Ghostbusters: Afterlife Quicktake: Delightful Cast, Witty Script, Intensely Nostalgic
How strange is it that we haven’t had a proper Ghostbusters sequel since 1989? We’re up to 26 Marvel movies, and the MCU only kicked off in 2008. Since Ghostbusters II hit theatres, there have been eight Star Wars movies, ten Harry Potter titles, and three Batman franchises.
Ghostbusters is one of the most iconic movies of all time, and yet, the series only spawned one middle-of-the-road spin-off in 2016.
After a 30-year wait, the series has finally become a trilogy. Director Jason Reitman’s Ghostbusters: Afterlife is the follow-up fans have pined for since Ghostbusters II. Afterlife may not be the old-school Ghostbusters story long-time fans clamoured for, but it still delivers a satisfying conclusion to the original films.
Afterlife takes place in the present day, decades after the Ghostbusters saved New York from a supernatural cataclysm. The off-the-charts number of hauntings died down since the Ghostbusters’ heyday. Today, tales of ghosts and demons overrunning New York have taken on a mythical aura, like the Roswell UFO crash.
Early on, single mom Callie (Carrie Coon) and her two kids Phoebe (Mckenna Grace) and Trevor (Finn Wolfhard), are forced to pack up and leave their home after they’re evicted. Callie leads a messy life. Chalk that up to her father abandoning her as a child. When her absentee dad passes away, Callie and the kids have no choice but to move into his creepy old house in Summerville, Oklahoma.
Phoebe is an awkward genius. And after moving into her grandpa’s place, she discovers high intelligence runs in the family. It turns out her grandfather was the legendary Ghostbuster Dr. Egon Spengler (Harold Ramis).
Egon went MIA all those years ago because he was following a lead. There’s something evil brewing in America’s heartland, like the earthquakes rattling Summerville even though it isn’t on a fault line. The strange events seem linked to an old mine and long-dead occultist with dreams of immortality.
Phoebe, along with her conspiracy-loving pal Podcast (Logan Kim) and seismologist/summer school teacher Mr. Grooberson (Paul Rudd), must piece together what’s happening before Summerville becomes ground zero for a paranormal apocalypse.
If you’ve never seen a Ghostbusters movie, you can still sit down and enjoy Afterlife. It’s a family-friendly adventure movie with a fun mix of jokes and scares. This installment won’t change your mind if you’re cold on the series; it’s a less edgy version of the ‘80s classics. But if you’re a Ghostbusters diehard, this movie is custom-made to appeal to you. It’s packed with winks, nods, and easter eggs celebrating what fans love about the series.
New York City always felt like the fifth character in the Ghostbusters movies and you feel its absence here. The city’s give no fu<ks vibe is a core aspect of the series’ DNA. It’s a place where people don’t rattle easily because wild things happen to them every day. So it makes sense New Yorkers treat ghostbusting like any other blue-collar job. The Ghostbusters may be brilliant academics, but at the end of the day, they’re four working stiffs who can’t catch a break. Moving the story to small-town America tweaks the classic formula.
Afterlife feels more like the Spielberg-eqsque movies of the ‘80s. It has the same air of wonder and mystery as The Goonies, E.T., and Explorers. Tonally it feels closer to Stranger Things. What an example of pop culture cannibalizing itself, since Stranger Things pays homage to ‘80s classics like Ghostbusters.
Ghostbusters 1984 works like gangbusters because of its all-time great premise. It’s a buddy comedy and rom-com with horror and sci-fi elements. But the reason the series stands the test of time is because of its legendary cast. People would pay to watch those guys riff in any setting and walk away feeling like they got their money’s worth. Afterlife doesn’t come close to matching the original cast’s charisma.
Grace, Kim, and Rudd have excellent chemistry, and they take turns stealing scenes. The rest of the cast has much less to do and don’t feel as fully formed, which is unacceptable in a Ghostbusters movie. A Ghostbuster with no personality is like a Transformer that can’t transform.
Reitman and Gil Kenan’s sharp and snappy script keeps the quips coming from beginning to end. The film is laugh-out-loud funny, and much like its predecessor, it has its share of terrifying moments. If you can handle a good scare, then no need to worry. But there are a couple of segments that will put the all-caps FEAR into younger viewers. There’s a demonic possession sequence that wouldn’t be out of place in The Exorcist.
I still recall seeing Ghostbusters for the first time and experiencing a rush of emotions. I went from feeling scared stiff to almost pissing myself laughing (sometimes in the same scene). Afterlife recreates those same tonal shifts, which feels so very Ghostbusters.
In 1984, Ghostbusters’ special effects were ahead of their time, and Afterlife doesn’t try to reinvent the film’s signature look. It’s important to remember the studio didn’t expect Ghostbusters to become a massive hit, so they shot it on a smaller budget. This financial restriction added to the film’s beloved lo-fi aesthetic, forcing director Ivan Reitman to give the high-concept movie a grounded look and feel.
Afterlife’s cinematographer Eric Steelberg captures the spirit of ‘80s adventure movies, beautifully photographing the action with anamorphic lenses. The movie is full of gorgeous wide-angle shots of the Oklahoma countryside that would look right at home in a Chloé Zhao indie flick. Dazzling lens flares accentuate the frantic action sequences, and the effects team shot certain ghouls in-camera using practical effects, making them feel more menacing.
Critics are dunking hard on Afterlife right now, taking issue with Reitman’s reverence for the original movie (his father, Ivan Reitman directed Ghostbusters). I disagree with the negative buzz.
Afterlife is an unabashed love letter to Ghostbusters, sure. But it also feels like its own distinct thing. It’s nowhere near as slavish to the source material as The Force Awakens was to A New Hope.
A movie can pay homage to what came before, launch video game and toy lines, and still tell a gratifying story. Guardians of the Galaxy is a prime example. On top of that, Afterlife is bursting with heart. I caught several people at my screening weeping. It’s impossible to appreciate what this film achieves if you’ve already written it off as just another one of Sony’s financial assets.
Ghostbusters: Afterlife is the sequel I’ve been waiting to see since I was a kid – I have no doubt this would have been ten-year-old Victor’s favourite movie. Despite the new cast and setting, Afterlife delivers a gratifying conclusion to the story that began in Ghostbusters 1984. Even told from a new perspective, Afterlife still evokes the same feelings I experienced watching the original films.
For the first time in decades, fans can finally say Ghostbusters is back.
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