Written by Marlon Wayans and directed by Michael Tiddes, A Haunted House is crass, unapologetic and has no boundaries with its aggressive and crude nature.
A Haunted House opens as Malcolm (Marlon Wayans- White Chicks) fires up his new video camera in excitement that his girlfriend Kisha (Essence Atkins- Dance Flick) is due to move in with him. Malcolm soon realizes the move-in isn’t going as planned with Kisha dressing like a hobo in bed, refusing to let them tape their sexual shenanigans and failing to mention way ahead of time that, as a young girl, she’d made a pact with the devil for a pair of shoes. This randy demon takes up residence is Malcolm’s home and causes a number of problems for the pair as it feeds off their negativity. They decide to call upon a number of ‘specialists’ to help them catch, detect and get rid of the unwanted guest.
Veteran comic actor David Koechner (Anchorman) plays Dan the Security Man with a desire to create his own ‘Ghost Guys’ reality show. Chip the psychic (Nick Swardson- Just go with it) helps them identify what the demon might want, while taking more than a fancy to Malcolm, and Cedric the Entertainer shows up as an ex-con priest, Father Williams, who attempts an exorcism on Kisha while delivering an endless series of profane one-liners.
With endless jokes about bodily functions, a perverse demon, Malcolm unconsciously defecating on Kisha’s late father’s ashes, and Jenny (Alanna Ubach- Meet The Fockers) and Steve (Andrew Daly- Semi-Pro, What Happens in Vegas) playing the overly horny swinging couple, A Haunted House delivers quite a few laughs. The Wayans have a certain charisma on screen with both Marlon and Essence game for any silly gag, and certainly more likable than the average found-footage star.
A Haunted House will probably not be remembered for years to come, but for those with a broad, dry, silly and crude sense of humor it’s a funny enough kick to the ghost balls.
WICKED RATING: 5.5/10 [usr 5.5]
Title: A Haunted House
Director: Michael Tiddes
Writer(s): Marlon Wayans, Rick Alvarez
Stars: Marlon Wayans, Essence Atkins, Marlene Forte
Year: 2013
Studio/ Production Co: Automatik Entertainment, Baby Way Productions, Cutting Edge
Budget: $2,00,000 (estimated)
Language: English
Length: 86mins
Sub-Genre: Comedy, Parody
