We Have a Ghost

We Have a Ghost” is the movie version of the best sugar cookie ever made. It's easy to get your hands on a sugar cookie, but most of them are pretty average ...

The movie follows Kevin and his family as his family moves into a new house. Jahi Di’allo Winston is fantastic as Kevin, a deeply sensitive soul who would absolutely connect with a ghost and try to help it. The ghost’s backstory is also pretty tragic, and his final catharsis is both sweet and heartbreaking. Isabella Russo is fun as Joy, a neighbor girl who jumps in to help. As enemies come closer and Kevin digs deeper into the mystery of the ghost’s past, it becomes a race against the clock. The latest from writer/director Christopher Landon, “We Have a Ghost” takes on the classic “teen moves into a haunted house” genre of family movies.

In Netflix's family-friendly adventure We Have A Ghost, David Harbour plays a ghost who goes viral. Read our review.

Landon, who directed the Vince Vaughn slasher Freaky and the Happy Death Day films, is a competent director, but We Have A Ghost is a mess. Nothing in the film feels original, We Have A Ghost can’t escape the heavy weight of its influences. in We Have A Ghost and Ernest is a likeable supernatural being. There are also some similarities between We Have a Ghost and Harbour is clearly having the time of his life and most of the film’s best gags involve him. Harbour plays Ernest, a ghost haunting the house that Anthony Mackie’s Frank and his family have just purchased.

Christopher Landon makes wonderfully quirky horror films that defy the typical cynicism of the genre nowadays. He avoids the pretension of “elevated horror” ...

Leslie Monroe [Jennifer Coolidge ](/cast-and-crew/jennifer-coolidge)as Judy Romano, the West Bay Medium [Erica Ash ](/cast-and-crew/erica-ash)as Melanie Presley [Isabella Russo ](/cast-and-crew/isabella-russo)as Joy Yoshino [Niles Fitch ](/cast-and-crew/niles-fitch)as Fulton Presley [Faith Ford ](/cast-and-crew/faith-ford)as Realtor Even as “We Have a Ghost” sags in places, it never completely fades into the dull background of Netflix originals of late. Father Frank ( [Anthony Mackie](/cast-and-crew/anthony-mackie)) is struggling to make ends meet and to maintain a healthy relationship with his increasingly-distant son Kevin (Jahi Di’Allo Winston, so good in “ [Charm City Kings](/reviews/charm-city-kings-movie-review-2020)” and on “Everything Sucks!”). Of course, “We Have a Ghost” becomes a bit of a whodunit too as Ernest learns about what really happened to him, including the identity of his killer. [Tig Notaro](/cast-and-crew/tig-notaro)) and her CIA boss Arnold Schipley ( [Steve Coulter](/cast-and-crew/steve-coulter)). [Geoff Manaugh](/cast-and-crew/geoff-manaugh), “We Have a Ghost” opens with the Presley family moving to a fixer-upper in Chicago.

Kevin Presley (Jahi Winston) has just moved to a new home in the Chicago suburbs and isn't very happy about it. Not only is the Victorian-era house in ...

That said, for the most part, the short story’s scenarios have been updated to the characters’ betterment—softening Frank from a one-dimensional, self-centered guy to a flawed father working through his troubles, and swapping the brothers’ personalities and arcs. Closure is inevitably attained, of course, but at a cheapened cost that dramatically lessens the impact of its main characters’ journeys. Kevin Presley (Jahi Winston) has just moved to a new home in the Chicago suburbs and isn’t very happy about it. This has also left Kevin’s older brother Fulton (Niles Fitch) and mom Melanie (Erica Ash) approaching the family’s fresh start with a great deal of apprehension and worry. [Freaky](https://www.avclub.com/film/reviews/freaky-2020) and [Happy Death Day 2U](https://www.avclub.com/film/reviews/happy-death-day-2u-2019) cleverly function as Trojan Horses: breezy horror-comedies used to subtly smuggle in palpable amounts of poignancy dealing with familial anxieties. Monroe and the CIA, in favor of our core characters’ motivations could’ve helped tighten the pace and energetic rhythms.

