An affectionate love letter boosted by nostalgia

Arriving just five years after the disastrous Ghostbusters reboot in 2016, Ghostbusters: Afterlife is what happens when a movie is created out of genuine passion as opposed to commerce. Co-writer and director Jason Reitman (Juno), son of the late Ghostbusters director Ivan, deliberately avoided the franchise for years and vowed to never make a Ghostbusters movie, but hatched an idea for a legacy sequel that he secretly developed before penning a screenplay with Gil Kenan (director of 2015's Poltergeist remake). Happily, and perhaps unsurprisingly since Reitman built his career out of character-based independent movies, there is a beating heart at the centre of Ghostbusters: Afterlife, which prioritises characters over mindless comedy and action. Afterlife is tailor-made for longstanding Ghostbusters fans; it's an affectionate love letter to the franchise permeated with familiar sights and sounds, while Reitman also incorporates tender humour and boundless charm.

Broke and facing eviction, single mother Callie (Carrie Coon) elects to move to a dilapidated dirt farm that she inherits from her eccentric late father in the small town of Summerville, Oklahoma. Accompanying her are her two children; teenager Trevor (Finn Wolfhard) and the scientifically-minded Phoebe (Mckenna Grace), who becomes curious about the secrets held by the house and her mysterious grandfather who abandoned his family several decades prior. Phoebe begins to explore the property and solve puzzles which leads her to discover ghostbusting equipment, and she soon meets a summer school teacher (Paul Rudd) who shows her the strange seismic activity which occurs in the town every day. Despite her mother being reluctant to share information about the family, Phoebe finds out that her grandfather was the ghostbuster Egon Spengler, who moved to Summerville after foreseeing an apocalyptic event linked to a nearby abandoned mine. The end of the world might still be looming, which compels Phoebe to finish what her grandfather started.

A third Ghostbusters movie was in the works back in the 1990s, but Bill Murray refused to play ball after the critical disappointment of Ghostbusters II, continually reiterating his disinterest in another sequel. Although the successful 2009 video game reignited interest in a third instalment, nothing materialised before the premature death of Harold Ramis in 2014. Ghostbusters: Afterlife is fundamentally Ghostbusters III, but it is not pitched as a direct continuation of its predecessors; instead, Reitman concentrates on Egon's estranged family and their respective lives before bringing the paranormal stuff to the fore. However, even though Reitman and Kenan's script does more right than wrong, Afterlife is not free of narrative problems. Perhaps owing to Reitman's enthusiasm for talky indie movies, the second act does begin to drag and lose momentum, with sequences such as Trevor going to the mine to hang out with his new friends feeling like the film is on autopilot. Many have criticised the lack of originality since Afterlife's third act does rehash parts of the first movie, but the execution is mostly top-notch, and the film's strong sense of heart helps to compensate for these shortcomings. A strong connection to the first movie helps to effectively re-introduce the series, allowing the franchise to move forward in new directions.

After building a career from dialogue-driven, low-budget indies, 2021's Ghostbusters: Afterlife is Reitman's first major blockbuster, flaunting a comparatively modest $75 million price tag and featuring a selection of large-scale special effects sequences. With the various pandemic-related release date delays, Reitman used the additional time to polish the visuals and special effects, and the finished product reflects this. Whereas the special effects in 2016's Ghostbusters were astonishingly hit-and-miss, the digital spectres in Afterlife are incredibly convincing and tangible. However, it's the reliance on practical effects and large, intricate sets which gives the feature its distinctive aesthetic. The central farmhouse appears real and lived-in, the creatures aren't purely CGI, and the actors are standing on actual sets as opposed to relentless green-screen with digital backgrounds. Especially with modern blockbuster moviemaking increasingly eschewing practical effects and real sets, the sense of realism throughout Afterlife is highly appreciable, reflecting the way that the original Ghostbusters was produced in the 1980s. On that note, Rob Simonsen's music effectively emulates the style of Elmer Bernstein's original Ghostbusters score, incorporating many of the composer's recognisable themes and motifs to outstanding effect. (Elmer's son, Peter Bernstein, was a music consultant for the project.) Reitman's regular cinematographer, Eric Steelberg, also contributes to the production in a significant way; the flick looks consistently gorgeous, with eye-catching camera compositions to smoothly capture the dialogue and action scenes. There is an art to digital cinematography which is occasionally lost in modern cinema, but Afterlife walks and talks like a legitimate movie as opposed to a lazy or low-budget distraction.

