Ghostbusters Afterlife review

 

I’m in two minds about this sequel to the beloved Eighties classic which is appropriate as it is really two films. On the one hand it’s trying to revive the franchise for a new generation, on the other it’s a nostalgic trip for a previous one. When these balance the film is breezy and enjoyable, when they don’t it’s less successful. In the end I suppose it depends on your perspective but I feel this film could be sharper, less shackled to the past and also funnier. The ingredients are there but it’s just a little under baked. I felt the promise of the trailer but somehow the full film doesn't live up to that standard even though it has its moments.

 

Spooky spoilers sighted…

 

Thirty two years after the events of the second film, the daughter and grand children of Egon Spengler are forced to move into the recently deceased Ghostbuster’s isolated farm due to debts. Here the kids, brainy Phoebe, (a poised McKenna Grace) and less intellectual Trevor (Finn Wolfhard) gradually discover the tools of their grandfather’s trade as well as the people of the local town Summerville. The kids seem remarkably uninformed as to what he did while their mother Callie (Carrie Coon) speaks only ill of her father. Through what becomes a somewhat strained series of events the kids pick up the rudiments of ghostbusting in time to deal with an oncoming apocalyptic threat from the inside of a nearby mountain. They’re aided by Trevor’s crush Lucky (an under used Celeste O’Connor) and Phoebe’s newly found school mate Podcast (Logan Kim). Mum meanwhile hits it off with teacher Gary (Paul Rudd) and all parties become involved in the mayhem in different ways.

There is a distinct Eighties vibe to proceedings; in fact if it wasn’t for the Podcast character it could be set then as there is little sense of modern life intruding on this sleepy town. In fact when a ghost apocalypse happens the townsfolk seem more bemused than terrified. Billed as a comedy, Afterlife definitely isn’t that. It’s light hearted and silly at times but the jokes often fall flat including a running gag about Phoebe telling bad jokes when she’s nervous. Podcast could be funny but he becomes irritating (if this was the Eighties he would be played by Corey Feldman). 

However, it fares better with the budding romances both between Callie and Gary and also Trevor and Lucky. The early scenes also set up a sense of  mystery well enough with covers being lifted, secret rooms being discovered, the old Ecto-1 vehicle given a new lease of life. Of course we all know what the mystery is and scene after scene calls back to the original but this starts to rob the movie of some of its potential. There are no big surprises because the narrative is organised in a way that allows you predict what is about to happen. At no point do you go `wow, I wasn’t expecting that` which in a blockbuster movie like this you should do at least once.  The climax is all shouting, static and crazy beings including an ancient goddess who looks like David Bowie. Perhaps because we’ve seen so many Marvel films all this sort of stuff has lost some impact. 

Depending on your age or feelings about Ghostbusters you’ll either be moved or grimacing at the last few scenes in which the original team turn up as you always knew they would looking as craggy as you like but still kicking ass! It makes you ponder what they would have done had Harold Ramis still been with us; I suspect he would have been able to wrangle something more interesting from the story threads here. The way this ends is a heartfelt tribute and I wouldn’t want to take that away, yet its an cheap move when there really should be something more challenging.

There is a theme to this somewhat messy narrative; that of families, what they pass on and how their offspring react but I think to achieve all that it is coming from the wrong place. It would have been better for the family to be unrelated at all to previous characters, still discover all the ghostbusting stuff and mend their family issues by saving the world. Something like that would reinvent the property. This has the smell of a greatest hits tour rather than a new album.

All that being said, as a slice of cinematic popcorn the film does work and it’s on steadier ground when it just launches into the action. There’s a great sequence chasing a ghost around the lazy streets of the town and, later, out on the open road. Even the cluttered ending has a powerful style. The ghosts are rendered as characterfully as in the original though there aren’t really enough of them before the climax. The only one give prominence is Muncher (see pic below). I suppose it’s a wild ride and like a rollercoaster you’re not really supposed to analyse it too much. And, yes, someone does say “Who you gonna call?”