David Harbour has been in deservedly high demand after his breakout role of surly, tough-as-nails sheriff Jim Hopper on the supernatural 80s romp that is Stranger Things. Since the Netflix series became a global phenom, Harbour has headed up some high-profile projects. He matted on the foam rubber and red makeup to play the titular character in Hellboy, suited up as the scene-stealing Red Guardian in the MCU’s Black Widow, and most recently mopped the floor with bad guys as a drunken, brawling St. Nick in Violent Night.
Stranger Things is set to close out with a likely epic fifth season, but Harbour isn’t slowing down with the series winding down. The actor is set to appear on Netflix once again with the streaming comedy We Have a Ghost, a story about a family finding their new home to be haunted and a social media groundswell on the other side. Once again delving into the world of the supernatural, Harbour will appear alongside fellow MCU alum Anthony Mackie, Jennifer Coolidge, and Jahi Di’Allo Winston. A trailer for the Christopher Landon-directed film recently dropped. Here’s a breakdown of the footage from We Have a Ghost.
The trailer begins with the family pulling up to the curb of their new decidedly creepy-looking house, and Mackie’s patriarch talking about fresh starts. Kevin (Winston) immediately notices a lone light glowing on the top floor of the peeling white-painted structure. “Nothing bad happened here…right,” inquires Kevin’s smiling mother.
Side eyes and flat-out staring greet Kevin as he walks his new school’s hallways, with one classmate telling him he moved into “the house of death.” “Everyone says it’s haunted,” continues his new peer. Kevin explores what’s likely the attic, with stripped walls choked with cobwebs at every turn and a rocking chair sauntering back and forth on its own. Here is his first encounter with the specter he’s been warned about. David Harbour’s Ernest materializes and lets out a guttural howl with arms flailing, leading to a scoff from Kevin as he films the incident on his phone. Despite Kevin’s pleas, the ghost vanishes into the wall.
“We have a ghost,” insists Kevin’s older brother to their father, pointing to the cell phone footage of Ernest’s attempted spooking of Kevin. The trailer cuts to a jovial-looking Ernest heartily waving at Kevin’s mother as her face contorts into a terrified scream. Ernest is in turn scared off by the rejection of his friendly gesture, lets out his own wail and turns tail, and dematerializes into the wall.
A smirking Mackie is next seen uploading the video onto the web for the masses to witness his new home’s specter. A likely scene-stealing Jennifer Coolidge is introduced as a Miss Cleo-esque, schlocky psychic medium, declaring that the entire world is captivated by the family’s ghost.
The YouTube views rack up into the millions as clamoring crowds and the press gather around the family’s home to get a glimpse of the newly famous homeowners. This includes an onlooker dressed as Jesus, complete with clasped praying hands peering in the family’s window before the shades are shut on him.
Ernest and Kevin are next seen sitting down on the floor, with Kevin extending his hand to the ghost. His hand goes right through that of Ernest, and with a shake of his head he informs his new living friend that he is mute. Kevin asks what happened to him, getting a column look from Ernest and a quick flashback showing a body sprawled out among broken glass on the home’s lawn.
It’s implied Ernest doesn’t have the full picture of what happened to him, so Kevin is seen taking the case via the web and items found in the house. He encourages Ernest to step outside, who’s then spotted by the Jesus actor. Ernest, Kevin, and his friend flee the scene with Ernest running through a wall to the covered tune of the Doors’ Break on Through, terrifying an office of workers with screams and coffee flying about and then a tattoo artist and his client.
Here we’re introduced to comedian Tig Notaro’s ghost-busting fed Dr. Leslie Monroe, acting on orders to throw the net on Ernest. Breaching the home, she orders a crew of high-tech weaponry-wielding agents to take Ernest.
The trio of Ernest, Kevin, and his friend are seen on the run and on the road, fleeing the authorities. Ernest is enjoying the high-speed ride, sticking his body out the window in the spirit of Heath Ledger’s Joker, loving the wind and the freedom.
Agents are seen breaking in doors and flanking Mackie’s character, just before Ernest appears in a police car, freaking out the officer into driving through a plate glass window. The spirit then does the cool guy ’80s movie hero slide across Kevin’s car hood.
The trailer concludes with Coolidge’s West Bay Medium asking Frank “Is he here now?” Kevin asks Ernest “are you ready to have some fun?” The latter is then seen sprinting through the house and making his face meltdown to the skull a lá Toht in Raiders of the Lost Ark, prompting the Medium to run crashing through the window.
The trailer gives off a playful tone with a dash of seriousness, leading to inevitable Ghostbusters comparisons. If it follows that formula with any measure of success, We Have a Ghost should be another hit for Harbour and Netflix.
