Throw on your proton pack and get ready to bust some ghosts because June 8^th is officially “Ghostbusters Day”! Ghostbusters (Reitman, 1984) was first released on this day back in 1984 and has become a major pop culture franchise that includes comic books, a popular cartoon and line of action figures, and videogames.

Released: 15 July 2016
Director: Paul Feig
Distributor: Sony Pictures Releasing
Budget: $144 million
Stars: Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Kate McKinnon, Leslie Jones, Chris Hemsworth, Neil Casey, and Andy García

The Plot:
Estranged friends and physicists Doctor Erin Gilbert (Wiig) and Doctor Abby Yates (McCarthy) team with engineer Doctor Jillian Holtzmann (McKinnon) and transport employee Patty Tolan (Jones) to investigate a spate of ghost sightings across New York City, creating both chaos and controversy.

The Background:
Originally conceived by Dan Aykroyd as a project for himself, Eddie Murphy, and John Belushi, Ghostbusters came into being when director Ivan Reitman, writer/actor Harold Ramis, and Bill Murray joined the project. A critical and financial success, it was followed by an under-rated sequel that both underperformed financially and was met with mostly negative reviews, Rumours of a third movie circulated for decades, often stalling due to Murray’s reluctance to return and Aykroyd’s ambitious scripts being too costly to produce. After everyone got on the same page for Ghostbusters: The Video Game (Terminal Reality, 2009), plans for a third movie regained traction, however Murray continued to veto scripts and Columbia Pictures eventually decided on a complete reboot rather than a sequel. Initially marketed as a soft reboot set in the same continuity and later distinguished by its tagline, “Answer the Call”, the new Ghostbusters would feature an all-female lead cast, a decision that effectively killed the film for many audiences. After the leads and cameos for many of the original cast (including, bizarrely and hypocritically, Murray) were secured, Sony Pictures Imageworks produced 1700 visual effects shots for the film, which also included some more traditional, practical effects. Unfortunately, controversy surrounding the casting, its status as a reboot, and claims that director Paul Feig failed to conduct reshoots saw Ghostbusters underperform at the box office. While some reviews praised it as a fun time with some entertaining performances, others criticised the overreliance on CGI and uninspired script. In the end, the vocal negative reaction and undue racial and sexual backlash towards the film killed any plans for a sequel. While the characters lived on in IDW’s comics, Columbia Pictures opted to ignore the film and produce a legacy sequel to the original five years later.

The Review:
Rather than being a legacy sequel or a re-quel, as the original trailers first suggested, this version of Ghostbusters is a complete reboot with an all-new cast, though all the principal names from the original movies appear in cameo roles and the film does follow a similar narrative structure. Erin starts the movie on the cusp of earning tenure at Columbia University and desperate to impress department head Doctor Harold Filmore (Charles Dance) with her capability and professionalism. She’s thus very perturbed when Ed Mulgrave Jr. (Ed Begley Jr.) shows up with a copy of her previous co-authored musings on the paranormal and asks her to investigate ghost sightings at the allegedly haunted Aldridge Mansion after an employee (Zach Woods) is attacked following a tour. Ashamed of her past dealings with the supernatural and wishing to shut down any further publications of the book to secure her teaching position, Erin’s forced to confront her co-author and former friend, the loud and obnoxious Abby Yates. While the two were best friends in high school and Abby was the only person who believed Erin was haunted by the ghost of her mean old neighbour as a child, the two have grown distant in recent years and Erin is exasperated that her old friend would republish their work just to get some extra revenue for her research. Unlike Erin, who abandoned the paranormal to focus on physics, Abby never gave up researching and pursuing the supernatural and her interest is only encouraged by her partner at the Kenneth P. Higgins Institute of Science, enthusiastic engineering physicist Jillian Holtzmann. Together, they’ve assembled a mess of prototype gadgets and gizmos to detect, subdue, and (eventually) capture ghosts, all while going under the radar of the institute’s dean, Thomas Shanks (Steve Higgins). However, after Erin reluctantly accompanies the two to the Aldridge Mansion and they’re attacked by its resident malevolent spirit (Bess Rous), all three lose their jobs when their frantic, indistinct footage goes viral, forcing them to relocate to a cramped apartment space above a Chinese restaurant since they can’t afford the outrageous rent for the more familiar firehouse.

