Review: Ghostbusters Afterlife

Carrie Coon plays the estranged daughter of former ghostbuster Egon Spengler, who has recently died. Coon, struggling financially, takes her two kids (Finn Wolfhard and McKenna Grace) and moves into the old man’s crumbling farmhouse in Ohio (which she has inherited) where he spent his last years as a supposed crackpot recluse. Wolfhard and Grace start to investigate their late grandfather, and while fooling around with an old ghost trap they inadvertently let one loose. And somehow this causes the sleeping Gozer to awaken. Paul Rudd plays a local teacher who gets caught up in the craziness, whilst there are cameos by stars of the original “Ghostbusters”.

 

I figured if this 2021 film from director Jason Reitman (“Up in the Air”) and his co-writer Gil Kenan (director of the underrated “Poltergeist” remake) could at least be better than the ill-received reboot, I’d take it as a win. Well, that’s about where we end up with this very modestly entertaining film that is quite heavy on nostalgia. It doesn’t measure up to the first film – one of my all-time favourite films – and I’m not even sure it bests the underrated “Ghostbusters II”, either. But it’ll do.

 

Early on I was impressed with the work by Carrie Coon, but particularly the music score by Rob Simonsen (“Captive State”, “Nerve”). It’s fresh but also incorporates very familiar bits of music here and there. It’s the best thing about the film. The film for the most part plays quite similarly to the original film in feel, if perhaps lacking that film’s comedy. Still, it certainly has a very 80s/90s blockbuster vibe, and some laughs are to be had here from time to time. I especially liked the blue ghost, an obvious reminder of the original’s Slimer. I also liked the bit featuring a packet of mini Stay-Puft marshmallows, which are like a mixture of Gremlins and Mogwai, but tiny. Young McKenna Grace is terrific as the granddaughter of Egon Spengler. I really liked the nostalgic vibe the film has in relation to the Spengler family, with Egon essentially a ghost now. It even got me a bit teary-eyed. I also liked Paul Rudd, he’s a bit typecast perhaps but nonetheless he’s immensely likeable. He also works really well with Coon and the kids. His awkward chemistry with Coon is actually the funniest thing in the film. The cinematography by Eric Steelberg (“Juno”, “Up in the Air”) is really nice, too. It’s a very good-looking film.

 

I was less happy with Reitman bringing back the original film’s villains for this film. Yes, Gozer and the Gatekeeper/Zuul are back and unlike the music score, it’s too familiar and just lazy. Say what you will about “Ghostbusters II”, but at least Vigo the Carpathian was something a little different. Being nostalgic and paying homage is one thing, giving us a repeat of the same villainous threat as before is another thing entirely. That said, one bit involving the villains does work when a certain question is asked and a certain someone manages to give the right answer this time. That was perfectly done. I wasn’t overly keen on Reitman’s over-reliance on ‘jump’ scares. The original had one or two (and they were very effective), but this one just overdoses on them. Again, it’s lazy.

 

The main strength and weakness here are the same: A film made in the same spirit – pun intended – as the original. Mildly enjoyable, but if you thought “The Force Awakens” was a re-tread, you may have a hard time with this one, which revisits the same menace as the original. I think “The Force Awakens” pulled it off considerably better than this film does. Still, it’s a fun old-school adventure (it’s the film I expected “Super 8” to be), if not nearly as comedically-oriented as the original. Highly watchable but it should’ve and could’ve been more. And a certain someone deserved a lot better than a mid-credits cameo if you ask me.

 

Rating: B-