Ghostbusters : Afterlife owes it's existence to the whining babymen of the internet. The 2016 reboot had them screaming at the idea of women invading a film franchise they thought they owned and before it was even released it was dead in the water, downvoted to oblivion by people months before they got a chance to see it. On it's release it was clear to all that it wasn't the best and it's place in the Ghostbusters canon was made sloppy by some thoughtless cameos but it was fun and Melissa McCarthy and Kristen Wiig made for an appealing pair of leads. It tanked at the box office of course when huge swathes of it's expected audience stayed away from it and it was then you just knew we'd be returning to the universe of the original two films someday.
The dirt farmer. That's what they called him, the residents of the small town Egon Spengler called home. People he had no time for because he was planning for the apocalypse. Planning that alienated him from everyone he knew, including his daughter Callie (Carrie Coon) and his grandchildren Phoebe (McKenna Grace) and Trevor (Finn Wolfhard). When he died he left her his land and everything on it and they upped sticks and moved to Summerville, Oklahoma to try and make something of her inheritance. They got a lot more than they bargained for. A town where cinemas show Canadian Cannibal films, VHS is still god, earthquakes are a daily occurrence and strange things lurk in the mines below.
It's no spoiler to say a film called Ghostbusters is full to the brim with ghosts and ghoulies and all manner of demons. It's a mild spoiler to say you'll plenty recognise quite a few of them from a film made 37 years before this when director Jason Reitman (son of Ivan, taking over the mantle after years of resistance) was but a wee 6 year old. It's a bit of a crap surprise to find out that the humour that made the original Ghostbusters so memorable is kinda nowhere to be seen here. There's jokes but the vast majority of them fall flat on their face leaving the scary elements of the story and one very entertaining chase scene to do the heavy lifting. It's a direct follow up to 1989's Ghostbuster II but seems like it belongs to a different genre altogether. A different approach isn't necessarily a bad thing but it does feel rather jarring in places. Importantly though, lack of humour aside, it does feel like a Ghostbusters film. Spooky geographical anomalies, supernatural beings with bizarre appetites, family friendly nods to the occult, skeptical authority figures, all the ingredients to make you grin even before.......I'll say no more.
When was the last time you watched the original? If it was a long time ago you've probably forgotten how gritty it feels, laced with (PG) profanity, a surprising amount of raunchy humour and fags in everyone's gobs. All those edges are sanded off here, it's as sanitised and studio friendly as you'd imagine. So if it isn't funny and the grit is gone why watch it? Cos the leads rock their parts, they've got wicked chemistry going on, they commit to the silliness, especially the younger ones. Carrie Coon and Paul Rudd as Phoebe's teacher Gary have fun as the adults but the kids get all the good stuff especially McKenna Grace. She'll be the one this film's younger audience will remember, will want to emulate, get the action figure etc. The geek who stands tall. A cliche no doubt but one done very well here.
As for the stuff left unsaid? Avoid the trailers, go in cold, don't go to IMDB to see who turns up. Let it happen and let the nostalgia fly. It's far from a perfect film but I guarantee you'll leave the cinema smiling. And maybe even wiping a tear or two away.
Ghostbusters : Afterlife is showing everywhere now.
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