Ghostbusters: Afterlife

This review may contain spoilers!

 

Ghostbusters: Afterlife is a far flung sequel to Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters 2, following the grandchildren of Egon Spengler as they embark on their own paranormal adventure. Trevor and Phoebe must uncover the secrets of their grandfather's past before the dark spirit, Gozer, rises again. This is a film that pays extra special attention to those moments tying it to the originals. We slowly see the Ecto-1, proton packs being used, Egon reconnecting with his daughter, classic ghost designs, Gozer, the original Ghostbusters and even an extremely tasteful return of Egon Spengler as a ghost. Each of these scenes feels like a love letter to fans of the original films and the care paid to these moments makes you really feel the wonder in chasing after ghosts. I also enjoyed how this feature really leaned into the horror element of Ghostbusters, the film wasn't afraid to include a few strong jump scares to heighten the fear factor of the antagonists. The thrill of scenes like the kids chasing their first ghost or the final confrontation with Gozer are definite engaging high points. The special effects look extremely good; I loved the designs for the Hellhounds, the mini-pufts and the paranormal vistas for the final act. The score for the feature is a wonderful link to the original films and the wonder of a new generation of Ghostbusters; the soundtrack for the film was also a nice selection of tracks that worked well for the American Midwest setting.

 

Paul Rudd, who played Grooberson, isn't the most important role to the film but is certainly a very fun aspect of it; I think Rudd has a very light presence that draws the wit out of a scene and his co-stars. Finn Wolfhard, who played Trevor, is a great leading performer and has a great sibling chemistry with Grace; Wolfhard has that indifferent teenage exterior but works very hard to find his place in the town as the film goes along. Logan Kim, who played Podcast, is a very energetic young performer who is extremely entertaining to watch; the way he quips about his character's podcast makes for an extremely fun running gag. Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd and Ernie Hudson, who played Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz and Winston Zeddemore respectively, immediately have the same quickfire chemistry with one another that has been sorely missed; Murray's ever-present comedic delivery is a standout.

 

However, the best performance came from McKenna Grace, who played Phoebe. This is a young performer who has such incredible range across a wide variety of roles already at such an early point of her career. As Phoebe we are introduced to a young girl who doesn't socialize easily, preferring to follow her scientific pursuits and interest instead. Grace presents Phoebe as being self-conscious around others and afraid of not fitting in, despite her very blunt and forthright exterior. I loved seeing the development of the role's confidence as she connects with her grandfather's Ghostbusters past. Watching Grace be the strongest source of comedy in the film with her deadpan jokes coupled by her convincing science expert portrayal makes her the most genuine Ghostbuster onscreen. McKenna Grace is an absolute natural and leads this film with an expertise beyond her years.

Ghostbusters as a series of films has always been the world of a horror film completely guided by comedic elements and storytelling. The unfortunate issue with Ghostbusters: Afterlife is that it really flounders when it comes to being funny, a lot of the humour is a very dry or sarcastic wit that doesn't really land with the story being told. There isn't a lot of comedic powerhouses in the main cast and I think this does ultimately show in the final product. The story around the Spenglers moving out to an unfamiliar country town and having to adjust to their new surroundings makes for a very slow paced first and second act that isn't very engaging most of the time. The film struggles with introducing supporting characters; Grooberson is a fun side character but serves little purpose to the plot, while the sub-plot romance between Trevor and Lucky is very generic. The entire supernatural plot is a little poorly cobbled together, the explanation behind Gozer and Ivo Shandor isn't very well done or clear. The cinematography for the feature looks good in a couple of the action scenes but ultimately is quite basic in design, each shot is chiefly a very static wide shot or a steady special effects shot.

Carrie Coon, who played Callie, doesn't do anything especially engaging as the bitter down on her luck single Mum; Coon really struggles with the comedic elements of the film and doesn't find a lot of room for variety in her role. Celeste O'Connor, who played Lucky, is a side character who really doesn't fit nicely into the feature; O'Connor and Wolfhard have no chemistry and she is very awkwardly inserted into the group dynamic in the final act. Annie Potts, who played Janine Melnitz, is a very quiet cameo that doesn't have the same impact as the others; Potts has a quick moment of exposition and a pretty stoic delivery before shuffling out as quickly as she came.

This film has some great action and nods to the original Ghostbusters but that's about where the favourable ties to the past end. I would give Ghostbusters: Afterlife a 6/10.