We Have A Ghost

Christopher Landon makes wonderfully quirky horror films that defy the typical cynicism of the genre nowadays. He avoids the pretension of “elevated horror” ...

Leslie Monroe [Jennifer Coolidge ](/cast-and-crew/jennifer-coolidge)as Judy Romano, the West Bay Medium [Erica Ash ](/cast-and-crew/erica-ash)as Melanie Presley [Isabella Russo ](/cast-and-crew/isabella-russo)as Joy Yoshino [Niles Fitch ](/cast-and-crew/niles-fitch)as Fulton Presley [Faith Ford ](/cast-and-crew/faith-ford)as Realtor Even as “We Have a Ghost” sags in places, it never completely fades into the dull background of Netflix originals of late. Father Frank ( [Anthony Mackie](/cast-and-crew/anthony-mackie)) is struggling to make ends meet and to maintain a healthy relationship with his increasingly-distant son Kevin (Jahi Di’Allo Winston, so good in “ [Charm City Kings](/reviews/charm-city-kings-movie-review-2020)” and on “Everything Sucks!”). Of course, “We Have a Ghost” becomes a bit of a whodunit too as Ernest learns about what really happened to him, including the identity of his killer. [Tig Notaro](/cast-and-crew/tig-notaro)) and her CIA boss Arnold Schipley ( [Steve Coulter](/cast-and-crew/steve-coulter)). [Geoff Manaugh](/cast-and-crew/geoff-manaugh), “We Have a Ghost” opens with the Presley family moving to a fixer-upper in Chicago.

David Harbour's new Netflix movie has just dropped globally, and with it comes a great soundtrack and original score. Here's the rundown of all the music ...

Sivaramakrishna Rao](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIo0g7S1EMA) [People Are Strange – The Doors](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0Mz_IqpZX8) [Dotted Line / Juju Man – Labrinth](https://youtu.be/RoyBzmAItV4) [Words – Missing Persons](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IasCZL072fQ) [Cloud Up and Thunder – Peck Rowell](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVvOCc8NRbU) [Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap – AC/DC](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsjdjWGDvFk) [Summer Breeze – Piper](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mH5K6fm2C0I) [Unchained Melody – The Righteous Brothers](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0EBs6uRgtw) [Can’t Get Enough of Your Love, Babe – Barry White](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0I6mhZ5wMw) [On My Own – The People’s Thieves](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7trpHWvPjxU) He’ll also be the composer on Netflix’s upcoming Nice Guy – Alice Cooper](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PE1vGT-hlLI) [Imperial March – John Williams](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsMWVW4xtwI) [25 or 6 to 4 – Chicago](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUAYeN3Rp2E) [Let’s Get Married (Remarqable Mix) – Jagged Edge](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mo1HaVN1Pt0) [Who’ll Stop The Rain – John Fogerty](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=coK1b2L7UCc) [Ecstacy (Ecstasy on the Goan Sands) – Ulhas Bapat and B. Other well-known projects include Battlestar Galactica and Godzilla: King of the Monsters. - We Have a Ghost David Harbour’s new Netflix movie has just dropped globally, and with it comes a great soundtrack and original score.

In Illinois, a family moves into a creepy old house that neighbours claim is haunted. Youngest son Kevin (Jahi Di'Allo Winston) indeed soon encounters a ...

It’s a film ultimately about families, and seems to be designed to be watched by them too (at least, families with teenage kids) — a ghost story that nearly everyone can enjoy. And in the Landon tradition, there are knowing lines for horror fans, too (“We are not going to be like every stupid white family in every horror movie,” insists Erica Ash’s obstinate mother). He manages to be both Chaplin-esque funny and winningly warm, utilising to full effect the gentle facial expressions that made Chief Hopper a father figure to millions. But that Extremely Online, irony-soaked wit is tempered here: this is mostly an earnest, thoughtful genre piece, less interested in scares and more interested in cares. As Ernest, Harbour puts in a wordless performance worthy of silent film, working purely via body language and facial expression. This is mostly an earnest, thoughtful genre piece, less interested in scares and more interested in cares.

Kevin Presley (Jahi Winston) has just moved to a new home in the Chicago suburbs and isn't very happy about it. Not only is the Victorian-era house in ...

