Working my way through some overdue reviews we arrive at Ghostbusters: Afterlife directed by Jason Reitman, son of original Ghostbusters film director Ivan Reitman. The film came to theaters back in November and I had full intentions on taking my son to see it and we just never made it. We promptly checked it out on digital once it became. Ghostbusters was one of the first movies I remember seeing as a young child peering through my fingers with the “Get her!” moment always scaring me. (I was young!) I’m always a bit hesitant whenever we reboot/revisit a classic franchise but this one was definitely made as a love letter to the original film that launched an IP, a song, and a question about everyone’s phone habits.
As soon as this film was announced I wondered if/how they would address the late Harold Ramis’ character, Egon Spengler, as he was a key member of the original team. It delighted me greatly to discover the plot of the film would actually revolve around his character and family. While Ramis is, unfortunately, no longer with us his presence is felt in every bit of the movie.
The film begins with Egon (who’s face isn’t shown directly) now living in isolation on a farm in Oklahoma, continuing his dealings with the supernatural. Unfortunately, in attempting to lure and catch something sinister Egon loses his battle to the supernatural threat (in a very reminiscent way) and crosses over to join them. While it was sad seeing a beloved character meet their end, I appreciated the story having Egon’s character move on rather than attempt to recast or deepfake him.
We are then introduced to Egon’s daughter, Callie (played by Carrie Coon), and grandkids, Phoebe and Trevor, (played by Mckenna Grace and Finn Wolfhard) who have inherited their late relative’s home and possessions. Egon’s creepy old house becomes the central location of the movie and fans of the franchise will notice little Easter eggs and callbacks to the previous films all around the residence as the movie progresses.
The kids slowly begin to uncover familiar items to the Ghostbusters franchise including ghost traps, proton packs and the Ecto-1. One of my of worries when introducing kids as leads to a franchise previously headlined by adults is that they’re actually likable and not just there as a gimmick. Mckenna Grace as Phoebe steals the movie. Her nerdy curiosity and dry wit were absolutely a highlight for me and kept me cracking up as I looked over at my son realizing what a nerd his dad is. Logan Kim as the microphone toting Podcast is my favorite member of the cast with natural charisma and humor. Working in the production industry I can fully relate to Podcast. The kid spoke my language and I’m ready to produce his show. Finn Wolfhard and Celeste O’Connor are fine members of the cast, however, I felt their characters to be less charismatic than their younger counterparts. Not a dig on the actors just Phoebe and Podcast are given a lot more to do.
Another highlight of the film is Mr. Grooberson played by Paul Rudd. Most of my generation first came to know Rudd as Josh from Clueless. To this current generation he’s Ant-Man but really at this point I’d pretty much watch him in anything. Rudd, and Grooberson alike, being a big kid himself plays naturally off the younger cast members. Via YouTube and him being a fan of the Ghostbusters, Mr. Grooberson gives the kids a recap of the events of the original film and Phoebe knows exactly who she’s going to call…
Without taking you through each one the movie begins to follow similar beats to the original with callbacks to Stay Puft, the dogs, The Keymaster, Zuul The Gatekeeper and even Gozer the Gozerian making her big return played here by Olivia Wilde. Idk if it was known and I missed it or Wilde playing Gozer was a surprise but upon her arrival I definitely had a “Oh sh*t it’s Goze… is that Olivia Wilde?!” moment. There is also a really fun action sequence involving the kids driving the Ecto-1 through town trying to capture a ghost.
Of course the only ones capable of stopping Gozer are the OGs. The original Ghostbusters. Ray Stantz (Dan Ackroyd), Peter Venkman (Bill Murray), and Winston Zeddemore (Ernie Hudson) arrive to lend a hand and with the aid of their old friend Egon, now a ghost helping his granddaughter, are able to once again defeat Gozer. It was a great way to have the four on screen one last time without Ramis’ actual physical presence. The scene is very touching with the original team getting to say goodbye to their friend and it feels like they’re saying goodbye in real life as well. The words “For Harold” closing the picture. If you hang through the credits there’s a bonus scene with Bill Murray and Sigourney Weaver that fans will appreciate. I did find myself asking “Why? Why do something that has already been done? Why bring Gozer back just to have the same four defeat her again?” and I did not have an answer for myself.
As I mentioned earlier this movie was made as a love letter to the original and that both helps and somewhat hinders it. The DNA of “Ghostbusters” is engrained in this movie with familiar characters, props, jokes and even the original director’s son taking up the mantle. Also worth mentioning are notable cameos from Annie Potts as Janine and J.K. Simmons as Ivo Shandor and notably missing is Rick Moranis’ Louis Tully. While I enjoyed all of the performances in the film, we spend a lot of time retreading old grounds that we don’t really go forward much aside from the passing of the torch to the kids. Visual effects in the movie were on point. The updated effects for the “dogs” and the lil Stay Pufts looked great while remaining faithful to their original designs and never felt overdone. Olivia Wilde was a solid, surprise, replacement Slavitza Jovan as Gozer the Gozearian. In the case of remakes/reboots/continuations I always ask myself again “Why?” I guess the answer is really rather simplistic. Not only the obvious financial gains but to keep the brand going so new generations can enjoy their own Ghostbusters. Even though there is not much new to see here this film does feel like the proper and loving way to revive and continue a franchise, not by ignoring what came before but by honoring it.
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