Summary
A family moves into a house only to find it haunted.
I thought in some respects this was quite a sweet film. Very familiar, but sweet. I thought the friendship between Jahi Winston’s Kevin and David Harbour’s Ernest was fairly nice and heart-warming, I liked a lot of the awkward comedy they injected into the interactions between the two, especially after they go on the run. Likewise I thought that the relationship between Kevin and his father, played by Anthony Mackie, was also quite well done I liked how they showed the distance but also that the spark of their bond was still partially alive.
My criticism of this film would be that it leaves a lot on the table and doesn’t go as wild as I would have liked it to, for a film that has a secret government agency that hunts down ghosts this film is more interested in it’s characters relationships than anything else, which for me seemed like a missed opportunity. When looking at Landon’s other recent work with the Happy Death Day films and Freaky I was expecting something a little more zany, though maybe he was trying to rebalance the scales with this one.
A final aside before I bring this review to an end, I think that this film is absolutely stolen by Isabella Russo’s Joy, whenever she is on-screen she commands attention and without trying was easily my favourite character of the film, I liked her attitude and general vibe and I also thought she had a lot of the funniest lines in the picture.
Overall, a surprisingly sweet film but one that has been done before, arguably better, and one that doesn’t go as hard or as silly as you would like it to.
3/5
Pros.
Winston, Harbour and Mackie
The character work and relationships
Russo as the scene stealer
Cons.
A little too serious at times for what it is
Pacing issues galore
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Another Millennial Reviewer 