Initially when I saw the trailer for “We Have a Ghost” I was expecting a lot more laughs and nothing too serious.
However, I was pleasantly surprised by the end of the film and was glad I got a chance to see it.
Plus, I like that they left the ending open so they could make a series or another film in the same vein.
The only real downside for me is how long it takes the film to get to the point and uncover the ghost’s origins.
We Have a Ghost is a supernatural horror comedy film written and directed by Christopher Landon.
It is based on the 2017 short story “Ernest”, by Geoff Manaugh.
The film stars David Harbour, Jahi Winston, Tig Notaro, Jennifer Coolidge, Isabella Russo, Niles Fitch, Steve Coulter, and Anthony Mackie.
It’s about 127 minutes long and rated PG-13 for language, some sexual/suggestive references, and violence.
One year after the last owners fled in terror, the Presley family is shown a house with an overgrown yard.
Suspicious of the low price, the real estate agent insists that recently prices have been low and that they should take advantage of the moment.
The agent also shows the home, making comments about how the cleaning crew would be by later and which parts of the home were original to the period it was built, and so on.
It’s apparent that while this isn’t the family’s first housing choice they are out of options and there is a strained relationship between the parents and their children.
On the first night, Kevin (Winston), the youngest, investigates a sound in the attic.
Using his mobile phone to light his way around the attic, a sudden ghost appears and Kevin starts recording his interaction.
When the ghost fails to scare Kevin, but rather gets a laugh, he vanishes.
In high school, Kevin meets Joy Yoshino (Russo), the trombone band student neighbor.
She refers to his home as the house of death.
After school, Kevin returns to the attic and sits down to talk with the ghost.
He finds out that the ghost can’t talk and doesn’t remember anything about his life.
Kevin calls him Ernest (Harbour) as that is the name on his bowling shirt.
Suddenly Kevin’s big brother Fulton (Fitch) barges in and as he’s bullying Kevin for his phone, Ernest helps Kevin defend himself.
Later that night, Fulton finds a video Kevin had recorded of Ernest when he first saw him and soon shows their father Frank (Mackie) that their new home is haunted by a ghost.
Frank ends up creating a YouTube channel and then gets more video footage of Kevin and Ernest interacting.
After those videos go viral, they make the ghost and Presley family Internet-famous.
However, when Kevin and Frank start to uncover the truth about Ernest’s past, they become a target of Dr. Leslie Monroe (Notaro) and the CIA.
Dr. Monroe has her own haunted history with ghosts and has created a way to capture them.
Monroe comes off as a bit rabid and initially dismisses the videos of Ernest before analyzing them in-depth and reaching out CIA Deputy Director Arnold Schipley – who thinks she’s a joke.
Overall, if you stick it out to the end, you’ll be surprised at what happens to the Presley family and Ernest.
