Ghostbusters: Afterlife

I've said this many times before: I've never been the biggest Ghostbusters fan. I do feel a degree of nostalgic affection for the movie, and I love the song, but the film itself never really worked. Most of the jokes fall flat, the big finale with the marshmallow man is less than satisfying, and it always felt to me like a horror comedy from people with little affection or knowledge of horror. What makes it work is the charisma of the performers. I like all the guys in it, and they always made a mediocre production watchable.

I always heard that Ghostbusters 2 was basically the same movie, but not as good, so I never bothered with it.

As for the remake, I never looked past the atrocious trailer. I don't care if the 'busters were men, women, or dogs, but what I saw of it was cringe-inducing. No thanks.

Now we have the true sequel. Who better to direct than Ivan Reitmans's son, Jason? I always liked Jason Reitman's work a hell of a lot. How many horror fans caught the Cannibal Girls reference toward the beginning of Ghostbusters: Afterlife?

This new movie owes as much debt to 80s Spielberg productions as the original Ghostbusters. It's exactly like something Joe Dante would have made, and at one point a scene is directly cribbed from Gremlins.

All in all, I really liked Ghostbusters: Afterlife. The young cast are all likable, and Mckenna Grace is especially good. She carries the entire movie. I always like seeing Paul Rudd in anything. I'm not entirely sold on Finn Wolfhard, due to my lack of enthusiasm for Stranger Things and the It movies, but he is all right in this one. My favorite role of his is in the Weezer "Take on Me" video.

The humor in Ghostbusters: Afterlife mostly works in a genial, inoffensive way. There are a few scenes of genuine suspense. The choices of the songs for the soundtrack fit the mood of the piece.

This isn't much of a spoiler, because I am hearing it everywhere, but yes the original ghostbusters make an appearance. I guess it was inevitable. I didn't really mind it, but it did feel awkward and unnecessary.

I really only had one complaint, and it had nothing to do with the movie. I accidentally chose tickets for an Open Captions screening. That's a pet peeve of mine.

All in all, Ghostbusters: Afterlife was exactly what I hoped it would be, and it is a perfectly enjoyable holiday feature. Go see it, buy some popcorn, and let yourself have a good time.

Written by Mark Sieber