I waited too long to see this movie as it left the theater the week after I saw it. This movie will make a good movie night at home. If you grew up in the 80’s you will remember the original Ghostbusters movie with Dan Ackroyd, Bill Murray, Ernie Ford, Sigourney Weaver, Rick Moranis, Harold Ramis and Annie Potts. What a great movie that was! Certainly, no one will ever forget the theme song for the original movie performed by Ray Parker, Jr.: Who ya gonna call? GHOSTBUSTERS!
I was so glad to see that this movie did the original movies justice in that it continued with the original storyline, jumping into their grandchildren’s generation and turning it into something new and fresh. The movie even had some cameos from some of the original characters, except Rick Moranis and Harold Ramis. Rick Moranis has taken a very long hiatus from acting, and Harold Ramis died in 2014. At the end of the movie, an image of Ramis appears as the ghost of Egon Spengler. Right before the credits roll, Ramis receives a dedication, simply “For Harold.” Yeah!…It was a classy tribute.
The movie was directed by Jason Reitman and co-written by Reitman and Gil Kenan. It is a sequel to the first two Ghostbusters movies and begins with the death of Egon Spengler. His estranged daughter, who has two kids, Trevor and Phoebe, seems to be down on her luck. As soon she learns that her landlord is evicting her, she hears that her father has died from mysterious circumstances. He left her his home and farm out in the middle of nowhere near a small town in Oklahoma. With nothing to lose, she uproots her family and heads for Oklahoma to start a new life there.
As they get settled with new schools and friends, they begin to learn more about what Egon Spengler was doing on his property. Exploring the property reveals some mysterious equipment and information while at the same time, strange happenings occur on the farm, in town and in a nearby mining pit. It becomes obvious that there are ghosts and supernatural beings in the area. The kids find the old Ghostbusters ambulance in the barn and all the traps and guns used to capture supernatural creatures. in New York. Egon moved to Oklahoma for a reason and that reason was to protect all those he loved and cared for from a predestined apocalyptic supernatural event. He was on the verge of capturing the main supernatural creature when his equipment failed, and his attempts ended with his death..
The film stars Carri Coon as Egon’s daughter, Finn Wolfhard (Stranger Things) as Callie’s son Trevor, McKenna Grace (The Young and the Restless) as Phoebe Spengler, Paul Rudd (Antman) as Mr. Grooberson and others. This film was not without its difficulties during filming. Several attempts were made at developing scripts and cast for a sequel to Ghostbusters II, but they all fizzled out. Finally, in 2019, Jason Reitman and Gil Kenan came up with a script that translated from the original cast to a new generation plus it had a new family vibe in a new location. The plot theme worked by continuing the story of what happened to the old Ghostbusters and catching fire with what will happen with the new generation of Ghostbusters in the future. Again, the release date was delayed four times due to Covid 19 but finally hit the theaters in late 2021.
The new trend in movies is for the audience to watch until the credits roll especially if there is a possibility of a sequel. Ghostbusters Afterlife is no different, so watch until the very end to see the teaser at the end.
