We Have a Ghost – Film Review

The discovery that their house is haunted by a ghost named Ernest makes Kevin’s family a social media sensation. But when Kevin and Ernest get to the bottom of the mystery of Ernest’s past, they become targets of the CIA.

There was a certain sense of charm, wonder, and childlike optimism brimming all throughout Christopher Landon‘s We Have a Ghost that I couldn’t get enough of. In many ways, this is a film that is heavily inspired by Steven Spielberg’s filmography, most notably E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial. Heck, at times it might even borrow from that film too much, but I love that Landon was hugely inspired by so many great projects for this film.

Landon is one of my favorite directors of all-time. He directed three of my favorite films ever in the two Happy Death Day films as well as the incredibly funny and wholesome body-swap slasher-comedy Freaky. Although We Have a Ghost is my second least favorite film of his (first being Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones), it’s still an enormously fun time that you should check out.

A lot of this movie’s enjoyment for audiences will depend on whether or not they can get behind the family dynamic in the film as well as how much they like the character of Ernest the Ghost. Interestingly enough, the family aspects of the film were my favourite as it showed us that this family is hugely flawed. They’re far from perfect.

Perhaps the best scene of the movie showcases Anthony Mackie‘s character Frank opening up to his teenage son Kevin about how he was never really a good dad to him and how he wishes he could change things, but is sad because he knows that that’s impossible. He wishes his son saw him the way he did when he was too young, and too impressionable to notice his flaws.

“You’re a better man at sixteen than I am at forty-five,” Frank admits in easily the movie’s most heartbreaking and emotional moment. It’s scenes like that one that really made me appreciate this story even more and in spite of its many issues. Sadly, this is the first time since 2017 that Landon hasn’t made a true masterpiece for me, but that’s okay. They can’t all be perfect.

One of the biggest issues I have with the film is just how silly it can be at times. I understand that this is a horror-comedy, but so many of the plot points here are just totally ridiculous and sometimes, the film felt like it was a gigantic SNL parody of something like The Conjuring.

Also, some of the dialogue is a bit rough and there’s a character portrayed by Jennifer Coolidge named Judy Romano who appears in one scene who is absolutely nothing short of annoying. Thankfully though, these issues did not take away from my overall enjoyment of the film.

There are some truly great emotional beats in here as well as moments that really brought out my inner child again which I never would’ve expected before I clicked “play.” Although it’s not one of the best things Landon has done, it’s still highly enjoyable and I cannot wait to see what he tackles next.

We Have a Ghost isn’t top-tier Christopher Landon, but it’s still a highly enjoyable horror-comedy filled with plenty of laughs and solid emotional beats.