We're All Haunted Here is an arresting and dream-like haunted house film

Photo credit: Zac Pinto Lobo

Since The Amityville Horror was such a box office success in 1979, it spawned so many imitators that follow the same formula, even decades later. A family moves into a house. Strange occurrences begin to happen, and they're terrorized by ghost or even more sinister entities. From the get-go, the dream-like and hypnotic We're All Haunted Here subverts the overdone haunted house narrative. Yes, there's a ghost, and yes, she haunts a mother and son, but she's not exactly malevolent. Additionally, writer/director Zac Pinto Lobo's film uses a ghost/haunted house story to explore trauma and grief.

We're All Haunted Here stars Eli-Bella Wood as Julia, a ghost who primarily wears a blue dress and spends her days roaming around the house, sometimes completing daily chores, as if she were still alive. Technically, she haunts Kate (Emily Jeffers) and her son Nick (Ori Alfassi), but not in a cruel way. Instead, Julia gets off on performing a few tricks, like stacking the chairs on top of each other in the kitchen, which is also a nice nod to a similar scene in Poltergeist. As Kate struggles to return the chairs to a normal position, Julia chuckles in the corner. This is one aspect that sets We're All Haunted Here apart from similar movies. Julia isn't your typical kind of spook.

We're All Haunted Here explores grief and trauma

Near the halfway point, the narrative shifts. Suddenly, Nick does encounter scarier forces within the home. His bedroom door often slams shut. An entity pushes his bed against the wall, and at first, it seems like Lobo's film will fall into a cliched trap about nasty paranormal entities tormenting a family, but thankfully, it doesn't.

To reveal the cause of what Nick encounters would spoil too much of the movie, but let's just say that Lobo's film is more concerned with exploring profound grief, specifically Kate's, and how that manifests in the present and continually haunts her, no matter where she and her son move to. In that regard, a familiar narrative is used in creative fashion to explore grief, and in some ways, Julia and Kate mirror each other because they have to work on releasing and letting go of past traumas.

Further, this film has an alluring, dream-like quality, especially the constant shades of blue and the dark corners that the camera sometimes lingers on. It's hypnotic to watch We're All Haunted Here, especially in the dark. Lobo has quite a good visual eye. Even Julia's constant blue dress and the costume design makes her feel like she's embedded within the house.

We're All Haunted Here isn't a typical haunted house movie. The film continually defies a viewer's expectations, while hitting upon deeper issues, specifically grief and trauma. It's a film filled with surprises and visual flair.

We're All Haunted Here will be available to watch online starting Friday, November 13.