Despite having no income, Holtzmann continues to tinker with their equipment, dreaming up a clunky prototype proton pack and additional weapons, all scavenged from whatever resources they can get their hands on and the equipment they liberate from the institute. With her distinguished career in tatters, Erin has no choice but to team with the two to establish themselves as bona fide paranormal researchers, though her reluctance is swayed when goofy hunk Kevin Beckman (Hemsworth) shows up to be their receptionist. Despite noted supernatural debunker Doctor Martin Heiss (Bill Murray) publicly discrediting the “Ghostbusters” (a name Erin begrudgingly comes to accept), lonely and explosive transport employee Patty Tolan comes to the team after sighting a ghost (Dave Gruber Allen) in the subway. This leads to the perfect field test for Holtzmann’s new gear, which successfully ensnares the spook and encourages her to make the weaponry smaller and more accurate, as well as cooking up a containment unit to capture a ghost for them to study. Amazed by the experience, Patty joins the team and provides them with overalls to keep them from being slimed by the ghosts’ ectoplasm and even provides them with a vehicle, a hearse borrowed from her uncle (Ernie Hudson) that Holtzmann repurposes into something more akin to Ecto-1. The team is kept surprisingly busy as more ghost sightings are called in, and are troubled and confused by strange, burned-out devices at each location, leading to a very public display of their abilities at a heavy metal concert that sees them successfully capture a ghost and become overnight celebrities. This earns them the attention of Mayor Marth Bradley (García), who reveals that they (and Homeland Security) and well aware of the supernatural threats and cautions the group that they’ll be publicly labelled as fraudsters despite his office acknowledging their contributions to the situation. Undeterred, the Ghostbusters continue their research, continue to get calls, and continue to pay their bills and build more accessories for their actions, presumably eating into their savings since none of them have a family home to remortgage.

This minor plot point aside, I have to say that I enjoyed the rapport between the four leads. I could’ve done with less toilet humour from the always obnoxious McCarthy (who’s clearly been given license to ad-lib a lot of her lines, leading to some awkward moments) and the two cringe-inducing musical numbers, but the four had great chemistry. I must’ve missed how she and Abby fell out but their issues are quickly worked out within the first fifteen minutes as Erin is swept up in Abby and Holtzmann’s paranormal research. Holtzmann was a great standout for me; I loved how wacky and enthusiastic she was. Patty was also great, being loud and having a down-to-earth attitude that made for some fun comedic moments. It definitely felt like the four bounced off each other well and were left to do their own thing with the material, and I liked that they didn’t bog down the runtime with immature disagreements or love triangles. Kevin is mostly played as a bumbling idiot who can’t work a phone properly but is easy on the eyes (for Erin, at least), while even Mayor Bradley acknowledges their good work despite having to discredit them to keep ghosts a secret. They’re very real, however, and being actively summoned through devices built and placed by doomsayer Doctor Rowan North (Casey), a socially maladjusted man who’s been convinced by a horde of malevolent spirits that the world needs to be “cleansed” by breaching the barrier between the living and the dead. He plants these devices along “ley lines” to break down the barriers, and ultimately crosses over himself when he commits suicide after being confronted by the Ghostbusters, an act that only increases his power as his spirit possess first Abby and then Kevin. Far from seeking to bring forth an Eldritch God, Rowan wishes to unleash the spirits of the dead upon the world and trigger an apocalypse, leading to a string of ghosts to rum amok through Times Square in a surprisingly impressive CGI finale that evokes both the original movie and the cartoon with some off the ghosts’ wacky designs.

The Nitty-Gritty:
Although I was surprised by how much I didn’t mind this version of Ghostbusters, it is strange to me that the filmmakers went for a full-blown reboot rather than trying to tie it into the original canon. This is doubly confusing by the cameos from returning actors as Patty could have easily been Winston Zeddemore’s niece, Erin could’ve been the daughter of one of the other original Ghostbusters, and Mayor Bradley’s line about the paranormal being covered up could easily have been used to explain why the Ghostbusters have been defunct for so long. I just find it odd, especially as Extreme Ghostbusters (1997) and the later legacy sequels showed that a generational story could work in this universe. To its credit, though, Ghostbusters does do things a little differently. For starters, we spend more time with them field testing their equipment and Holtzmann puts together a bunch of different gadgets for them to use, including ghost-busting grenades and a glove accessory, though sadly I felt their new uniforms left a lot to be desired and Ecto-1 is largely an afterthought until the finale despite boasting its own armaments. Secondly, the team have to earn their firehouse by saving the city, meaning they’re working in cramped quarters for the entire film and the team seem far less adept with their cobbled together equipment, often being knocked on their asses or flung through the air for comedic value. This isn’t to say that they’re incompetent, but it’s interesting that these Ghostbusters are more likely to flip out in excitement and appear like raving lunatic compared to their more subdued predecessors. I was glad that the film didn’t fall back on crude, man-hating humour but the toilet humour and musical numbers were a bit weird. The movie seems to be trying to force comedy where the original so effortlessly executed it, and it doesn’t always land. Hemsworth is funny in his role and there were some good moments between the leads, but often it felt like this was more accidental than intended. I liked that the four come together much faster than the original four, allowing a lot of screen time and personality for each, though we learn more about Erin than any of the others until Holtzmann’s surprisingly emotional toast in the finale.