Child actors are a mixed bag as they risk coming across as too broad or cloying, but the ensemble cast here is a winner in every respect. The obvious comparison here is Netflix's Stranger Things due to paranormal happenings and children at the centre of the story, but Ghostbusters: Afterlife feels like its own thing with a unique vision, even if it's inspired by the previous Ghostbusters movies. Mckenna Grace is the standout as the new lead, flaunting a dorky Ramis-esque haircut and earning big laughs with seemingly little effort. She effectively portrays the character's erudite intelligence and her social awkwardness with an easy-going charm, demonstrating why she is one of the most reliable child actors currently working. (She also sings the song "Haunted House" which plays over the end credits; a girl of many talents!) Also worth mentioning is the always-reliable Paul Rudd who infuses his character with an endearing, goofball charm, while Carrie Coon is delightful as the weary but sarcastic Callie. Another standout is Logan Kim, who's fun and affable as an enthusiastic young conspiracy theorist who calls himself Podcast. It's a big deal that the new characters are so likeable and endearing, as that's most of the battle in the field of legacy sequels.

From a casting standpoint, the most exciting aspect of Ghostbusters: Afterlife is the return of legacy cast members Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Annie Potts and Sigourney Weaver. Whereas Ghostbusters II found the characters struggling to make ends meet, this sequel places them where we want to see them. Seeing three of the original ghostbusters in their old outfits with proton packs is an undeniable thrill, but Reitman is careful not to let them hijack the story or become a deus ex machina. Additionally, the film's tribute to the late Harold Ramis is indescribably touching and the digital recreation of the actor is truly staggering. An overly cartoonish or phoney-looking digital character would have ruined the experience, but, luckily, the computer-generated depiction of Egon is wholly convincing in every single frame, without any 'uncanny valley' effect. (The team responsible for the digital Egon also created the unfailingly convincing young Rachel in Blade Runner 2049.) The resulting sequence is slightly predictable and cheesy, but it's executed with sincerity - it works.

It is surprisingly rare for legacy sequels to respect the relevant franchise, respect the lore, respect the fans and respect the characters, but Ghostbusters: Afterlife manages to achieve all of the above. Those who make legacy sequels are largely obsessed with reinvention and subverting expectations, ignoring fan desires to merrily destroy an established IP with ham-fisted political and ideological agendas, but Reitman has no interest in such things, which makes Afterlife such a welcome and refreshing breath of fresh air. (The only unmotivated instance of fan service is the miniature Marshmallow Men; as fun as they are, their inclusion feels forced and contrived.) It's not as funny or as witty as the original Ghostbusters (let's face it, not many can top Ramis and Aykroyd at the peak of their '80s screenwriting prime), but there is ample humour which is not broad or over-the-top, and the sense of comedic timing is dead-on. Additionally, the emotional punch of the outstanding climactic ghostbusting sequence cannot be overstated, which gives it a more lasting impact than many other contemporary blockbusters. Ghostbusters: Afterlife successfully merges the franchise's mythology with the spirit of children's adventure movies from the 1980s, and the result is a hugely enjoyable movie boosted by nostalgia. It's such a thrill to see the Ecto-1 back in action again after all these years, and the return of the original ghostbusters is one of the most exciting things to happen in cinema during 2021. Be sure to watch until the end of the credits for two additional scenes, including a set-up for the upcoming sequel.

8.1/10