We Have a Ghost Parent Guide

Seeking a new start, the Presley family move into a rundown old house that’s listed for a suspiciously cheap price. They soon find out why: a ghost named Ernest (David Harbour) lives in the attic. As youngest son Kevin (Jahi Di’Allo Winston) befriends their supernatural housemate, he makes a goal to help Ernest remember his former life and find peace. At the same time, the family’s videos of their ghost friend are going viral online, which attracts a few interested parties.

One of the first rules of writing, for film or otherwise, is having a sense of who your audience is. We Have a Ghost’s doesn’t have a clue. I spent the entire runtime scratching my head and wondering “Who is this for?” There’s far too much swearing and violence for a child audience, but it’s also too juvenile for adults. Maybe it was originally aimed at teens but then swung too hard into the PG-13 rating? I’m really not sure.

This lack of focus is disappointing because there is a good film buried in here somewhere. It has a fun premise, a great cast, and decent production values. Sadly, the premise isn’t translated into a story with a clear direction or tone. It wants to be a horror spoof, a family drama, and a comedy all at once and it shifts dramatically between those tones. The actors, though great, seem to be in different movies. Jahi Di’Allo Winston is playing Kevin as serious as a car crash, while other actors are hamming it up. The best performance, predictably, is Jennifer Coolidge who portrays a TV medium. She is only in two scenes but steals the entire movie. Ms. Coolidge has a tendency to do that, and I, for one, welcome it.

As mentioned, this film is not family-friendly entertainment. There is a lot of swearing (over five dozen profanities), along with weapons violence, and some sexual references. There is also a scene with some grotesque body horror and significant scares. Another issue is the length: two hours is far too long, and it feels like it. The entire second act drags on for an eternity. I made, ate, and cleaned up dinner while watching and was only at the halfway mark. Perhaps I was trapped in some sort of purgatory, much like Ernest. It sure felt that way.