Haunted Hotel Season 2 Review: ★★★★☆ (4/5)
Haunted Hotel Season 2 keeps the horror jokes coming while giving its characters more depth and darker backstories. It does not feel quite as fresh as the first season, but it is smart, funny, and a perfect October watch.
Rating: ★★★★☆ (4/5)
Platform: Netflix
Genre: Animated Horror Comedy
Episodes: 8
Cast (Voices): Will Forte, Eliza Coupe, Skyler Gisondo, Natalie Palamides, Jimmi Simpson
Welcome back to the Undervale Hotel. Season 1 of Haunted Hotel was a fun surprise, with a strong idea, great voice acting, and a few truly great episodes. Season 2 arrives just in time for spooky season, and it carries those same strengths forward. It does not change the formula much, but there is plenty here for fans to enjoy.
The new season picks up right after the first season’s wild finale, which is now part of the show’s lore even though most of the family does not remember it. Time travel does that to you.
The writers have also added a new character named Shanna, voiced by Natalie Morales, who claims someone from her bloodline must always stay in the hotel, or a cosmic god will rise.
The show cleverly inserts her into old moments from Season 1, making it seem like she has been living in the house all along. She fits in well, since she accepts the madness and simply rolls with it.
The family you loved is back. Kathy, played by Eliza Coupe, is still holding things together. Her ghostly brother Nathan, played by Will Forte, is as warm and silly as ever.
Her daughter Esther, played by Natalie Palamides, is obsessed with rituals, and her son Ben, played by Skyler Gisondo, is still in love with a flapper ghost girl. Then there is Abaddon, a demon stuck in a boy’s body, voiced by Jimmi Simpson, who has now settled into the group.
The season opens in the middle of the action, with the family facing a baddie who looks a lot like Pinhead from Hellraiser, complete with a puzzle box. That strange, horror-loving energy continues in every episode. One story has ooze taking over people, with guest star Frances Conroy getting plenty to do.
Another has the family cursed by a witch who does not have health insurance. The show is packed with nods to classic horror movies, books, and TV, and it works because the creators clearly love the genre. You rarely see that love shown through animation, which makes Haunted Hotel feel unique.
What impresses most is how much the show now cares about its people. It is no longer just a horror version of Family Guy that calls back to famous movies. Season 2 digs into the backstories of its main cast, and some of them are much darker than you might expect.
Nathan seems cheerful on the surface, but the season explores his past and state of mind in ways that feel truly sad, in a good way. Even though some characters cannot die, there is still real pain behind their actions.
Abaddon and Esther steal the spotlight again. Jimmi Simpson delivers wild lines in a flat, matter-of-fact voice, which gives the show some of its biggest laughs. Esther is smart and strong beyond her age, and Natalie Palamides plays her with a nice balance. Kathy gets a little less to do this time, though a funny dinner party where guests are not allowed to eat adds to the fun.
Some highlights stand out. Episode 6, Dante Crowe, is a playful take on John Constantine, and the finale, The Visit, is a poignant look at the family’s past that makes you stop and think. A couple of episodes feel like filler, but with only eight, the season stays tight.
The main weakness is the same as before. The hotel barely works like a real hotel. Guests mostly show up, scream, and vanish while the family deals with the weekly disaster. There is room to make better use of them in future seasons.
Still, with strong writing, great voice work, and an endless pile of horror ideas, this is a show that could run for many more seasons. If you liked the first stay, this one is a must-watch.
If you are building a spooky watchlist, our review of Other Mommy covers a very different kind of horror that does not quite work, and for a lighter, romantic option, our review of Take Charge of My Heart looks at a fun Korean fantasy rom-com.
Haunted Hotel Season 2 is now streaming on Netflix.