This Ghostbusters also veers into the horror aspect in surprising ways. Obviously, there’s no blood or gore but the ghosts are pretty horrific here, appearing as looming, intimidating spectres that roar and spew ectoplasm and loom from dark corners. The subway ghost (apparently the victim of the electric chair) was surprisingly menacing, as was the gargoyle that terrorises the heavy metal concert and gives Ozzy Osbourne a scare. In fact, the ghosts and the special effects were really impressive here, even though there are obvious moments where the film was pandering to the 3D craze of the time, potentially because the filmmakers are mixing real actors and practical effects with the CGI. Fan favourite Slimer (Adam Ray) even briefly shows up and the Ghostbusters tackle a spectral balloon parade during the final act, eventually being squashed and almost suffocated by an inflatable Mr. Stay Puft. These balloon ghosts were really fun and reminded me of the old cartoon, as did the barrage of malicious spirits Rowan unleashes upon Times Square. While it’s kind of crazy that the ghosts attack one at a time rather than using their obvious superior numbers and powers, this is an impressive showcase of the Ghostbusters’ teamwork, camaraderie, and Holtzmann’s gadgets as they evaporate spirits all over the place. They tackle a skeletal pilgrim, a towering, monstrous corruption of Uncle Sam, and innumerable wicked spirits in an all-action showcase the original film could only dream of. It’s a good thing these special effects work so well as Ghostbusters is crammed full of some of the most egregious product placement I’ve ever seen, to the point where it’s almost painful, to say nothing of its parade of cameos. It’s nice to see the original actors show up but it’s also kind of a slap in the face since they dragged their feet on making a third movie, only to later return to their roles anyway. It just makes me wish the film had been a legacy sequel, or an offshoot following a new team in a new city.

As the Ghostbusters investigate the spate of hauntings and slowly build their confidence in tackling and trapping ghosts, they discover strange devices not unlike their proton packs at each location. Together, the four figure out that they’ve been placed at ley lines, with Erin and Abby theorising they could weaken the barriers between life and death. This is exactly what Rowan hopes to do having grown despondent by humanity and society’s treatment of him and having made contact with the malevolent spirits seeking to “pester” the living with unspeakable tortures. Ignored and mistreated by those around him, Rowan easily places his devices and grows increasingly aggravated by the Ghostbusters’ interference, before dramatically killing himself so he can possess Abby and wreck their equipment. He then upgrades to hijacking Kevin’s body to enact the final stage of his plot, the activation of a large device that, similar to the first film, unleashes a hoard of ghosts upon New York City. When the Ghostbusters’ frantic warnings are met with scorn and dismissal, they suit up to tackle the threat directly, subduing Rowan’s army and confronting him in Times Square. There, he toys with them, promises to bring about the end of days, and eventually corrupts their iconic logo to become a Kaiju-sized apparition and go on a rampage not unlike Gozer the Destructor’s (Paddi Edwards/Slavitza Jovan) as a gigantic Mr. Stay Puft and the opening sequence of the old cartoon. Though their proton packs are useless against the creature, the Ghostbusters trick Slimer into driving Ecto-1 into the swirling vortex Rowan conjured, turning it into a giant ghost trap and sucking him in. Though Rowan tries to drag Abby down with him, Erin rescues her and the team are heralded as saviours, despite Mayor Bradley continuing to downplay the paranormal threat. In the aftermath, the Ghostbusters finally move into the iconic firehouse and further upgrade their operation thanks to secret funding from city officials, constructing a containment unit and a device to monitor spooky sound waves, alerting the team to a potential threat named “Zuul”…

The Summary:
After years of hearing nothing but negativity about the Ghostbusters reboot and being sure that I would hate it due to a combination of Melissa McCarthy and what would surely be an obnoxiously anti-male stance, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this film. While it teases appealing to the lowest common denominator with some of McCarthy’s painfully unfunny toilet humour, the film shows some surprising restraint in its all-female approach, characterising the leads not as sex-starved bimbos or wacky nuts obsessed with their genitals but as kooky, enthusiastic, and ultimately good natured individuals who come together as a team and family to save the city. While I’m not a fan of McCarthy, I did enjoy Abby’s sisterly relationship with Erin and Holtzmann, whose energy and mad scientist aesthetic was a constant stand out. Patty was also great, bringing a grounded rawness to the team and I really enjoyed the banter with the four, who all appeared as equals and to have a deep respect for each other, even if they drive each other crazy at times. While the film hits many of the same notes as the original, I liked that it changed things just enough to stand on its own, from the different equipment, the bumbling receptionist, and the main villain. Rowan’s threat was palpable by the end and I really liked the depiction of and the variety in the ghosts, who were surprisingly creepy even when they were charging at the screen for a jump scare. While I would’ve much preferred this was a legacy sequel or a spin-off to better utilise all those cameos, I do think Ghostbusters gets a bad rap that isn’t fully justified and that perhaps things would’ve been different if it had been a legacy sequel, allowing these characters to return in future films. As is, it’s obviously not as good or as iconic as the original but nostalgia is a big part of the original’s appeal and I think there’s enough here to allow this Ghostbusters to work as a comedy/horror for a new generation.