Netflix's new movie "We Have a Ghost" features filming locations in Louisiana. The Chicago home is portrayed by two homes in New Orleans.

A convention center in New Orleans was transformed into the CIA office. The mountain background was shot in Bozeman, Montana, and added to the setting through visual effects. Naturally, the Presley family’s new house is one of the movie’s standout stars. “We shot the movie in the dead ass of summer in New Orleans, which anyone will tell you is crazy.” The soaring attic where the ghost, Ernest, likes to hang out was filmed on a soundstage. Ahead, dive into everything else we know about the filming locations in the movie.

Review: David Harbour is one lovable dead guy in 'We Have a Ghost'; plus the artful 'Bruiser'. A ghostly figure hangs its head out a ...

His Oscar-nominated latest is the mostly dialogue-free story of a donkey that gets passed from owner to owner and predicament to predicament in vignettes that Skolimowski captures with wit, humanity and astonishing visual flair. “The Outwaters” begins with lots of loose footage of young folks hanging out. “God’s Time” has an endearingly scrappy vibe and a talented cast filled with unfamiliar faces. The real star of “Ambush” is Connor Paolo, playing Cpl. [Billy Bob Thornton](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/la-et-ca-billy-bob-thornton-20180607-htmlstory.html) — educates his crew by sharing colorful anecdotes from his misspent youth, filled with rich details about both the fun and the responsibilities of being a bad guy. The artful indie drama “Bruiser” starts out as an engaging but perhaps too typical coming-of-age story about a middle-class kid cracking under the pressure of having to be a diligent and well-behaved student all the time. “We Have a Ghost” is unnecessarily long, padded with tangential comic characters — including Jennifer Coolidge as a phony TV spiritualist and Tig Notaro as a bitter ex-CIA agent — who don’t do a lot to advance the story or make it funnier. It’d be hard for anyone to compete with Thornton, but “Devil’s Peak” isn’t helped much by the bland performance of its lead, Hopper Penn, who plays Charlie’s softhearted son Jacob. Dubbed “Ernest” because of the name stitched on his shirt, the ghost — who can make noise but can’t talk, and can touch people but can’t be touched — tries to chase away the home’s new family by howling and making scary faces. Jalyn Hall plays Darious, a teenager whose parents have saved and sacrificed to send him to a nice boarding school, providing the kind of comfortable upbringing they didn’t have. In this case, most of the heart-tugging comes via Kevin, from his strained relationship with Frank and his attempt to help Ernest figure out who he really is. [David Harbour](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2022-12-02/david-harbour-violent-night-santa-claus-action-christmas) as a spirit haunting a fixer-upper house in the Chicago area.

A so-so attempt to recall kids films of the 80s struggles to find its own personality amidst its many influences.

The bigger it all gets, the further we feel pushed away and it starts to recall the scrappy disaster of Happy Death Day 2U, which squandered the simple joys of the original by needlessly extending the canvas. There is some mildly interesting familial tension at play between Mackie’s opportunist father and Winston’s disappointed son (a speech about being unable to hide one’s faults when a child gets old enough to see them is effective) but Landon struggles to bring emotional heft to the central friendship. In Landon’s simpler, sweeter low-stakes opening act, the film works best, a charming melange of Casper, Beetlejuice and the aforementioned Amblin classics, gently taking us through familiar motions. “We have a ghost!” is then exclaimed with the words meaning something different to each family member. It makes sense that he would then parlay that into the world of family films and so his Landon has always been transparent about his influences – Happy Death Day recalling Groundhog Day, Disturbia recalling Rear Window (to the extent that Hitchcock’s estate tried to sue) – but here, he’s too busy trying to conjure the vibe of a certain type of film to focus on crafting something of his own.

But his latest role as Ernest the Ghost in Netflix's We Have a Ghost is unlike any character he—or almost any other modern actor—has ever attempted. The gimmick ...