That said, for the most part, the short story’s scenarios have been updated to the characters’ betterment—softening Frank from a one-dimensional, self-centered guy to a flawed father working through his troubles, and swapping the brothers’ personalities and arcs. Closure is inevitably attained, of course, but at a cheapened cost that dramatically lessens the impact of its main characters’ journeys. Kevin Presley (Jahi Winston) has just moved to a new home in the Chicago suburbs and isn’t very happy about it. This has also left Kevin’s older brother Fulton (Niles Fitch) and mom Melanie (Erica Ash) approaching the family’s fresh start with a great deal of apprehension and worry. [Freaky](https://www.avclub.com/film/reviews/freaky-2020) and [Happy Death Day 2U](https://www.avclub.com/film/reviews/happy-death-day-2u-2019) cleverly function as Trojan Horses: breezy horror-comedies used to subtly smuggle in palpable amounts of poignancy dealing with familial anxieties. Monroe and the CIA, in favor of our core characters’ motivations could’ve helped tighten the pace and energetic rhythms.

Netflix's new movie "We Have a Ghost" features filming locations in Louisiana. The Chicago home is portrayed by two homes in New Orleans.

A convention center in New Orleans was transformed into the CIA office. The mountain background was shot in Bozeman, Montana, and added to the setting through visual effects. Naturally, the Presley family’s new house is one of the movie’s standout stars. “We shot the movie in the dead ass of summer in New Orleans, which anyone will tell you is crazy.” The soaring attic where the ghost, Ernest, likes to hang out was filmed on a soundstage. Ahead, dive into everything else we know about the filming locations in the movie.

Larry Mantle and LAist film critics review this weekend's new movie releases in theaters, streaming, and on demand platforms.

[Amy Nicholson](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/critic/amy-nicholson/movies) and [Charles Solomon](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/critic/charles-solomon/movies) discuss the nominees for Best Animated Short Film, Best Live Action Short Film, and Best Documentary Short Film, sharing their favorites and front runners. [Wade Major](http://www.lafca.net/critics/Wade_Major.php) and [Christy Lemire](http://christylemire.com/) review this weekend’s new movie releases in theaters, streaming, and on demand platforms. FilmWeek: ‘Cocaine Bear,’ ‘Jesus Revolution,’ ‘We Have A Ghost’ and More Tickets are on sale now at [LAist.com/events](https://laist.com/events).

Review: David Harbour is one lovable dead guy in 'We Have a Ghost'; plus the artful 'Bruiser'. A ghostly figure hangs its head out a ...

His Oscar-nominated latest is the mostly dialogue-free story of a donkey that gets passed from owner to owner and predicament to predicament in vignettes that Skolimowski captures with wit, humanity and astonishing visual flair. “The Outwaters” begins with lots of loose footage of young folks hanging out. “God’s Time” has an endearingly scrappy vibe and a talented cast filled with unfamiliar faces. The real star of “Ambush” is Connor Paolo, playing Cpl. [Billy Bob Thornton](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/la-et-ca-billy-bob-thornton-20180607-htmlstory.html) — educates his crew by sharing colorful anecdotes from his misspent youth, filled with rich details about both the fun and the responsibilities of being a bad guy. The artful indie drama “Bruiser” starts out as an engaging but perhaps too typical coming-of-age story about a middle-class kid cracking under the pressure of having to be a diligent and well-behaved student all the time. “We Have a Ghost” is unnecessarily long, padded with tangential comic characters — including Jennifer Coolidge as a phony TV spiritualist and Tig Notaro as a bitter ex-CIA agent — who don’t do a lot to advance the story or make it funnier. It’d be hard for anyone to compete with Thornton, but “Devil’s Peak” isn’t helped much by the bland performance of its lead, Hopper Penn, who plays Charlie’s softhearted son Jacob. Dubbed “Ernest” because of the name stitched on his shirt, the ghost — who can make noise but can’t talk, and can touch people but can’t be touched — tries to chase away the home’s new family by howling and making scary faces. Jalyn Hall plays Darious, a teenager whose parents have saved and sacrificed to send him to a nice boarding school, providing the kind of comfortable upbringing they didn’t have. In this case, most of the heart-tugging comes via Kevin, from his strained relationship with Frank and his attempt to help Ernest figure out who he really is. [David Harbour](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2022-12-02/david-harbour-violent-night-santa-claus-action-christmas) as a spirit haunting a fixer-upper house in the Chicago area.

In addition, thriller film 12 Desperate Hours, comedic thriller series The Consultant, docuseries Formula 1: Drive to Survive and the 2023 SAG Awards will also ...

