GHOSTBUSTERS: AFTERLIFE (12)
D: Jason Reitman
Sony / Columbia / Bron Creative / Ghost Corps (Ivan Reitman)
US 🇺🇸 2021
124 mins
Comedy
W: Gil Kenan & Jason Reitman [based on the 1984 screenplay “Ghostbusters” by Dan Aykroyd & Harold Ramis]
DP: Eric Steelberg
Ed: Dana E. Glauberman
Mus: Rob Simonsen
Carrie Coon (Callie Spengler), Paul Rudd (Gary Grooberson), Finn Wolfhard (Trevor), Mckenna Grace (Phoebe), Logan Kim (Podcast)
Following a 2016 reboot of Ghostbusters that didn’t sit well with many fans, Sony & Columbia went back to the well for a sequel/soft reboot that draws far more inspiration from the original films, albeit framed with a narrative that is more akin to the Stranger Things series.
Ghostbusters fans who were disenchanted with the 2016 remake cried havoc that a new film didn’t pass the torch to a new generation of supernatural spook hunters, and the studio listened for this film.
The plot follows the daughter and grandchildren of Egon Spengler (Harold Ramis’ character from the original films), as they inherit his Oklahoma farmhouse following his death, and his grandchildren Phoebe and Trevor, uncover some ghostbusting gadgets and discover that the battle from the original movie may have been won, but the war is far from over.
There’s certainly enough here in the way of nostalgia and Easter eggs to appeal to fans of the original film, and the plot is accessible enough for an entire new generation, but it does lack the acerbic humour of the original film for something far more family-friendly (albeit with a 12 rating when the original film is a PG).  Mckenna Grace steals the film as Egon’s science nerd granddaughter (sans the end credits song which is completely out of place), and the rest of the cast don’t really put a foot wrong, and the visual effects are incredibly well done, particularly in the finale.
Partially, it is a film for the fans, but it also smells a lot like a movie by committee, which is still the polar opposite of what the original film was.
Still, I enjoyed the nostalgia at face value, as well as the cameos from some of the original cast.
6/10