We Have A Ghost Viewers Found This One Scene 'Jarring' And 'Insulting'
The past comes back to haunt a family in "We Have a Ghost." The Netflix film follows the Presleys after they find a home that seems too good to be true — misgivings that prove to be right after an apparition appears. "Stranger Things" star David Harbour once again teams up with Netflix, and aspects of his role might seem a bit familiar to viewers. Thanks to Frank Presley (Anthony Mackie) and his youngest son Kevin (Jahi Winston), the ghost discovers his true identity while also learning why he's still haunting the living.
From the director behind "Freaky" and "Happy Death Day," this family comedy with a horror twist briefly ranked as number one on Netflix's daily US top ten movie list. While genre critics were divided over the toned-down horror comedy, the film caters to a more family-friendly audience — a strategy that seems to have paid off in total minutes watched. However, there is one detail causing viewers to rethink how the characters treated their spectral visitor.
The ghost's name reveals a dark fate
Kevin initially encounters the ghost, and their meetings set up much of the paranormal aspects of the story while also introducing a name for the supernatural character. The youngest Presley son identifies the apparition as Ernest due to the name listed on his shirt. However, it is later revealed that Ernest has a more sinister connotation, as that was actually the name of the ghost's killer.
A Reddit thread with film spoilers picked up on why this could be problematic. u/Texcellence summed it up by pointing out how weird it was that everyone would continue to call the ghost Ernest after discovering this was actually the killer's name. Other Reddit posts went even further, and u/RandoRedditorPerson found it to be jarring in what was an otherwise touching scene.
The Presleys' insistence on calling the character Ernest instead of his actual name was insulting for u/Medium_Stuff7166. This same detail was even more scrutinized when it came to another character. "The daughter just rolled with it too, I think if that were my father I wouldn't want him to be called the name of my dads murderer who raised me," wrote u/yepyeeeee.
In a counterpoint, at least one user found some logic behind the decision. u/DwendilSurespear felt that it made sense in context, as it may have been what the ghost was used to at that point.