“Every hotel has its ghosts. Some just pay rent.”
Haunted Hotel is Netflix’s latest venture into adult rated animated comedy. The show was created by Matt Roller, writer on The Goldbergs and Rick and Morty, and revolves around a single mother who runs a haunted hotel that was left to her by her late brother, played by Will Forte. With a lineup like Disenchantment, Big Mouth, and Bojack Horseman, does Haunted Hotel float to the top, or is it better off left in purgatory?
First Impressions
“Fatigue is the price of abundance.”
When I first saw that Netflix was creating another animated adult comedy show, I was hesitant to check it out. I don’t know about you, but I’m starting to get a little bit of fatigue over the amount of adult animated shows there are. That’s not to say that the majority of them aren’t worth the watch, but it just seems like it’s starting to become a bit much. However, Will Forte’s comedy style plus the show releasing right around spooky season was enough to get me to at least give it a chance.
Animation
“Good ghosts deserve good lines—and clean outlines.”
Before I get into the real meat of the review, I can’t do an animated show review without briefly talking about the animation. In my opinion, this is the type of animation I like. I can appreciate the art style of shows like Rick and Morty and Big Mouth, but sometimes I just want regular looking human beings, and to me, this was the right show to have that. Each main character has their own bits of uniqueness and I felt that each ghost was brought to life with their design. The art style really gave the show that sitcom feel that other animated shows don’t have, which is understandable because they’re not meant to be sitcoms.
Comedy and Tone
“Not every laugh needs a dirty word.”
Moving on, one of the main things that I appreciated about Haunted Hotel, especially hearing that it was written by a writer on Rick and Morty, was that the comedy was not over the top with being crude just for the sake of being crude. When I saw “from the writer of Rick and Morty” I instantly thought that this was going to be another goofy, raunchy, pop-culture fest reference of a show. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that it was the complete opposite, minus the goofy. For me, I think that the crudeness of adult animation is what has played a big factor in my fatigue for the genre; I don’t need a sex joke every 5 minutes to make me laugh. That’s not to say that I’m a prude when it comes to my taste in comedy, I just feel like a lot of these shows, like Rick and Morty and Big Mouth, rely heavily on crudeness in order to get a cheap laugh. However, with Haunted Hotel, the comedy was far more playful and lighthearted, which was a great juxtaposition to the darkness that the show revolved around.
Atmosphere
“The afterlife, but make it livable.”
That leads me to my next point, this show did an amazing job at making a haunted hotel fun. I know that the show was not meant to be horror, but I did not think that I would find coziness in The Underveil. I was quite impressed that the writers were able to take this premise and make it fun. The Haunted Mansion, although a comedy movie at heart, is still scary enough a setting to not warrant wanting to own the mansion.
However, The Underveil is the complete opposite. Even though some of the ghosts are murderers, the writers, and animators, were able to make it lighthearted. I think it’s the fact that the ghosts aren’t there to totally wreak havoc on Katherine and her children, they’re literally just people that died at the hotel and live(?) there now. That’s not to say that the show doesn’t have its serious moments, and little sprinkles of horror here and there, but I honestly found myself wanting to be a guest at The Underveil, which I can’t say I’ve ever felt when watching The Haunted Mansion.
Characters
“Every haunting begins at home.”
This brings me into the main cast of The Haunted Hotel. Matt Roller did a really nice job at his character creation here. Each character is one that the viewer is able to care for, and even relate to. You have the struggling single mother, Katherine, who is doing the best she can to support her two children whilst also trying to run her late brother’s struggling hotel. Then, there are her two children Ben and Esther who have to navigate living a normal life whilst their home life is completely paranormal. On the other side (literally), you have Nathan, the ghost brother of Katherine who just wants to help his family as best as he can. There are some real family moments that I was not expecting in a show about a haunted hotel. You desperately want The Underveil to succeed, even though you know that the odds are it won’t.
Abaddon, the Scene-Stealer
“Evil, yes—but funny about it.”
Last but not least, you have the absolute highlight of Haunted Hotel, Abaddon, played by Jimmi Simpson (Liam McPoyle in It’s Always Sunny of Philadelphia). Abaddon is a demon trapped in a little boy’s body from the 1700s. There is an episode that gives you a brief backstory so I won’t spoil it for you, but he is the star of the show. Every time he is on screen you can’t help but laugh at whatever it is he’s doing. From his obsession with blenders to befriending a spider to help him take over the world, Abaddon is never not funny. As the show goes on, we get to see him form a sincere friendship with Esther, which really pays off in the season finale. That’s not to say that the other characters don’t have their moments of glory, but if I was to pick a character that consistently made me laugh, it would be Abaddon.
Final Verdict
“A family show for the dead, the weary, and the streaming.”
Haunted Hotel’s first season does a great job at setting the stage for more seasons to come. It has an interesting selection of main characters as well as recurring ghosts that you never get tired of seeing on screen. The comedy is lighthearted, for the most part, and does a great job at creating a sense of family. Moreover, the addition of Abaddon as the devious demon that always has some scheme to pull but ultimately loves the family was a great choice.
Haunted Hotel: If you’re looking for some laughs and you enjoy ghosts, Will Forte, and adult animated comedies, I can confidently say that you will like this show. So, with that being said, I’m going to give Haunted Hotel: Season 1 a 9 – Anthony Fichtner