Using animation to play with the sitcom format has allowed creators to flex their creative muscles. Shows like The Flintstones and The Jetsons allowed the animators to play with story and visuals in ways live-action TV could not, and dozens of shows have taken this lesson forward. Haunted Hotel, written by Matt Roller (Rick and Morty), utilizes the medium to create a fun parody of horror films through the adventures of a family. Anyone who likes horror movies will spot plenty of influences and Easter eggs, and the silliness of the show becomes one of its strongest aspects.
Haunted Hotel Plot
After the death of her brother Nathan (Will Forte), Katherine (Eliza Coupe) moves with her children Ben (Skyler Gisondo) and Ester (Natalie Palamides) to his secluded hotel. Unfortunately, the hotel is tough to run because it is full of ghosts, including Nathan’s. Joining the family is a demon in the body of a boy named Abaddon (Jimmi Simpson). As a group, they fight off the monsters that frequent their family’s keepsake.
A love of horror allows Haunted Hotel to land its ridiculous humor and visuals.
Horror and comedy have gone together extremely well for decades. The jokes in Haunted Hotel are based on tropes and recognizable figures from the genre, and the results are brilliant. The number of Easter eggs is outstanding, with references to Jason Voorhees, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, and even the TV series Ghost throughout the series. It’s not a good call but a brilliant one.
Horror has always been a genre that relied on a certain amount of meta-textual criticism to be present within the genre. It’s the reason we see many characters with the last name Loomis (Billy, Sam, Doctor) or musical cues carried into other franchises. Most horror movies contain these moments because the directors and writers want us to know they’re one of us. They’re horror fans, and there’s nothing we love more than embracing our own zany passions.
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When a show like Haunted Hotel does this, the jokes become even funnier. Building on years of dorm room and living room questions, like “Why did the character go in the room?” gives Haunted Hotel a foundation to build its jokes. With each new bit, the tropes get deconstructed and laughed at on their own merits. Roller and his team are having a great time in this aspect of the story, and because of their love, the jokes do not feel barbed or angry.
Perhaps even more critical, Haunted Hotel is a wildly ambitious project. There are massive visual set pieces that spew color in every direction. The number of characters and backstories to keep track of is wild, even if many of them are only meant as visual gags. This also allows some of the characters to become instant laugh lines when Roller and his team drop them into silly situations. When you combine the visual gags with the actual jaw-dropping spectacle, you’re setting the series up for something unique.
The character dynamics are very fun.
Many animated shows struggle out of the gate because the dynamics between the characters feel off. On some level, the animated sitcom already has a defined family structure that shows should look to emulate. It’s in the details where the subversion can occur, and Haunted Hotel succeeds on this level.
While the series does not have a traditional family at its center, the five-person crew sees their relationships evolve over the course of the season. While there is no demand for serialization, the characters show subtle shifts in their behavior over the course of the ten episodes. As they grow, they also get a chance to confront dark truths, making the text emotionally rich as well.
The standout performer is Jimmi Simpson as Abaddon. He not only gets the funniest material outright, but Simpson’s brilliant comedic energy flows through his voice acting. The first time I ever saw Simpson was as a McPoyle on It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and his wildcard energy has helped him succeed in a dozen shows in his career. He brings that to Abaddon, allowing him to use his intensity as another tool in his comedic toolkit.
Forte and Coupe are excellent together. It is funny how often Forte feels like his character from The Great North, but that’s more because of his optimism than anything else. His character arc over the season is particularly brilliant, and you’ll never see some of the aspects that Forte brings out in the vocal performance. Meanwhile, Coupe gets to return to the sitcom world, years after Happy Endings. She’s a perfect match as the frustrated mother of absolute gremlin children and handles the straight man role in Haunted Hotel wonderfully.
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Finally, Gisondo and Palamides make their own excellent pairing. They get a chance to interact with the adults and Abaddon throughout, but they very much create an “us against the world” bond in their roles. Gisondo embodies the bottle of nerves of a teenage boy well, while Palamides excels at bringing the deranged and ridiculous Ester to life. The two actors have consistently shown their comedy chops, and this is an excellent avenue for them to continue that development.
Is Haunted Hotel worth watching?
Yes, Haunted Hotel is an easy-to-watch comedy that lands perfectly ahead of October’s spooky season. There are enough deep-cut jokes in the series to appeal to hardcore horror fans. At the same time, the show itself is not scary. With Roller’s ambition to showcase cool visuals that call back to the genre’s icons, the series is an excellent play by Netflix to grab another animated hit.
Watch Haunted Hotel on Netflix starting September 19, 2025.