[Presenters for the ceremony](https://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/2023/02/15/SAG-Awards-presenters-Andrew-Garfield-Emily-Blunt/7981676484271/) include [Andrew Garfield](https://www.upi.com/topic/Andrew_Garfield/), Emily Blunt, [Jessica Chastain](https://www.upi.com/topic/Jessica_Chastain/), [Don Cheadle](https://www.upi.com/topic/Don_Cheadle/), [Caleb McLaughlin](https://www.upi.com/topic/Caleb-McLaughlin/), Paul Mescal, Ashley Park, Zendaya, [Michelle Yeoh](https://www.upi.com/topic/Michelle_Yeoh/), Ke Huy Quan, and [Michelle Williams](https://www.upi.com/topic/Michelle_Williams/). [returns for a fifth season Friday](https://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/TV/2023/01/12/Formula-1-Drive-Survive-Season-5-teaser-premiere-date-Netflix/4401673537888/) on Netflix. [Jack White](https://www.upi.com/topic/Jack_White/) serves as musical guest. [streams its first episode](https://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/TV/2023/01/04/christoph-waltz-consultant-prime-video/6071672836388/) Friday on Prime Video. [returns for a third outing](https://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/TV/2023/01/26/Party-Down-reunion-trailer-Starz-revival/9471674753059/) Friday on Starz and the premium network's streaming app. [streaming live Sunday](https://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/2023/01/31/2023-awards-show-schedule-how-to-watch/1221672955140/) at 8 p.m. [which airs Saturday on](https://www.mylifetime.com/movies/12-desperate-hours) Lifetime and streams the following day on the Lifetime app. The show is executive produced by James Gay-Rees and [Paul Martin](https://www.upi.com/topic/Paul_Martin/). The film, adapted by director Christopher Landon from the short story "Ernest" by Geoff Manaugh, stars Jahi Winston as Kevin, a teenager who discovers a ghost named Ernest ( [David Harbour](https://www.upi.com/topic/David-Harbour/)) haunting his family's new house. [streams Friday on](https://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/Movies/2023/01/26/We-Have-Ghost-trailer-David-Harbour-Netflix/4491674749578/) Netflix. [Christoph Waltz](https://www.upi.com/topic/Christoph_Waltz/) stars as Regus Patoff, a consultant hired to reorganize operations at an app-based gaming company. The movie, directed by [Gina Gershon](https://www.upi.com/topic/Gina_Gershon/), also stars David Conrad as Val's husband, Mark.

A so-so attempt to recall kids films of the 80s struggles to find its own personality amidst its many influences.

The bigger it all gets, the further we feel pushed away and it starts to recall the scrappy disaster of Happy Death Day 2U, which squandered the simple joys of the original by needlessly extending the canvas. There is some mildly interesting familial tension at play between Mackie’s opportunist father and Winston’s disappointed son (a speech about being unable to hide one’s faults when a child gets old enough to see them is effective) but Landon struggles to bring emotional heft to the central friendship. In Landon’s simpler, sweeter low-stakes opening act, the film works best, a charming melange of Casper, Beetlejuice and the aforementioned Amblin classics, gently taking us through familiar motions. “We have a ghost!” is then exclaimed with the words meaning something different to each family member. It makes sense that he would then parlay that into the world of family films and so his Landon has always been transparent about his influences – Happy Death Day recalling Groundhog Day, Disturbia recalling Rear Window (to the extent that Hitchcock’s estate tried to sue) – but here, he’s too busy trying to conjure the vibe of a certain type of film to focus on crafting something of his own.

However, as youngest son Kevin and his neighbour Joy begin to uncover the truth about Ernest's path, and his death, they swiftly become targets of a paranormal ...

The capture ghost-Ernest/Randy is being tortured/experimented on when a memory surfaces of the truth — ghost-Ernest/Randy dropped his daughter June off only for real-Ernest to murder him so that they could keep ghost-Ernest/Randy's daughter for themselves. In the attic, Kevin asks Joy if she thinks ghost-Ernest/Randy can still see them from wherever he is, and she says maybe. This allows Monroe to get a warrant to get into the Presley home, but Melanie warns her son the fuzz is on his trail. It only makes them more famous, attracting the attention of ghost hunter Leslie Monroe (Tig Notaro) and the CIA who come to the house to try and capture Ernest. With the help of his neighbour and equal social misfit Joy (Isabella Russo) the two begin to hunt down Ernest's past. Their ghost is the seemingly friendly Ernest, who helps turn the Presley family into a social-media sensation.