152) NEW HORROR RELEASES - We Have a Ghost (2023)

"If we nail this, I'm talking about book deals, merchandising. We could be the black Kardashians. Don't you want to be Kim Kardashian?"

Director

Christopher Landon

Cast
David Harbour - Ernest

Jahi Winston - Kevin Presley
Anthony Mackie - Frank Presley
Erica Ash - Melanie Presley

Niles Fitch - Fulton Presley

Isabella Russo - Joy Yoshino
Tig Notaro - Dr. Leslie Monroe
Jennifer Coolidge - Judy Romano

Horror comedies are fundamental in the horror movie realm. They make horror a much more rounded and palatable genre. 

I've previously mentioned that horror can be a sort of "how to" guide when it comes to dealing with our own trepidations and fears. A well-made horror flick lets audiences know there's a way out of the horrific situations we encounter. In other words, we can apply tactics to what we have to the anxiety fueling situations we face in our lives.

Laughing helps also. Some of the best horror movies out there are comedies - "Zombieland," "Beetlejuice," "Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstein," "Shaun of the Dead," "Young Frankenstein," "Little Shop of Horrors," and of course "Ghostbusters." 

The movie "We Have a Ghost" dropped on Netflix February 24. It labels itself as a "modern ghost story" which I can appreciate. It also casts a group of well-known names such David Harbour, Jennifer Coolidge, Anthony Mackie, and Tig Notaro from...I have no idea. 

Its director Christopher Landon's name is linked to some well-known horror titles. He was a writer for the 2007 movie "Disturbia" as well as "Paranormal Activity 2, 3, and 4," (2010 - 2012), "Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones" (2014) and "Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin" (2021). Honestly, I've only seen the first four "Paranormal Activity" movies and thought part three was the only scary and worthwhile film of the bunch. 

Landon also directed "Happy Death Day" (2017) and its 2019 sequel "Happy Death Day 2U." I thought both of movies were entertaining and enjoyable.  

"We Have a Ghost" is based on a short story called "Ernest" by Geoff Manaugh.
David Harbour ("Stranger Things," "Violent Night") stars as the specter, Ernest, who resides in the attic of a rather ordinary house on a relatively ordinary block.
The Presley family moves in a year after the previous occupants quickly moved out. 

Frank Presley (Anthony Mackie) is rightly skeptical about the house as it's selling for a low price. 

The real estate agent tells him houses are simply going for cheap these days. 

He and his wife, Melanie (Erica Ash) and their two sons, Kevin (Jahi Winston) and Fulton (Niles Fitch) still move in.

It doesn't take long before his youngest son, Kevin, encounters an apparition of a middle-aged man with a bad combover and wearing a dated bowling shirt up in the attic.

Rather than run away screaming in terror as any normal person would do, he starts laughing at the ghost's attempt to frighten him off and records this manifestation on his smart phone.

Kevin later returns to the attic to attempt communication with the ghost. The ghost manifests again and Kevin invites this entity to sit down and chat, which it does.

The ghost can't talk, nor can he remember anything about its life. The name "Ernest" IS embroidered on his shirt. So, that's what Kevin calls him. 

Frank soon sees the video and creates a YouTube channel just to post Kevin's footage. 

The video of Ernest goes viral and gains some media attention. Frank has Kevin called Ernest out again. When he appears, Frank gets more footage of Ernest for the channel. 

Melanie finds the video online along with all the viral attention, and panics at having a ghost in the house.

Frank, however, calms her down and convinces her that the situation could be profitable for them, and make the family famous on-line. 

Jahi Winston, Isabella Russo, and David Harbour in "We Have a Ghost."

Kevin also meets his neighbor, Joy (Isabella Russo) who goes to the same high school as he does. 

She's amazed he and his family moved into "the house of death" as she calls. She takes interest in the ghost and helps Kevin research the house and try to find who Ernest was during his life. 

Both the online and media attention mixed in with Kevin and Joy's investigation into Ernest's history leads to circumstances no one could have anticipated. 

As all this is going on, a CIA agent (or former CIA agent? Again...I don't know) named Dr. Leslie Monroe (Tig Notaro) wants to resurrect (for lack of a better term) her old paranormal investigation program known as Wizard Clip. Its purpose is to capture and hold a ghost indefinitely. 

Monroe tries to convince her superior that Ernest can prove to be dangerous and needs to be incarcerated. Of course, she won't call it "ghost jail" but the audience isn't stupid. We know what she means. 

Anyways, while her boss at the CIA is initially unwilling to reinstate the program, he eventually does as Ernest grows in popularity. She gets to work immediately.

Monroe heads an armed tactical group of agents who rampage into the Presley's home looking for Ernest and turn the house into a base for Ernest catching activities.

When they do find him, they capture Ernest with their totally not-the-Ghostbusters-proton-packs ghost capturing guns and keep him locked up in a special ghost holding jail cell. Ghost jail! 

It's no revelation to say that in movies and in reality, people are generally squeamish around bodies and souls when they're separated. People normally find dead bodies gross and disturbing. They're also terrified of ghosts. Stating this blatantly obvious fact is no revelation. I only mention it because the movie didn't even get that right. 

