Photo Credit: Ghostbusters.com
Days after seeing Ghostbusters: Afterlife I realized I was disappointed… Oh, not in the movie that I enjoyed. My disappointment was in myself and the person I went to see the movie with.
Here is what happened: The movie ended with a scene that was so great, people in the theater, myself included, clapped with delight. Then, as the well-known theme song began to echo from the sound system and the credits began to roll, people instinctively gathered their coats. Feeling the movie had come to a satisfactory conclusion, we, along with our fellow movie goers, got up from our seats, stretched, nodded to each other that we enjoyed the movie and exited the theater in darkness as the credits rolled. We enjoyed the movie but at this point we were done. Besides, the massive bucket of sugary-syrup-soft-drink I had consumed began to request departure from my kidneys and I needed to oblige.
So, what exactly led to my disappointment days later? No, it wasn’t a departure from a diet of popcorn and sugar. It was the fact that I learned that we missed two end credits sequences that many fans of the franchise are radiant over! These shorts, as RadioTimes.com notes are, “brimming with secret cameos and sequel hints long after the main story has ended.” Ugh. So, my message to you is a warning, a plea, to not make the same mistake I made, ignore the call of nature and remain in your seat.
Okay, with my warning and whining out of the way, let me speak of the actual movie and its ties to the original franchise. The original Ghost Busters movie was released in 1984 as a supernatural comedy written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis (both also starred in the film). The film became a cultural phenomenon and has been viewed and enjoyed by many. The original film starred Bill Murray as Peter Venkman, Dan Aykroyd as Ray Stantz, Harold Ramis as Egon Spengler and Ernie Hudson as Winston Zeddemore. The reason I recount the original cast is because they all make an appearance (to the delight of the audience) at the end of the Afterlife.
With the amazing success of the franchise which included a sequel and a television series, and massive merchandising, it’s a wonder, yet a great relief, that they didn’t just recast and re-enact the original script. Instead, Afterlife is a direct follow-up to the original film bringing in the next generation of fans and characters. Afterlife is directed by Jason Reitman, the son of Ivan Reitman who directed the original two films, Ghost Busters and Ghost Busters II. Jason co-wrote the Afterlife screenplay with Gil Kenan and does a great job at paying homage to the original storyline while creating a new, interesting one.
Thirty two years after the original film we are introduced to a single mother “Callie” played by Carrie Coon and her children “Trevor,” played by Finn Wolfhard, and “Phoebe,” played by Mckenna Grace, as they move from their life in the city to a broken-down farmhouse in the middle of nowhere, which Callie’s estranged father owned and died in. Her father, we learn, was “Egon Spengler,” the former Ghostbuster originally played by Harold Ramis, who died in 2014.
The movie pays homage to the original film with the kids discovering many tools and Ghostbusting paraphernalia from the original film true fans will recognize. Included in the classics is the Ectomobile, the 1959 Cadillac ambulance conversion used in the original film.
While the film has its Hollywood stars including Paul Rudd who plays a science teacher named “Gary Gruberson” it is the child actors that thrive in the movie. Phoebe and her friend “Podcast” played by Logan Kim are perfect in the leading roles delivering one liners and showing true character.
Ghostbusters: Afterlife is definitely a film to see… from beginning to end… yes, all the way to the end of the credits! The film is a delight in its own, with a fantastic cast that will keep new and original fans entertained. Original film fans will delight in the nostalgia while new fans will find delight in the new story.
