Ghosts: Possession of Button House movie review — SkimNews
Get the Culture newsletter
Daily culture — film, music, books, the trends and ideas worth your attention. Free.
- Ghosts: The Possession of Button House is a spin-off film of the BBC haunted-house comedy, picking up shortly after the events of the TV series' 2023 final episode
- Charlotte Ritchie and Kiell Smith-Bynoe reprise Alison and Mike, who have sold Button House to a hotel chain whose refurbishment has stalled, leaving the ghosts pining for the only living person who can see them
- The ghost ensemble — including Simon Farnaby's trouserless Tory MP Julian Fawcett, Jim Howick's arrow-through-the-neck scoutmaster Pat, plus Kitty, Fanny and caveman Robin — drives the comedy, with new additions including Robin's crusty eco-activist love interest
- The reviewer found that escaping the 30-minute episode structure actually amplified the gag density, delivering "new levels of giddiness" rather than the typical spin-off dip
- Family appeal was confirmed when a nine-year-old watching alongside the critic "hooted throughout"
- The reviewer's only gripe was release timing: the BBC should have held the film for a Christmas broadcast to deliver "genuine festive cheer"
Why it matters: For Ghosts fans, the film answers a common worry about British sitcom spin-offs — that expanding beyond the 30-minute format dilutes the jokes — by reportedly doing the opposite. The reviewer also flags a BBC scheduling miss: a warm, family-friendly comedy launching outside the festive window forfeits its natural tentpole moment on the public-service broadcaster.
Ask SkimNews
