We Have a Ghost

We Have a Ghost is a 2023 American supernatural horror comedy film written and directed by Christopher Landon, and based on the 2017 short story "Ernest" by Geoff Manaugh. It stars David Harbour, Jahi Winston, Tig Notaro, Jennifer Coolidge and Anthony Mackie. It was released on February 24, 2023, by Netflix, to mixed reception from critics.
== Plot ==
One year after the last owners fled in terror, the Presleys are shown a house. Suspicious of the low price, the estate agent insists that recently prices have been low.
On the first night Kevin, the youngest, investigates a sound in the attic. Using his mobile phone light, a ghost appears. When he fails to scare Kevin but instead gets met with a laugh, he vanishes.
Kevin returns to the attic and sits down to talk with the ghost. He can't talk and doesn't remember anything about his life. Kevin calls him Ernest as that is the name on his bowling shirt. Suddenly Kevin's big brother Fulton barges in. As he's bullying Kevin for his phone, Ernest helps him.
Fulton finds a video Kevin had recorded of Ernest when he first saw him and soon shows their father Frank that their new home is haunted by a ghost. Frank creates a YouTube channel, gets more video of him and, after convincing the mother Mel they could profit from him, makes the ghost and his family Internet-famous.
In high school Kevin meets Joy, the neighbor. She refers to his home as the house of death. Once the video of Ernest goes viral, they cross paths in the library and Joy quickly finds that the house's owner Ernest S. lived there from '65 to '71 and is now residing elsewhere.
The West Bay cable TV medium Judy Romano comes to film meeting Ernest. Kevin shows him various horror clips to help him be scarier. It doesn't take long for Ernest to scare her crew, but even Judy reacts in terror, jumping out the window. The post of the madam's reaction goes record-breaking viral.
Joy convinces Kevin that they need to take Ernest out to a bar once belonging to the house's past owner to try and jog his memory. They start to uncover the truth about Ernest's past, first a photo of him with the previous house owner, then he becomes fixated on a little blonde girl in the park.
However, Dr. Leslie Monroe visits Frank and Mel, telling them about an old program she ran with the CIA. Called Wizard Clip, it's goal was to catch a ghost. When cost of the program was made known to the public they scrapped it, making her the scapegoat. When she tries to convince them that Ernest is dangerous, Frank throws her out.
A viral video of Ernest with the girl in the park sets the CIA in motion. They break into the Presley home, but Kevin, Joy and Ernest have already left for Oklahoma to find the past house owner. The next morning the Presley's are coerced into doing an appeal to apprehend the trio. The broadcast comes on a convenience store TV and they outrun the many police cruisers chasing them.
Arriving at the house in Oklahoma, the man tells the story of Randy (our Ernest), who he says became a drunk not able to cope with his wife's death from giving birth. He left his four-year-old daughter with them and disappeared. Ernest makes himself visible, and the CIA swoops in.
Back home, Kevin is depressed. Frank apologizes to him, recognizing he's been selfish at the family's expense. He also tells Kevin he's a much better man than he is.
In the CIA facility, an aggressive agent is wearing a pin which triggers his memory. His old friend's wife carried June away while he killed him with a blow to the head. Ernest is being acted upon for not complying, but Dr. Monroe helps him as they had had a positive interaction earlier and she senses his goodness. Ernest S. shows up at the house to kill Kevin, believing he's helping ghost Ernest get revenge. He chases him to the attic, where Ernest and Frank tackle him out of the window.
The CIA interrogate Kevin, seeking Ernest. He doesn't divulge anything, but a flashback reveals that Kevin and Frank reunited him with his now 50+ year-old daughter June. Happy at last, Ernest finally is at peace and goes.
The Presleys have a new moving day, but this time only a few miles away. Kevin and Joy are now a couple.
== Cast ==
* David Harbour as Ernest
* Jahi Winston as Kevin Presley
* Tig Notaro as Dr. Leslie Monroe
* Erica Ash as Melanie Presley
* Jennifer Coolidge as Judy Romano
* Anthony Mackie as Frank Presley
* Faith Ford as Barbara Mangold
* Niles Fitch as Fulton Presley
* Isabella Russo as Joy Yoshino
* Steve Coulter as Deputy Director Arnold Schipley
* Dr. Phil McGraw as himself (cameo)
== Production ==
Production of We Have a Ghost was announced in July 2021, with Christopher Landon writing and directing, and Geoff Manaugh, on whose short sorry it was based, as executive producer. The cast included Anthony Mackie, David Harbour, Jahi Winston, Tig Notaro, Jennifer Coolidge, Erica Ash, Niles Fitch, Isabella Russo, Faith Ford and Steve Coulter. Harbour was Landon's first choice for the role of Ernest; as he told Entertainment Weekly: "I knew that the role was incredibly challenging because there's no dialog, so he just has to do so much with so little. We had a meeting, and he told me he was terrified of doing it, which I thought was great because it shows that he was feeling vulnerable and intrigued and excited. By the end of our meeting, I think we both felt really strongly that it was a good match".
Principal photography began in August 2021 in Donaldsonville and New Orleans. A few weeks into filming, production was halted due to the landfall of Hurricane Ida in Louisiana. Production resumed in October to finish filming scenes in the Ascension Parish west bank city.
== Reception ==
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 43% based on 46 reviews with an average rating of 5.3/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "We Have a Ghost has a fun concept and a talented cast; unfortunately, this spookily uneven 80s pastiche also has very little idea of what to do with them." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 53 out of 100, based on 23 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
== Videos ==
We Have a Ghost - Official Trailer - Netflix
Category:American films
Category:2023 films
Category:2023 in film
Category:2023 American films
Category:2020s films
Category:2020s American films
Category:Streaming films
Category:Netflix films
Category:English-language films
Category:Supernatural horror films
Category:American supernatural horror films
Category:2023 supernatural horror films
Category:2023 American supernatural horror films
Category:2020s supernatural horror films
Category:2020s American supernatural horror films
Category:Supernatural comedy films
Category:American supernatural comedy films
Category:2023 supernatural comedy films
Category:2023 American supernatural comedy films
Category:2020s supernatural comedy films
Category:2020s American supernatural comedy films
Category:Comedy horror films
Category:American comedy horror films
Category:2023 comedy horror films
Category:2023 American comedy horror films
Category:2020s comedy horror films
Category:2020s American comedy horror films
Category:Comedy films
Category:American comedy films
Category:2023 comedy films
Category:2023 American comedy films
Category:2020s comedy films
Category:2020s American comedy films
Category:Films based on short fiction
Category:Films based on American short fiction
Category:Films directed by Christopher Landon
Category:Films shot in New Orleans
Category:Films starring David Harbour
Category:Films starring Anthony Mackie