Suspension of reality in movies is one thing. Still, horror comedies such as the those I mentioned above know this small fact rather well and use it to their comedic advantage. Even the Ghostbusters were terrified of the paranormal entities they encountered. How each character in "Ghostbusters" conveyed that fear is part of the movie's humor. 

In "We Have a Ghost" Kevin's reaction when he first encounters Ernest makes no bloody sense. It's not charming. It's not even funny. He just chuckles as this ghost tries to scare him. From that moment on, the movie just gets worse. 

As too many people are desensitized to just about everything these days, on top of being greedy and entitled as ever, I shouldn't act surprised that the characters in "We Have a Ghost" are written in such a way that they don't react to the extraordinary circumstances that fall in their lap. Their thoughts go straight to social media and potential profit. These characters are ridiculously bland. 

The biggest problem is that the story seems to be made up as it goes along. First, there's a ghost that manifests itself to whomever happens to be around. In the story, proof of the afterlife is now present for all to see.

But the Presley's don't think much about it other than profit. The media, of course, are flocking to their house for a story. And the CIA takes over their house for the sake of finding and capturing Ernest whose palling around Kevin and Joy as they look into his history. 

As Kevin and Joy conduct their investigation, they end up being declared missing. The police react by trying to arrest them which leads to an overblown police chase with guns blazing. Unless they're shooting at Ernest, the ghost? 

Ernest tags along with Kevin and Joy, and is seen by everyone wherever he goes. He can disappear at will, and remain present but invisible when he choses. But most of the time while out and about, he remains visible. I guess he's the first soul in the history of eternity to stay manifested no matter where he goes. Folks out in public who see him act the way anyone would at seeing a ghost. They're scared. 

Anthony Mackie as Frank Presley

Meanwhile, the CIA ghost police are trying to capture Ernest under the claim that he's dangerous. It's an accusation based on nothing.

As the story builds up Monroe's efforts in catching Ernest, it seems the story is leading to a plot point that involves her past with Ernest during his life. Was she his daughter? Was she a family member or a jilted ex-girlfriend? Who knows? Her motivations are never explained. I guess she's just a CIA agent wanting to start her old ghost police program up again. In fact, her character is completely unnecessary. If she wasn't in the story, it would haven't made any difference. 

The overall premise is certainly unique, but the execution of the storyline is a complete mess. On top of that, there's nothing funny in the movie. I didn't laugh once. Not even accidentally. 

Of course, the entire thing is sprinkled with the "required" politically motivated platitudes that the writers stumble over themselves to insert. There's a reference to "stupid gender norms." In one scene, when Melanie takes issue with having a ghost in the home, she states that she doesn't want her family to be like the "stupid white people" in horror movies. There are the mindless trigger-happy white cops, of course. At this point, these ideology nods are like nails on a chalkboard. They're difficult to ignore. By now, such political pandering and mindless virtue signaling as seen in this movie is like product placement. The hack writers in Hollywood have to sell their political platitudes wherever they can, regardless of whether they fit or not. They stand out as forced and obvious. 

The acting isn't much to talk about, either. As Ernest isn't able to talk, most of Harbour's performance is through actions and expressions. But that, like the rest of the acting, is lackluster and unconvincing. The only worthwhile performance comes from Jennifer Coolidge who plays a celebrity psychic. She, at least, could pull off a fairly decent performance in her supporting role. 

"We Have a Ghost" is a big lose in the genre of horror comedies. I'm hard pressed to find what it offers the genre. Like Ernest, the movie is a lost soul that doesn't know where to go or how to get there.  

151) Antlers (2021)

"But one day, the little bear came home, and Big Bear and Baby Bear were different. Big Bear got sick and his insides turned black. Big Bear has become more angrier and meaner, because they had no food, no meat. But they had each other."

Director

Scott Cooper

Cast

Keri Russell - Julia Meadows

Jesse Plemons - Paul Meadows

Jeremy T. Thomas - Lucas Weaver

Scott Haze - Frank Weaver

Sawyer Jones - Aiden Weaver

Graham Greene - Warren Stokes

Amy Madigan - Ellen Booth

For some reason, I've been asked by a handful of friends and acquaintances if I had seen the 2021 movie "Antlers."
I hadn't until now.
Honestly, I had little interest in seeing it. However, Guillermo Del Toro's name as well the producer alongside Scott Cooper as director piqued my interest once I found out they were involved. I initially missed those details.

I admire Del Toro's visual style but often his stories are not my glass of beer. 

Cooper, on the other hand, has been involved in some popular films. He stars in a favorite movie of mine - "Get Low" (2009). 

"Antlers" takes place in Cispus Falls, located in Central Oregon. Some guy named Frank Weaver (Scott Haze) along with an accomplice operate a meth lab deep within an abandoned mine. 

Frank has his seven-year-old son, Aiden (Sawyer Jones), wait in the truck while he and this accomplice finish up their meth manufacturing shenanigans. When the two hear strange noises from within the mine, they investigate because that's what people have to do in horror movies despite any warnings or protests. As expected, they're attacked by some kind of unseen monster.

