We Have a Ghost movie review & film summary (2023) – Roger Ebert

Christopher Landon makes splendidly quirky horror movies that defy the everyday cynicism of the style these days. He avoids the pretension of “elevated horror” by expressing contagious pleasure by means of his filmmaking in films like “Completely satisfied Dying Day,” “Completely satisfied Dying Day 2U,” and “Freaky.” Say what you’ll about their execution or high quality total; I don’t suppose anybody can argue towards Landon having a rattling blast whereas making them. His newest, “We Have a Ghost,” is at its greatest when Landon is allowed to be goofy in a means that simply makes the viewer smile. Sadly, his writing isn’t as sharp as his directing, because the film goes on means too lengthy and thru a number of endings, even because it appears content material to repeat themes and pictures as an alternative of constructing on the movie’s fascinating concepts. Ultimately, it’s a stable distraction, which is all most individuals are in search of on Netflix, however I’m hoping he makes “Completely satisfied Dying Day 3” earlier than revisiting this world.

Based mostly on a brief story known as Ernest by Geoff Manaugh, “We Have a Ghost” opens with the Presley household transferring to a fixer-upper in Chicago. Father Frank (Anthony Mackie) is struggling to make ends meet and to keep up a wholesome relationship together with his increasingly-distant son Kevin (Jahi Di’Allo Winston, so good in “Allure Metropolis Kings” and on “Every part Sucks!”). Nearly instantly after their arrival, Kevin is exploring the attic when he encounters a trapped soul named Ernest (David Harbour, giving a silent efficiency). Ernest can’t speak however has been scaring away inhabitants for the reason that ‘70s when he died. Kevin doesn’t get scared. He movies Ernest together with his telephone, and there’s abruptly a viral ghost.

Think about if there was an precise ghost throughout TikTok and YouTube. What would occur? Landon doesn’t do practically sufficient with this wealthy idea and simply has individuals screaming outdoors the Presley residence, together with a man dressed like Jesus. It’s fascinating to observe Frank attempt to use Ernest’s existence as a money infusion, changing into a cultural agent of kinds. He even brings in an area medium for an encounter with Ernest, a scene that permits for one of many movie’s extra spectacular results and potential memes from a Jennifer Coolidge cameo. However there’s not sufficient executed with the thought of what proof of the afterlife would imply. It doesn’t must be deeply philosophical, however even just a little shallow exploration may need crammed this idea out a bit.

As a substitute, “We Have a Ghost” shifts an excessive amount of focus to a mystical scientist named Dr. Leslie Monroe (Tig Notaro) and her CIA boss Arnold Schipley (Steve Coulter). Landon’s movie turns into one thing of a chase/highway film in its midsection as Ernest, Kevin, and their scene-stealing neighbor Pleasure (Isabella Russo) attempt to escape the armed guards and unravel why this poor man hasn’t absolutely moved to the subsequent aircraft of existence. In fact, “We Have a Ghost” turns into a little bit of a whodunit too as Ernest learns about what actually occurred to him, together with the identification of his killer.