I’m… not actually sure why David Harbour agreed to this movie. You’d definitely know him as Jim Hopper in Stranger Things, but I know he’s made a name for himself elsewhere as well. Anyway, David Harbour plays a ghost named Ernest haunting the new home of Kevin (Jahi Winston) and his family.
This is a pretty predictable flick where our protagonist decides to help the ghost find and finish his unfinished business aided by his nerdy friend-slash-love-interest, Joy (Isabella Russo.) Eventually, Kevin’s dad posts a video of the ghost online and chaos ensues. The small town goes nuts fangirling over Ernest, and the government naturally gets involved with the intention of performing some sketchy experiments.
Joy and Kevin set out to save Ernest and track down his killer as the town and the world question whether your humanity and rights end when you die.
Honestly, the single most believable thing in this movie was Jahi’s portrayal of Kevin. His character was heartfelt and genuine, relatable especially to younger generations. His reaction to seeing Ernest cracked me up because it is absolutely how 95% of Gen Z’ers would react: 1) No screaming, just mild surprise. 2) Pull out your phone to record, because no one would ever believe this. 3) Introduce yourself and offer a listening ear.
The special effects were pretty bad, but I think they were supposed to be.
Joy was a pretty cliché manic pixie dream girl, but Russo played the part well and delivered a few sassy one liners that made her character believable and fun. I did think she and Winston lacked romantic chemistry. Kevin and Joy should have been best friends, but Netflix presented a teen romance where the characters didn’t call for one.
Kevin’s family dynamic was strange. His dad and brother were incredibly impulsive, not thinking about long term consequences such as when Dad requested the household ghost be kept a secret from Mom, then promptly posted a video for the entire world to see. Mom was… a pretty typical mom role. Nothing stood out.
Ultimately, this movie was a family friendly flick with a cute but predictable storyline and a small tug on the heartstrings near the end. It didn’t present anything spectacular, but it wasn’t bad. I give We Have A Ghost a 5/10.
The Midnight Review 