The story shifts to three weeks later. Frank's 12-year-old son, Lucas (Jeremy T. Thomas) is a lonely kid who roams the town killing small animals or collecting roadkill and taking them home. 

His quiet melancholy demeanor, disturbing drawings, and the constant bullying he endures at school captures the attention and sympathy of his teacher Julia (Keri Russell).

Julia lives with her brother, Paul (Jesse Plemons), who's the local sheriff. She's returned to Cispus Falls soon after her mentally ill, alcoholic and abusive father committed suicide.

Having suffered sexual abuse as a child at the hands of her father, she suspects Lucas may be going through some kind of abuse at home. 

First, Julia visits Lucas's house unannounced. No one answers the door, but she hears strange sounds coming from within which scares her away.

She then tries to connect with Lucas by following him into town and then "bumping" into him by chance outside an ice cream parlor where she offers to treat him.

He accepts the on-the-spot invitation. However, he soon tells Julia not to come by the house and to also stop following him. 

It's revealed through a flashback that while Frank and Aiden, who wandered into the mine after his dad didn't come out, survived the attack. Frank became possessed by this monster, which turned him into a ravenous animalistic version of his former self. Aiden is also affected somehow but he remains relatively normal. 

Lucas keeps both of them locked up in the attic and feeds them the dead animals he collects. 

Meanwhile, the remains of Frank's accomplice from the beginning are found in the woods. The majority of what's left of him looks like it was devoured by animals.

The rest of his remains are found in the mine. A piece of an antler is also found in inside. 

Julia goes to the school principal, Ellen (Amy Madigan), to ask if she'll look in on Lucas and talk to his father about the school's concerns. 

Of course, when Ellen arrives at the house, it appears that no one's home. 

She also hears odd sounds coming from inside. But she, in true horror movie fashion, decides to walk in and see where the noises are coming from. 

Ellen makes her way to the locked attic door. She unlocks it and walks in, seeing Aiden who's dirty, thin, and looking miserable. She doesn't see his dad. You know as soon as she walks up the front steps of the house that things aren't going to end well with her. This is the movie's most terrifying moment which isn't saying much. 

After Ellen is reported missing, Julia finds her car at Lucas's house. 

The cops show up and find what's left of Ellen along with Frank. Whatever was possessing Frank escaped his body and left Frank's remains on the floor. Aiden is missing, though. 

Lucas shows up and is taken to the hospital where the doctor tells Julia and Paul that he's malnourished and dehydrated. They allow him to stay at their house. 

Meanwhile, Julia shows the antlers and Lucas's pictures to Warren Stokes (Graham Greene), a Native American expert of spooky mythological monsters.

He identifies the antlers and the creature in Lucas's drawings as a wendigo - a demon of Algonquin lore that possesses people and is passed from person to person.

Turns out Frank was possessed by one of these wendigos and Aiden is a part of it. So, Paul and Julia take it upon themselves to take care of the issue. Of course, as horror movies go, things don't turn out quite as planned. 

"Antlers" is simply a fancy new creature feature movie with a hint of allegory surrounding drug use and child abuse, and with Guillermo Del Toro's name attached to it.  

Del Toro is superb at creating a distinct atmosphere that can be chilling and fantastical. He has a unique style when it comes to his creatures. And he accomplishes that with "Antlers." The atmosphere is mostly dark and damp. But the visuals and effects (however little of it there is) are great. Otherwise, the story is rushed through and gives the audience very little outside of a quick allegory, some blood and

 Jeremy T. Thomas in "Antlers."

gore, and characters who are pretty much forgettable. There's little about the characters that allow the audience to take interest in them. Lucas being a child in peril, having to take care of his possessed father and little brother. Children, the most innocent among us, depicted in peril always pulls at the heart strings. That gives the audience something to be invested in as far as he's concerned. The rest of the characters are dull and forgettable. These characters are planted in the story but offer nothing grab the audience's interest. 

I found "Antlers" underwhelming and weak as far as the story goes. Even with the drug/ child abuse allegory, by the end it just feels like a quick thrill monster movie with a rushed story meant to give the audience a quick thrill...that barely works. To its credit, though, the story doesn't completely depend on blood, guts, and gore to frighten the audience. It tries to let the nasty old monster do the work. That doesn't help the fact that the entire story feels haphazard, lacking and unconvincing. By the end, "Antlers" is another substandard creature feature that takes itself too seriously because something Native American is tossed in. It's $5 bargain bin filler I'm sure I'll find at Walmart in the near future.

The intrigue that it builds throughout the story goes up in a is a puff of smoke by the end, leaving room for a sequel that would probably be the same thing as before. 

By the way, I haven't seen Amy Madigan in a while. I remember her best from John Hughes' comedy "Uncle Buck" and the 1993 Stephen King film "The Dark Half." 

But her character, sadly, succumbs to the age-old horror trop seen all too often - the bad decision. Still, what's a horror movie without a blatantly bad decision or two?