In We Have a Ghost, Harbour brings that same tenderness, which as always is juxtaposed by his giant, gruff exterior. Whether Ernest is giving Kevin an encouraging wink to get him to make a move on Joy, or desperately searching the back of his mind to remember how he died, Harbour conveys everything he needs to without crossing the line into pantomime or saccharine sentimentality. The movie is in the vein of Amblin movies from the ‘80s and ‘90s, with parallels to that era of wholesome yet un-patronizing storytelling found strewn throughout. From there, it’s an avalanche of antics as Kevin and his neighbor Joy (Isabella Russo) fight to keep Ernest out of the CIA’s grasp. The question is, why make a movie in which one of its most recognizable stars on Netflix doesn’t say a word? He doesn’t speak once in the entire movie.

In addition, thriller film 12 Desperate Hours, comedic thriller series The Consultant, docuseries Formula 1: Drive to Survive and the 2023 SAG Awards will also ...

[Presenters for the ceremony](https://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/2023/02/15/SAG-Awards-presenters-Andrew-Garfield-Emily-Blunt/7981676484271/) include [Andrew Garfield](https://www.upi.com/topic/Andrew_Garfield/), Emily Blunt, [Jessica Chastain](https://www.upi.com/topic/Jessica_Chastain/), [Don Cheadle](https://www.upi.com/topic/Don_Cheadle/), [Caleb McLaughlin](https://www.upi.com/topic/Caleb-McLaughlin/), Paul Mescal, Ashley Park, Zendaya, [Michelle Yeoh](https://www.upi.com/topic/Michelle_Yeoh/), Ke Huy Quan, and [Michelle Williams](https://www.upi.com/topic/Michelle_Williams/). [returns for a fifth season Friday](https://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/TV/2023/01/12/Formula-1-Drive-Survive-Season-5-teaser-premiere-date-Netflix/4401673537888/) on Netflix. [Jack White](https://www.upi.com/topic/Jack_White/) serves as musical guest. [streams its first episode](https://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/TV/2023/01/04/christoph-waltz-consultant-prime-video/6071672836388/) Friday on Prime Video. [returns for a third outing](https://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/TV/2023/01/26/Party-Down-reunion-trailer-Starz-revival/9471674753059/) Friday on Starz and the premium network's streaming app. [streaming live Sunday](https://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/2023/01/31/2023-awards-show-schedule-how-to-watch/1221672955140/) at 8 p.m. [which airs Saturday on](https://www.mylifetime.com/movies/12-desperate-hours) Lifetime and streams the following day on the Lifetime app. The show is executive produced by James Gay-Rees and [Paul Martin](https://www.upi.com/topic/Paul_Martin/). The film, adapted by director Christopher Landon from the short story "Ernest" by Geoff Manaugh, stars Jahi Winston as Kevin, a teenager who discovers a ghost named Ernest ( [David Harbour](https://www.upi.com/topic/David-Harbour/)) haunting his family's new house. [streams Friday on](https://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/Movies/2023/01/26/We-Have-Ghost-trailer-David-Harbour-Netflix/4491674749578/) Netflix. [Christoph Waltz](https://www.upi.com/topic/Christoph_Waltz/) stars as Regus Patoff, a consultant hired to reorganize operations at an app-based gaming company. The movie, directed by [Gina Gershon](https://www.upi.com/topic/Gina_Gershon/), also stars David Conrad as Val's husband, Mark.

Director Christopher Landon gets David Harbour to play a mute ghost with unfinished business that could have been effective if it lessened the all the paths ...

However, the actor turns on a charm to show you he’s a father trying to make his sons proud. We Have A Ghost operates best by examining its family dynamics and how the people within them fight to work inside them. Once We Have A Ghost establishes its main story, it makes a lot of turns and detours in how to reach its conclusion. From then, Ghost quickly turns on a dime to car chase scenes and a fugitive-type plot. While walking around in the basement, Kevin meets a ghost named Ernest (David Harbour) – he’s wearing a bowling shirt, a little balding, and greets him as you would think a ghost would. After a few scare attempts, usually, the outcast child tries to help the ghosts achieve whatever their unfinished business is to get to the afterlife.

