Interview: Director Christopher Landon on We Have a Ghost + Happy Death Day & Freaky sequels

Last Updated on March 2, 2023

Christopher Landon has quietly established himself as one of the most original voices in the horror genre. Adopting a slightly campy, fun-loving approach, Landon wrote and directed a series of movies for Blumhouse that are beloved by fans: Happy Death Day and its sequel, Happy Death Day 2U, and the underrated Freaky. Now, working with a much bigger budget, Landon’s been able to stretch out with his latest film for Netflix, We Have a Ghost, which stars David Harbour as a ghost haunting a house owned by Anthony Mackie and his family.

Unlike most other haunted house movies, Harbour’s silent ghost, Ernest, has a heart of gold and becomes BFFs with Jahi Winston’s Kevin, the family’s long-ignored son who comes into his own, protecting Ernest from his somewhat opportunistic father. Eventually, Kevin and Ernest try to unravel the amnesia-stricken ghost’s past in a family adventure that owes a lot to the Amblin’ movies of the eighties, particularly Harry and the Hendersons.

In our exclusive interview, Landon, who’s the son of the legendary Michael Landon (Bonanza, Little House on the Prairie, Highway to Heaven), discusses working in a bigger sandbox with Netflix, and how a movie like We Have A Ghost would almost never be made for a studio nowadays. He also lets us know whether we could ever hope for a sequel to Freaky or another Happy Death Day. We Have a Ghost is streaming on Netflix now!