Film review by Jay Richardson

After five near-perfect series on television, you need a strong conceit to justify resurrecting Ghosts for the cinema, with the chance to undermine the beloved sitcom's legacy a not inconsiderable risk.

The creators-cast of Mathew Bayton, Simon Farnaby, Martha Howe-Douglas, Jim Howick, Laurence Rickard and Ben Willbond have previously made a witty comedy for the big screen, but the alternative Shakespeare biopic Bill rather flopped.

Happily though, with this bodily possession storyline, the group have hit upon a relatively simple but inspired way of expanding their ghosts' universe beyond Button House, just a little, indulging the phantoms in a corporeal holiday with all the potential for fish-out-of-water, Freaky Friday body-swap jokes and a rush of feeling alive once again, while still remaining true to the haunted homely warmth that made the show such a feelgood hit.

Who doesn't wish to see Fanny exposed at a police station? The Captain finally out in the field at last, Pat sating his long-dormant taste buds or Julian facing the consequences of his government's privatisation of the railways?

Wisely, there's no clunky catch-up for newcomers, expressed by the harried Alison (Charlotte Ritchie) dismissively explaining to a new, younger character that her ability to see ghosts is 'a long story’. Existing fans also know that she, Mike (Kiell Smith-Bynoe) and baby Mia quit Button House at the end of the television run, leaving its bored, spectral inhabitants to count the days till it teems with life again as a hotel and golf resort.  

From the film’s opening, nighttime shots of BMX lights dancing over the grounds of the crumbling country pile you're reminded of E.T. and Stranger Things, primed to expect storytelling for all ages where kids (and ghosts!) confront the supernatural and their own (im)mortality.

The cross-generational, 'found' family of spooks find their hopes of fresh distraction opposed by a rattag bunch of eco-warriors protesting Button House's development. More pressingly, they're also mirrored by a group of teens, led by I Swear's Scott Ellis Watson as the troubled Jack. The kids break into the stately home to conduct a séance, prompting the accidental discovery that spectres can inhabit the bodies of the living.

Even as the rest of the ghosts squabble and debate the magnitude of this revelation, ethically flexible poltergeist Julian hops inside Jack and embarks on a mission into the living world to reconnect with Alison, persuade her to discredit the eco protesters and save Button House.

With Alison and Mike evading the police for inadvertently kidnapping a 14-year-old, Watson is good value parroting Julian's self-serving, staccato speech and mannerisms. Yet the rest of the younger cast also acquit themselves well, affording child viewers someone to directly empathise with over 90 goofy, exhilarating minutes. Series director Simon Hynd trusts to the familiar plot rhythms of the sitcom with a few added spikes of peril, car chase and blaring Status Quo.

Kitty (Lolly Adefope) and Pat make various misguided attempts to get down with the kids, Robin becomes besotted with a crusty eco- warrior (Sian Clifford) and Thomas briefly lives his Byronic dreams, sharing a saddle with Alison. As in the generous, warm-hearted series, all of the main characters get their fair share of storylines and gags.

Regular viewers will appreciate the subtler callbacks and naughtier sly puns, with Rufus Jones bestowed a choice name as the principal villain. He's one of several familiar comedy faces appearing alongside the likes of Amy Gledhill, John-Luke Roberts, Emily Lloyd Saini and Tamsyn Kelly, with Joe Wilkinson the pick as the deceased train conductor who seizes on luckless Alison to bore her with trivia about his former line.

A lovingly crafted and worthwhile postscript that's ideal for Halloween family viewing, yet which holds that love and community can be found in whatever dysfunctional group you find yourself in, Ghosts: The Possession of Button House is a joyful and gleefully silly romp that will delight established fans of the show.

Review date: 22 Oct 2026
Reviewed by: Jay Richardson