This isn't a bad movie by any means, and has a really stellar performance by David Harbour. As the non-speaking ghost his physical communication; his miming, is truly excellent. Jahi Winston, as the youngest son of the family in the ghost's house, and who befriends the ghost and tries to understand him, is also terrific. The CIA agent who tries to play a hard line but who in the end is let down by her humanity, is played by Tig Notaro, who as you'd expect brings total assurance to her character. The always watchable Jennifer Coolidge does a nice role as a TV medium.
All that being said, the film is too long, and suffers from a confusion of genres. Is it a feelgood family movie? Yes, in some ways. Is it a comic horror movie? Yes, in parts. Because there is this confusion all the way through, with the film never being sure of what it is or who its audience might be, I felt a bit let down by it. More rigorous editing may have given us a better product.
There is, however, a splendid car chase.
The scene near the end, of a crazed murderer with a gun, seems strangely at odds with the rest of the film. And you really have to suspend belief - a creakily elderly man suddenly becomes a gun-wielding maniac with, it seems, almost superhuman strength and fighting ability. It was all a bit silly.
As I say, it's not a bad film, but it is annoying in its deficiencies, which with more care need not have been there at all.
(My partner, who is very exacting in his requirements of a good movie, claims firmly that this film should get only 5 stars.)
All that being said, the film is too long, and suffers from a confusion of genres. Is it a feelgood family movie? Yes, in some ways. Is it a comic horror movie? Yes, in parts. Because there is this confusion all the way through, with the film never being sure of what it is or who its audience might be, I felt a bit let down by it. More rigorous editing may have given us a better product.
There is, however, a splendid car chase.
The scene near the end, of a crazed murderer with a gun, seems strangely at odds with the rest of the film. And you really have to suspend belief - a creakily elderly man suddenly becomes a gun-wielding maniac with, it seems, almost superhuman strength and fighting ability. It was all a bit silly.
As I say, it's not a bad film, but it is annoying in its deficiencies, which with more care need not have been there at all.
(My partner, who is very exacting in his requirements of a good movie, claims firmly that this film should get only 5 stars.)