My Rating:

Pretty Good

What did you think to the Ghostbusters reboot? Were you disappointed that it wasn’t a legacy sequel or do you think it works better as a standalone film? Which of the new characters was your favourite and did you like their rapport and new gadgets? What did you think to the ghosts and the bigger, action-packed finale? Did you enjoy IDW’s continuation of this universe? Which Ghostbusters film or project is your favourite and how are you celebrating Ghostbusters Day today? Whatever your thought about the Ghostbusters reboot, drop a comment below, support me on Ko-Fi, and go check out my other Ghostbusters content.

Throw on your proton pack and get ready to bust some ghosts because June 8^th is officially “Ghostbusters Day”! Ghostbusters (Reitman, 1984) was first released on this day back in 1984 and, since then, has become a major pop culture franchise that includes comic books, a popular cartoon and line of action figures, and videogames and it is, easily, one of my favourite films and franchises from that era.

Released: 16 June 1989
Director: Ivan Reitman
Distributor: Columbia Pictures
Budget: $25 to 30 million
Stars: Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray, Harold Ramis, Ernie Hudson, Sigourney Weaver, Rick Moranis, Annie Potts, Peter MacNicol, and Wilhelm von Homburg/Max von Sydow

The Plot:
Five years after the events of the first film, the Ghostbusters are no more and are legally forbidden from conducting any ghostbusting or paranormal investigations. However, when a mood-altering slime is discovered beneath the city and the spirit of an ancient Carpathian warlord awakens, the four return to action to once again defend New York from malevolent spirits.

The Background:
Originally developed by actor Dan Aykroyd as a project for himself, Eddie Murphy, and close friend John Belushi, Ghostbusters finally took shape when director Ivan Reitman, writer/actor Harold Ramis, and Bill Murray came onboard. The film was an incredible critical and financial success and, despite the movie intending to be a simple standalone affair, a sequel was considered inevitable. However, Ghostbusters II was a publicly arduous production; Columbia Pictures’ new chairman, David Puttnam, wasn’t interested in making big-budget blockbusters and the creation of a script stalled as the director and actors all required unanimous approval before shooting could begin. After Puttnam was replaced by Dawn Steel, Ghostbusters II finally got underway. Having left acting following Ghostbusters’ success and with a dismissive attitude towards sequels, star Bill Murray demanded an outrageous $10 million salary and his co-stars naturally wanted the same and, after months of negotiations, a fair salary and percentage of the film’s profits was agreed upon for all involved. The script also underwent numerous issues; Aykroyd’s first draft had the team battling witches in Scotland before Ramis helped to shape the sequel towards the film we know today while also factoring in the popularity of the first film’s cartoon spin-off. After a lacklustre response from test audiences, Reitman added an additional twenty-five minutes to the film’s ending and the film eventually grossed just over $215 million, some $67 million less than its predecessor. While I consider it an under-rated sequel, Ghostbusters II was met with mostly negative reviews; its derivative nature, pacing, and performances were criticised and both director Reitman and star Murray found the film to be a disappointing and unsatisfying experience.

The Review:
By the time I was old enough to really have any idea of what was going on in life, both Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters II had been out for some time. Consequently, as a kid, there was very little delay for me between seeing the first film and its often-maligned sequel, meaning that both were formative influences on my childhood. I’ve always held the two in equal regard as a result; yes, the first had the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man but the second had the mood slime and benefitted from a slightly brisker pace so I’ve always thought that Ghostbusters II did a pretty decent job of capturing the same spirit as the first film and building on its foundations with a natural continuation.

The film begins five years after the events of the first film to find our beloved characters in very different situations; after being sued out of business, the Ghostbusters have had to close their doors and have largely gone their separate ways. Only the heart of the team, Doctor Raymond Stantz (Ackroyd), and the “Everyman” of the group,  Winston Zeddemore (Hudson), keep the brand alive by degrading themselves with appearances at children’s birthday parties. While Doctor Egon Spengler (Ramis) has returned to science and is busying himself testing the specifics of human emotions, Doctor Peter Venkman (Murray) has found minor success as a talk show host where he interviews eccentrics who claim to have psychic powers or other inexplicable tales, and Ray has also set up a small occult bookshop for himself. While the four remain on friendly terms, there is a clear sense of discontentment amongst most of them; Ray longs for their glory days as celebrities, Winston glibly remarks that their efforts went unappreciated by the masses, and even Peter, despite his celebrity status, seems unfulfilled, especially as he is widely (and accurately) regarded as being a fraud.

Since the last film, Dana Barrett (Weaver) has split up with Peter, birthed a son, Oscar (William T. and Hank J. Deutschendorf II), with her ex, and has moved away from the orchestra and into the art world. Cleaning paintings at a New York museum, Dana’s life is mired only by her quirky and overeager boss, Doctor Janosz Poha (played with glee by MacNicol), who, like Louis Tully (Moranis), harbours unrequited affections for her. When Oscar’s pram carriage suddenly becomes possessed and escapes from her in the street after she unknowingly rolls over a puddle of “mood slime”, Dana immediately turns to Egon for help and he and Ray investigate her apartment once again. Despite her attempts to keep Peter out of the loop, he forces himself into the investigation and the two reunite once more; despite them having split up over his childish antics, there’s still an attraction there and he laments that he missed the opportunity to be Oscar’s father, and the two eventually rekindle their romance as the film progresses.

