We Have a Ghost Review – Netflix’s friendly ghost  

Does it manage to deliver laughs, terrors and thrills?

We Have a Ghost which premiered on Netflix on February 24, could be one of the classic Sunday movies that played at midday in the 90s on Greek TV every week. The way it was made, the slightly cartoonish approach to the performances of the actors, its naive and somewhat simplistic script, everything seems to come from another era. Similar in tone and theme to films such as 1990’s Ghost, 1999’s The Iron Giant and even 1995’s Casper, director Christopher Landon presents us with Ernest, a friendly and sympathetic ghost.

The film is written by Landon himself and is an adaptation of Geoff Manaugh’s short story, “Ernest”. The American director has a wealth of experience in horror comedies, having written and directed Happy Death Day, Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse, Happy Death Day 2U, and Freaky. He has also worked behind the cameras on the Paranormal Activity films, and has also written the thriller Disturbia starring Shia LaBeouf. In all his ventures he has shown that he knows quite well the conventions and requirements of the genre, but also how to play with them.

We Have a Ghost stars David Harbour, Anthony Mackie, Jennifer Coolidge Tig Notaro (Army of the Dead), Jahi Di’Allo Winston (Charm City Kings), Erica Ash, Isabella Russo, Niles Fitch , Faith Ford and Steve Coulter. Netflix’s official synopsis says the following about the film: The discovery of a ghost named Ernest haunting their new home makes Kevin’s family overnight social media famous. But when Kevin and Ernest begin to investigate the mystery of Ernest’s past, they become targets of the CIA.

So, Landon’s new film has its good and somewhat weaker moments. A small thorn is definitely its duration. In an era when new content comes out at a rapid pace on streaming platforms, far exceeding the limits and endurance of even the most educated audience, “overflowing” their watch lists, the average viewer certainly does not have the luxury, maybe the mood, to sit a little more than 120 minutes to watch a film that could tell its story in a much shorter period of time. And you feel the unnecessary time, you feel that many of the scenes, but also of the plot in general, reach the point of dragging so that its duration stretches out and grows for unexplained reasons.

Nevertheless, we are dealing with an honest and clear film, which seems to know well the audience it addresses, giving them moments with plenty of humor, emotion and action. As we mentioned at the beginning, the script is simplistic, it also has a plot twist with which it tries to shake up the waters a bit, but I am not sure if it achieves its purpose or is just there to answer, to give some additional information, i.e. about the past of one of the characters. Additionally, the social commentary gets a bit cheesy, but mostly, the problem here is that it serves no narrative purpose.

All in all, We Have a Ghost is a light and fun film, while David Harbor and Anthony Mackie’s performances add a nice touch to the overall experience. Entering, then, in the right frame of mind and putting high expectations aside, the friendly and likeable ghost, Ernest, may manage to win you over with his naivety, but also his kind ways.