may be unclear, it’s easy to see the series becoming a long-running Netflix mainstay a la Big Mouth, riding off the simplicity of its premise. As an avid horror fanatic, this one checks all the right boxes, and leaves us hungry for more.
Check in for a spook at the Haunted Hotel, debuting exclusively to Netflix on Friday, September 19th.