The investigation quickly leads to Egon, Ray, and Peter tearing up the section of the street where Oscar’s possession occurred under the amusing guise of Consolidated Edison (ConEd) workmen; this leads to them discovering that the abandoned Beach Pneumatic Transit system is literally flooded with writhing, pink mood slime that exhibits both paranormal and sentient behaviour. Since they were conducting paranormal investigations, the three are soon brought before a court and face prosecution for their actions (which caused a city-wide blackout); thankfully, however, the mood slime reacts violently to Judge Stephen Wexler’s (Harris Yulin) aggressive outburst and causes two ghosts to manifest in the courtroom and run riot, giving Wexler no choice but to rescind the mandate against the Ghostbusters and allow them to return to work. And just in time, too, as the build-up of the mood slime is no accident; it coincides with the awakening of the brutal and malevolent Vigo the Carpathian (von Homburg/von Sydow), a ruthless Carpathian dictator whose spirit is trapped in a painting in Janosz’s museum. Mustering all of his evil energy, Vigo desires to possess the body of a child in order to live again and easily manipulates Janosz into finding him a suitable host. In exchange for being with Dana, Janosz offers to bring the spirit Oscar so that the two of them can raise the would-be conqueror as their own, and the influx of mood slime causes a new wave of restless spirits to terrorise the city.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, Mayor Lenny Clotch’s (David Margulies) sleazeball assistant, Jack Hardemeyer (Kurt Fuller), dogs the Ghostbusters at every turn and ends up going behind the Mayor’s back to have them committed to keep them from threating Clotch’s election for Governor with their maniacal outbursts. Also returning from the first film are the aforementioned Luis and the Ghostbuster’s sharp-tongued receptionist, Janine Melnitz (Potts); while there were hints towards a romance between Janine and Egon in the first film, the focus shifts to the odd couple of Luis and Janine in the sequel and the two comically indulge their whims while babysitting for Dana when the Ghostbusters are briefly arrested. As in the first film, comedy is a large part of Ghostbusters II and is handled beautifully; the courtroom scene where Louis struggles though defending the Ghostbusters is a particular highlight and the Ghostbusters’ various pratfalls, childish antics, and witty retorts provide the same level of bickering entertainment as the first film. I’ve always had a lot of admiration for how these original Ghostbusters films handle the balance of romance, action, comedy, horror, and fantastical science-fiction and, for me, Ghostbusters II more than holds its own when compared to the first although I am still disappointed that the script doesn’t give Winston more to do (he literally disappears for big chunks of the film’s first act and, most notably, isn’t even with the other three when they dig up the street and end up in court).

The Nitty-Gritty:
Thirty-five minutes into the film, the Ghostbusters are legally allowed to return to action and the film noticeably picks up as the foursome return to chasing down and trapping ghosts all over the city. This sees the team wear new versions of their traditional boiler suits, adopt a new logo and produce more (if equally cringey) television advertisements, and even upgrade Ecto-1. I can understand the argument that the film might have been better off had it picked up here, with the Ghostbusters at the height of their popularity and ability, and the film kind of glosses over how the city coped with its supernatural occurrences without the Ghostbusters (who, I feel, have been proven to not be frauds by this point) but I never really minded the narrative structure of the film as it not only echoed the first one but also gave the characters something to overcome and showcased different sides to their personalities by showing us what they get up to when not busting ghosts.

A central aspect of the movie is the mood slime; although ectoplasmic residue played only a minor role in the first film as a by-product of paranormal activity, here the slime is directly responsible for the resurgence in supernatural activity across the city. When Winston and Ray take an accidental dip in the slime, it immediately heightens their aggression and emotions and the two almost come to blows but, after investigating the substance, Egon discovers that the slime can be equally affected by positive emotions and finds a way to effectively weaponise it to their benefit. This becomes a prominent element of the film as the Ghostbusters must galvanise the positive feelings of the city to counteract the build-up of negative energy that threatens to bring about Vigo’s resurrection and gives them additional weapons to use alongside their traditional proton packs. Like the first movie, Ghostbusters II is bolstered by a number of truly frightening visuals; although the Terror Dogs are gone, Janosz’s glowing eyes in Dana’s hallway are pretty creepy, to say nothing of his ghastly ghostly form when he flies in to kidnap Oscar! Seriously, I remember that creeping me out so badly as a kid and, even now, it’s an uncomfortable scene that manages to be both chilling and amusing thanks to McNicol’s gloating expression. Oh, and did I mention the scene in the subway where a demonic voice calls to Winston and the guys are spooked by severed heads on pikes!? Absolutely crazy stuff that I was shocked to see and which work beautifully alongside the film’s new ghosts; once again rendered through traditional composite effects, animatronics, and practical filmmaking techniques; we get such apparitions as a ghostly jogger, a massive beast under the Washington Square Arch, a monstrous bathtub, a living fur coat, a brief cameo from Slimer, and even the Titanic showing up in the middle of the city!