Is Netflix's 'We Have a Ghost' scary? In an exclusive interview with 'Distractify,' writer-director Christopher Landon opened up about family-friendly ...

"I think what we do show, you know, in terms of the afterlife is that if you have unfinished business, you know, it can hold you back. And so I wanted to bring some of that to this movie." I wanted to kind of flex that muscle and show people that I have that kind of a movie in me, that I can make a bigger movie," Christopher Landon told Distractify. "I want this movie to be a little little bit of gateway horror. When watching We Have a Ghost, viewers shouldn't expect Paranormal Activity-esque jump-scares, as the film doesn't intend to startle. And that families are tough, and that relationships with parents can be tough, especially as you get older," he shared. "And that I can make a movie that has a lot of heart, you know, that was important to me. This is despite the fact that its director likes to "scare the s--t out of people." is hardly a gateway horror movie, its heartwarming portrayal of youth always spoke to him. I know it sounds weird, but I think giving kids an opportunity to sort of work through their anxieties and understand fear in a safe space is a great thing to do. So I really feel strongly about that," he explained. And also, I want to be able to show [We Have a Ghost to] my kids ...

ComingSoon Editor-in-Chief Tyler Treese spoke to We Have a Ghost writer Christopher Landon about the upcoming comedy movie.

One of the first movie I saw that you wrote was Disturbia and that movie has really endured over time and is still so beloved. So looking back at that, how do you kind of view the legacy of that movie and how it’s been able to just keep on going all these years later? The way that we, the way that we immediately take something — something even as ridiculous as a ghost — and we immediately are polarized and we’re immediately fighting about it. So just even having that maze was something that was really cool and really special to me. He’s the guy that hangs out after we wrap and is telling jokes and making the whole crew laugh and there’s a warmth to him that was vital. Can you speak to working with Anthony and how he brought that charisma and warmth to the role of the father? So that was something that I was able to do here. in the short story that the film is based on, the character of Frank is a total dick. I think that was what really excited him about the role, ultimately, was that he wouldn’t get to rely on that at all and that he was going to have to really use his face and his heart to really convey what his character is going through. I felt like I was bringing this thing in and forcing him to talk because I was too afraid of the idea of him not talking. But yeah, it’s the kind of movie that I’ve wanted to make for a long time. I love horror films and I was raised on them, but I was also raised on Amblin and other kinds of films and I’ve always loved them.

Confused by We Have a Ghost on Netflix? Read Decider's analysis of the We Have a Ghost plot twist and ending explained, including what happened to Ernest.

We Have a Ghost is fun, but unfortunately got bogged down by this convoluted plot in the end. In the final scene of the movie, Kevin and Joy take one last look at the attic, now that Kevin’s family is moving out of the house. And that house just happens to be the same house that Kevin and his family moved into. Because the real Ernest and his wife weren’t able to have children, and really wanted them. Read on for a breakdown of the We Have a Ghost plot summary and We Have a Ghost ending, explained. Frank posts a video of Ernest the ghost on social media that goes viral, and Frank sees an opportunity to use Ernest to bring his family fame and fortune. Luckily, ghost-Ernest shows up just in time to save Kevin and his family. Through internet sleuthing, Kevin and Joy discover that the real man named Ernest is not, in fact, their ghost friend. Kevin resolves to help figure out who Ernest was when he was alive, with the help of his tech-savvy new friend, Joy (Isabella Russo). He is brought to a scary government facility and put in a ghost cage. Leslie Monroe who wants to hunt down Ernest and lock him up in a ghost cage. Jahi Di’Allo Winston stars as Kevin, a teenage boy who moves into a new home with his father (played by Anthony Mackie), mother, and brother.