Back in 1983, director Ivan Reitman was handed a script by Dan Aykroyd that would prove to change his life forever. A year later, he was responsible for directing the biggest comedy of 1984 and a film itself that had caused a pop-cultural seismic shift. Now, as Ghostbusters: Afterlife has landed on DVD, Blu-ray, digital formats, and On-Demand, the institution of Ghostbusters has affected two generations of filmmaking Reitmans.
On February 24, 2014, the world received the news that Harold Ramis—one of the original’s stars and co-writers) had perished from his battle with autoimmune inflammatory vasculitis. With Ivan producing, his son Jason (Juno, Up in the Air) co-writing with Dan Akroyd and helming, this was as familial of a cinematic effort as one is going to get around the Reitman household.
Ghostbusters: Afterlife would be a continuation of the eighties incarnation of four souls who have taken it upon themselves to clean up New York City as it was overrun by a seismic supernatural invasion. It would serve as a true sequel to Ghostbusters II (1989) and would ignore the all-female version starring Kristen Wiig and Melissa McCarthy that hit screens in 2016. Although it was not as well-received as the other Ghostbusters, its omission from this trilogy was not a slap in the face, it was simply a Reitman family trilogy and we’ve got great news—it is an impeccable continuation of the legacy that started back in the early eighties.
Except for one thing—the action would have to be removed from New York City, but somehow still be connected to the original four Ghostbusters—Bill Murray, Dan Akroyd, Ramis, and of course Ernie Hudson. How the younger Reitman and Aykroyd and Gil Kenan have woven a web of ghostbusting, suspense, thrills, and themes that permeated the original films to great audience delight is a mystery. But one thing is clear—he did it. Boy, oy boy, did Jason Reitman achieve greatness with Ghostbuster: Afterlife.
Not only is the story itself captivating, but it is absolutely believable and firmly fits into the canon of Ghostbusters. The film is the most natural and organic of progressions that fans could ever have dreamed of occurring. Callie (the phenomenal Carrie Coon) is the daughter of Dr. Egon Spengler (Ramis) and to say she is down on her luck is a gross understatement. She lives in Manhattan but can’t afford rent and her utility bills. Every day is a mystery as to whether her family will make it through the day with heat and electricity.
She then gets news that the father she barely knew, Egon, has died and left her and her children (Stranger Thing’s Finn Wolfhard is Trevor) and McKenna Grace (The Gifted, and the I, Tonya star dazzles as Phoebe) a farmhouse in the middle of nowhere, the family sees a way out of the debtor hell. Thing is, this is no ordinary town it turns out. Egon never did anything if not on purpose. There is going to be some serious ghostly activity in this small midwestern town, and he was on the cusp of figuring it out when he passed.
Enter Paul Rudd and his summer school science teacher Grooberson—two birds with one stone type of character. A love interest for Coon’s Callie and a science expert for all the scientific activity that is about to occur. For example, when Phoebe does some digging around her grandfather’s house, she finds his proton pack and most importantly, a trap that has something in it! Thanks to Rudd’s Grooberson, he is a huge fan of the Ghostbusters from back in the day and yet that doesn’t limit his craziness as he opens the trap just to see what it does.
Well, it’s opened the doors to hell, and our rag-tag group of wannabe scientists, a science instructor who seeks to make much more of a professional mark than simply reaching high school kids and may just be called to save the world. They are the front lines of this ghostly invasion, and one gets the sense that the stakes are even higher than they were in New York and considering we’re battling those ghosts with a stable of warriors with far less experience than our boys had in New York.
Ghostbusters: Afterlife is an utter blast that never wastes a single frame of film. Jason has directed one of his most approachable, tightly wound, and epically scoped films to date. The flick further proves that the cinematic arts are firmly a filmmaker’s medium. His handprints are all over this film and that is an exceptionally good thing. Ghostbusters is in his blood, his DNA, and having his father—the man behind the original sensation—had us wondering why there was ever any mystery as to the quality of this production. On paper, it had to be as fabulous as it was to experience.
Each cast member, both old and new, is up and game for their roles, firmly aware of the story that Jason is trying to tell. Sometimes, that message doesn’t reach certain members of the ensemble and it’s like we’re watching two different films. That is not the case with Ghostbusters: Afterlife. This is as much of a cinematic team effort as you will see in 2022 and the winner here is everyone from longtime fans to simple Ghostbusters appreciators.
The Blu-ray transfer (at 1080p) is sublime. It looks about as amazing as a science-fiction (comedy) can achieve. The latest Ghostbusters is eye and ear candy of the highest order. The picture is deliciously sharp, crisp, and hauntingly vivid in a way that will up the ante on the thrills and spills. The machinery utilized in the 2022 version is some of the same materials used to fight ghosts back in 1989. An interesting decision was made by Reitman and his team, and it was the right one. The ghost fighting equipment would look the same, but years of scientific breakthrough (documented by Egon) would help create mind-blowing ghostbusting gear of the 21st century that gives our tiny group of warriors all they need to fight off those demons who would love to see the human race more as slaves than saviors.
The colors are downright electric, especially the bright proton pack streams that we all remember so well from the first two films. It’s also a rural film and the beauty of farm country, America comes through as epically as New York City did in the original.
When it comes to the audio, Sony presents its Ghostbusters sequel three-decades-plus in the making with a powerful DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. Proof of this excellence arrives immediately with the opening sequence. The audience keenly knows that you are in for an absolute treat.
Diving into the bonus features, The Movie Mensch recommends selecting Summoning the Spirit: Making Ghostbusters: Afterlife. The 10 seconds shy of 20 minutes featurette finds Jason talking about the original idea, the original film, and why it was so beloved, not to mention how he managed to create tech that looks like it was made forty years ago but scientifically is out of this world.
For those of us who have always been fascinated by the tools of the trade, The Gearhead’s Guide to Ghostbusters Gadgets is a too-short (for us!) six-minute spotlight on the iconic props from the previous films and how they worked with the new tech that was drafted just for Afterlife. This is one impressive featurette, and I could not recommend it higher.
In case you couldn’t read between the lines, this writer was impressed by the special effects of Afterlife and believe that with Reitman’s script, this was a new instant classic simply waiting to be released. Special Effects: The Ghosts of Afterlife has fun introducing us to the “new ghost” and a few familiar “faces” and how they were created, crafted and made.
One of the biggest cheers for the Ghostbusters: Afterlife trailer in theaters was when Wolfhard got the “Ghost Mobile” to run again. Bringing Ecto-1 Back to Life is a terrific five-minute look at one of the most famous vehicles in Hollywood history. It’s still iconic four decades later.
In what proves to be a terrific addition, We Got One! Easter Eggs Revealed is an almost eight-minute look at the clear and not-so-clear so-called Easter Eggs that the Reitman’s added to the Afterlife production. I’m not sure what’s more fascinating, learning about these “Easter Eggs” or the source of their origins and place within the landscape of Ghostbusters?!
For nostalgia, and simply for curiosity, don’t miss Ghostbusters: A Look Back. The just over 10-minute featurette has the cast and crew reflecting the original film and what specifically they each felt was the reason it became the pop culture stalwart that history says it is.
Film Grade: A
Bonus Features: A