This all culminates the film’s finale where, rather than having to fend off a gigantic apparition, the Ghostbusters use their positively-charged mood slime and a modified Nintendo Entertainment System Advantage control stick to take control of Lady Liberty! I’ve seen people complain about how the film doesn’t feature the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man but, honestly, that wouldn’t make any sense at all and by no means diminishes the impact of seeing the Statue of Liberty come to life and casually stroll through New York City. In many ways, the finale is actually better than the original since, rather than simply standing around and crossing the streams to win the day, the Ghostbusters have to rappel down into the museum to confront Vigo and Janosz and even have to content with a possessed version of Ray when Vigo briefly takes control of his body after his resurrection is interrupted. This time around, in order to save the city (and the entire world) from falling under Vigo’s influence, the Ghostbusters need more than just their proton packs; they need the combined goodwill of the city and a hefty hosing of their positive-charged mood slime in order to force Vigo back into his painting, end his threat, and presumably fully repair their reputation.

The Summary:
Now, look…I get it. Ghostbusters II isn’t as good as the first film; honestly, Ghostbusters set a high bar that would be difficult for any sequel to reach but, for my money, Ghostbusters II does a really good job of continuing the story from the first film. While many of the story beats are similar, the film adds plenty of fun, scary new stuff to make it well worth your while, especially for fans of the first movie. Thanks to the immortal Max von Sydow’s booming tones, Vigo makes for a compelling and intimidating villain and the addition of the mood slime allows for some gruesome and comedic scenes. All of the characters are just as likeable and entertaining as in the first film, and even fleshed out a little more (sadly, with the exception of Winston…) by seeing their interests outside of work, and the balance of horror and comedy continues to be handled masterfully. I can understand why many were left disappointed by the film, to a degree, but I’ve always had a soft spot for Ghostbusters II and think it makes for a great companion piece to the first film; watch them both back-to-back and you have one pretty consistent and enjoyable story. I’ll always step up to defend this film when I see people talking shit about it because it’s a fun little romp that deserves more attention, and has a great message of positivity that we could all stand to learn from.

My Rating:

Great Stuff

Are you a fan of Ghostbusters II? Do you think it deserves the negativity it often gets? What did you think to the five year time jump and the plot of the Ghostbusters being barred from working? Were you a fan of Vigo and Janosz and what did you think to the overall plot? Which of the film’s ghosts and scares were your favourite? Perhaps you grew up with the cartoon and action figures; if so, what memories do you have of them? How are you celebrating Ghostbusters Day today? Whatever your thoughts and memories of Ghostbusters, drop a comment down below.

Throw on your proton pack and get ready to bust some ghosts because June 8^th is, officially, “Ghostbusters Day”! Ghostbusters (Reitman, 1984) was first released on this day back in 1984 and, since then, has become a major pop culture franchise that includes comic books, a popular cartoon and line of action figures, and videogames and it is, easily, one of my favourite films and franchises from that era.

Released: 8 June 1984
Director: Ivan Reitman
Distributor: Columbia Pictures
Budget: $25 to 30 million
Stars: Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray, Harold Ramis, Ernie Hudson, Sigourney Weaver, Rick Moranis, Annie Potts, and William Atherton

The Plot:
After being fired from Columbia University, four bungling scientists put their research into the paranormal to use as supernatural exterminators of ghosts and ghouls across New York City. However, while a government official attempts to prove them frauds and shut them down, they soon discover that an ancient God of Destruction is gearing up to wreck havoc across the city…and the world!

The Background:
Ghostbusters was the brainchild of actor Dan Aykroyd, who originally wrote the script (which also went through a number of slightly different titles) as a vehicle for himself, Eddie Murphy, and close friend John Belushi before the latter’s untimely passing. After Aykroyd settled on Ivan Reitman as the director, Reitman brought Harold Ramis onboard to star and rework the script into something they could realistically film, with the group casting Bill Murray soon after and specifically tailoring the script to the three actors’ strengths, characteristics, and ironing out the special effects sequences. Despite concerns from Reitman regarding the film’s ridiculous finale, Ghostbusters tracked well with test audiences and, upon release, finished as the number one movie for the weekend and made nearly $230 million by the end of its release, an incredible achievement considering the comparatively minuscule budget. A subsequent re-release in 1985 saw the worldwide gross hit nearly $240 million and established Ghostbusters as the most successful comedy of the 1980s. Reviews were, accordingly, extremely positive, with the film winning many awards and launching a multimedia enterprise that included an under-rated sequel, a cartoon, loads of toys, and later film projects.

The Review:
Ghostbusters is a brisk, well-paced horror/comedy that immediately establishes its semi-realistic world right from the beginning before introducing us to our three main characters. The first of the Ghostbusters we meet is Doctor Peter Venkman (Murray), a lackadaisical scientist to say the least who uses his research as an excuse to get out of doing any real work and to try and impress women. He’s the sarcastic, cynical, loud-mouthed member of the team and, as Dana Barratt (Weaver) points out, is more of a con man than an actual scientist. At the same time, though, he’s the most socially conscious and capable of his fellow scientists, being much more street smart and handling a lot of the Ghostbusters’ press and advertising. Of course, you can make the case that Venkman is little more than a womanising, egotistic prick; a creep who literally chases every pretty face he sees and who has, despite his many legitimate degrees, literally no idea of what he’s doing or how to work his equipment. He is, as his former dean states, “A poor scientist” and, as Dana astutely observes, more like a gameshow host than a paranormal expert. Still, despite my dislike for Murray and his attitude towards the franchise after the sequel, it’s hard to deny that Venkman is the breakout character of the group thanks to his greedy, outspoken, snarky personality; where the other Ghostbusters maintain a degree of professionalism and awkwardness, Venkman is loud, arrogant, and ballsy and the most candid of the group.

Doctor Ray Stanz (Akyroyd), meanwhile, is the overly enthusiastic heart of the group; without Ray, there would be no Ghostbusters since he’s the one who really drives their research and cause forward. Ray, however, is quite naïve and easily distracted by his passion for the paranormal; he is crushed when they are kicked out of the university but extremely excited to be putting their research into practise as the Ghostbusters and remains, despite the often dire nature of their situation, the general optimist. It is fitting, then, that since Ray is the heart of the Ghostbusters, it’s Ray who ultimately (accidentally) causes the Ghostbusters to face their ultimate threat as he’s unable to clear his mind when they’re forced to “choose the form of the Destructor”. Even knowing this, Ray attempts to think of the most harmless thing possible, a cherished memory from his childhood, and instead causes a hundred-foot-tall marshmallow man to rampage through downtown New York. Doctor Egon Spengler (Ramis), meanwhile, is the pragmatist of the three; he’s the most clearly intellectual and rational of the Ghostbusters, rarely letting his emotions rule him, but he’s not just a mere stick in the mud. He is as excited as Ray about the presence of ghosts and the potential their organisation has and has many more subtle moments where he really shines, such as his love for Twinkies, snappy one-liners (“I looked at the trap, Ray!” and his cry of “Your mother!” always gets a chuckle out me me), and his sly indications to Venkman to up the charge for their services to the Sedgewick Hotel’s manager.

The Ghostbusters are (eventually) rounded out by Winston Zeddemore (Hudson); if you forgot about Winston, I wouldn’t blame you since Hudson’s name and image is missing from practically all of the film’s promotional materials and that’s a real shame since he’s my second favourite character after Ray. Winston isn’t a scientist; he’s just a normal, everyday working man who joins the team when they expand their operation and, through him, we get a relatable character who voices many of the concerns and questions we may have with an entertaining bluntness. Winston also brings  a unique perspective to the group by being a religious man; he approaches their work not from a scientific perspective but as that of a man exorcising awakened spirits yet, when faced with claims of the Ghostbusters’ legitimacy, passionately advocates for the reality of their work with one of my favourite lines in the film: “I have seen shit that will turn you white!” A prominent sub-plot in the film revolves around Dana, her encounters with Zuul’s minions, and Venkman’s subsequent attempts to flirt and impress her. Dana is a refreshingly strong and candid character; she doesn’t really believe in the supernatural, but the experience rattles her, forcing her to turn to the Ghostbusters, and she puts up with absolutely none of Venkman’s shit. She’s strong and independent, easily able to deter unwanted advances from the likes of Venkman and Louis Tulley (Moranis), and only ends up needing to be rescued because she gets possessed and, even then, this transforms her more into a secondary antagonist than a damsel in distress. Despite what is initially a purely superficial attraction to her, Venkman comes to respect Dana and more seriously, honestly pursue her; when he finds her possessed by the “Zuul, the Gatekeeper”, he sets aside his normally cavalier personality to subdue her and seems genuinely concerned for her wellbeing.

Despite dealing with an increasing number of ghosts and ghouls, the Ghostbusters also face the most dangerous threat of all: governmental red tape in the form of Walter Peck (Atherton), a representative of the Environmental Protection Agency. Peck is deeply sceptical of the Ghostbusters and their operation, believing them to be frauds and con artists but, to be fair, he only becomes an unbearable antagonistic character after Venkman gives him the run-around; had Venkman simply co-operated, things might have gone down a lot different and less disastrously. Still, it’s from Venkman’s rudeness that we see, arguably, Peck’s true nature as a slimy, rotten, manipulative little git who uses every resource at his disposal to shut down the Ghostbusters no matter what the consequences are despite the fact that he really doesn’t know anything about the Ghostbusters’ operation or equipment. One of the main appealing aspects of Ghostbusters is the goofy humour; while this is largely embodied by the three main cast members, it is Louis who fills the primary role of comic relief thanks to his clumsy, ungainly personality. Mostly an annoyance to Dana, Louis is a perpetual loser who throws parties for his clients rather than friends and is like a hyperactive dog who doesn’t know when to quit and Moranis really brings a quirky hilarity to the character when Louis is possessed by “Vince Glortho, Keymaster of Gozer” and begins running around the city spouting nonsense and talking to horses. Similarly, Ray, Egon, and Peter sneaking around in the library bantering back and forth is highly entertaining, as is their panicked fleeing when the Librarian Ghost attacks them. It’s not all goofball humour, though; much of the comedy comes from simple line delivery, particularly from Venkman and Janine Melnitz (Potts) thanks to their dry delivery and snarky ab-libs. The cast all gel so well together that it’s easy to believe that they are long-term friends and colleagues who are more like a dysfunctional family; they’re bungling fools at times, often making stuff up as they go along and playing it by ear, but they’re not incompetent fools and there’s a difference. Like, for example, they might not have had a successful live field test of their unlicensed nuclear accelerators and are, in all likelihood, operating an extremely volatile operation in the middle of the city, but they’re still smart and capable enough to construct all of their equipment, to say nothing of fixing up the fire station and the frankly scrap-worthy hearse Ray secures as their vehicle.

The Nitty-Gritty:
Ghostbusters immediately establishes its world with an effective opening sequence that shows that, yes, ghosts are real and they are infrequently haunting buildings throughout New York City. One thing that is, seemingly, often forgotten about Ghostbusters is the truly creepy and terrifying elements of the film amidst its humour and the Librarian Ghost is our first exposure to that but this is only escalated later in the film with more monstrous ghosts and creature designs. Ghostbusters has a fantastic, timeless quality to it thanks to its masterful use of practical effects and traditional special effects work; ghosts are all unique and increasingly gruesome, being semi-transparent and slightly cartoony in their appearance but it works because they’re meant to be otherworldly spirits of a somewhat horrific nature. Similarly, the Ghostbuster’s equipment all looks suitably cobbled together and their proton streams are given an ethereal tangibility thanks to a combination of special and practical effects (sparks fly from the proton wand and explosions and scorch marks are left behind by the proton stream).

The score really helps towards emphasising the film’s more terrifying moments, most of them revolving around Dana, such as when eggs spontaneously begin to fry on her kitchen counter, her apartment is drenched in ectoplasm, and her various encounters with the Terror Dogs (with her abduction being particularly horrific). These monstrous Hellhounds are truly horrifying and are brought to life through a combination of (admittedly terrible) stop motion effects and practical animatronics. When a practical effect, the Terror Dogs are disturbingly scary, dripping with saliva and menace and help to place Ghostbusters as one of many films of the time to really push the boundaries of the PG rating.

Of course, the film’s most impressive effect is the absolutely ridiculous Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man. Up until the Stay-Puft’s appearance, the film plays its humour and concept mostly straight and realistic, but the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man flips that entirely on its head. It’s a hilarious sequence where the intended and much-feared “Destructor” is forced into the most absurd form possible and, as Mr. Stay-Puft stomps through the middle of New York City as only suits, camera trickery, and miniatures can deliver, it’s both comical and alarming to think that the end of human life could come from such a cute, ludicrous being.   

The Summary:
I grew up watching Ghostbusters; it was one of the quintessential movies of my childhood that helped shape my love for cinema and big, special effects sci-fi/horror productions. As such, I have a great deal of fondness, nostalgia, and respect for the film but, even with all that aside, Ghostbusters is an effortlessly entertaining piece of cinema that, honestly, has everything you could want from a film. It’s funny, scary, enjoyable, charming, and appealing on so many levels, with some amazing old school special effects, great cinematography, and a fun and varied soundtrack, with the film becoming instantly iconic for Ray Parker Jr’s award-winning theme song alone. What I love the most about Ghostbusters, despite the great effects and unique premise, is how naturally organic all of the humour is; the leads have a realistic and appealing banter with each other that makes them instantly likeable and they bicker and trade snarky barbs like old friends. Even better is the fact that, unlike the much-maligned 2016 reboot, almost none, if any, of the humour is gender-based; the only character who’s slightly deplorable is Venkman and neither the film, nor its humour, is geared towards one gender over another. Instead, the humour is largely simple banter that can be enjoyed by anyone and everyone rather than always taking the lowest possible route and relying on crude toilet humour and gender-based insults. If anything, Ghostbusters is more an amusing commentary on politics and governmental bodies and even those aspects aren’t so explicit that they take over the film, making it a fun comedy/horror that appeals to everyone and remains highly recommended.

My Rating:

Fantastic

What are your thoughts on Ghostbusters? Were you a fan of the film back in the day? Which of the four Ghostbusters was/is your favourite? What did you think to the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man and the film’s premise? Perhaps you grew up with the cartoon and action figures; if so, what memories do you have of them? How are you celebrating Ghostbusters Day today? Whatever your thoughts and memories of Ghostbusters, drop a comment down below.