Lost in Translation 470 – Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021)

A lot has been said about the Eighties. It was a time when anything went in media, but woe to those who went second. Musical styles expanded and crossed over. Fashion followed popular TV series and movies. Casual smoking indoors still existed. And the movies, well, following the leader wasn’t a thing. The Eighties were the first decade since the development of motion pictures to have original films be the most popular.

The year 1984 was emblematic of the decade. The top three movies were a sequel and two original films. One of the original works was Beverly Hills Cop. The other original work, the top movie for the year, was Ghostbusters.

Lost in Translation has covered adaptations of Ghostbusters before, including the animated adaptation and the 2016 reboot[https://psychodrivein.com/lost-translation-187-ghostbusters/]. The original film took off thanks to the strength of the music video for Ray Parker, Jr’s “Ghostbusters” gaining attention and the cast delivering.

Ghostbusters starred Bill Murray as Peter Venkmann, Dan Aykroyd as Ray Stantz, Harold Ramis as Egon Spenglar, and Ernie Hudson as Winston Zedmore, the titular characters. Joining them were Annie Potts as Janine Melnitz, the team’s secretary, Sigourney Weaver as Dana Barret, musician and Venkmann’s love interest, and Rick Moranis as Louis Tulley as an accountant and hapless victim.

With ghost sightings up, Stantz convinces Spenglar and Venkmann to test out new gear, including unlicensed nuclear accelerators, to capture one. The endeavour succeeds, leading to the creation of the Ghostbusters as a business. Business is brisk enough to warrant hiring Janine and Zedmore. The reason for the spike in ghost sightings is the return of Gozer, an ancient Sumerian god woth the goal of destroying the world.

The 2016 reboot wasn’t well received, leaving room for a new sequel in 2021, Ghostbusters: Afterlife. The new film stars Carrie Coon as Callie, Finn Wolfhard as Trevor, Mckenna Grace as Phoebe, Paul Rudd as Gary, Celeste O’Connor as Lucky, and Logan Kim as “Podcast”. The surviving original cast also makes appearances. The file is directed by Jason Reitman, son of Ivan Reitman, who directed the original Ghostbusters.

The film opens in an abandoned mine outside a small town in Oklahoma. An older pickup truck races out and away from like it was being chased by a bat out of Hell. Which it may well be. Ghostly lights chase after it through the small town of Summerville to a rundown farm. The pickup’s driver gets out, holding a ghost trap, waiting for whatever chased him. He throws a switch, powering on six large cells. When the ghost arrives and charges across the field, the driver steps on a pedal, but whatever was planned fails. He dashes into the farmhouse, but the ghost follows.

In Chicago, Callie is having a terrible life. She’s broke, unable to pay rent, and dealing with her two children, Trevor and Phoebe. Trevor is a teenaged boy, with all the issues that come with that. Phoebe is younger, and has issues with socializing. Callie’s life takes a turn with news that her father died of a heart attack in Summerville. She packs up her kids and drives out to Oklahoma to see what her inheritance is. The old farm, owned by the man the townies called “the Dirt Farmer”, isn’t much, but it beats living on the streeets of Chicago.

Trevor finds a job quickly at the local drive-in restaurant, mostly to get closer to Lucky. When he’s not working, he’s spending time fixing up a car found under a tarp, Ecto-1 Callie enrolls Phoebe into summer school to keep her busy and to hopefully, finally, find a friend. Phoebe’s first day at summer school is with Gary, another newcomer to Summerville, as the teacher. Gary’s approach is to show old horror films on VHS, classics like Cujo. However, Phoebe gets sidetracked by “Podcast”, who interviews her for his podcast.

After class, Phoebe and her new friend return to the farm and poke around. They find a hidden entrance leading to a lab filled with odd bits of mad science. Some of the devices are easily recognizable, like the PKE meter and the proton pack. Otehrs need work, but with some spectral help, Phoebe gets the devices working. However, through curiosity, Phoebe releases a ghost from a trap, allowing it to return to the abandoned mine.

Meanwhile, when the workday is done, Trevor joins Lucky and the rest of the staff of the drivein on a trip out to the mountains to relax. Said mountains include the abandoned mine. All is fun and games until there’s an earthquake. Trevor spots something moving further down in the mine but isn’t sure what it is.

The next day, Phoebe discusses the earthquake with Gary. He’s in Summerville to find out why a tectonically stable area with no volcanoes is generating earthquakes in a waveform that fits neither tectonic nor volcanic quakes. Gary is impressed when Phoebe not only follows along but adds her own commentary.

After school, Phoebe and Podcast test out the proton pack. The device is still functional, and still an unregistered nuclear accelerator. The test is successful, destroying the targets Podcast set out. The next test is to catch a ghost, something that should be impossible; the last ghost sighting was thirty years prior. Yet, Phoebe and Podcast do find one, a spectre they call Muncher. Muncher lives up to the name, eating anything, especially metal. Finding a ghost is the easy part; trapping him is another matter, especially when the ghost can spit metal shards back. After a couple of shots from the proton pack, Muncher flees.

Phoebe and Podcast give chase, getting a ride from Trevor in Ecto-1. The pursuit goes through Summerville, and makes use of some of Ecto-1’s built-in gadgets. In the grand tradition of the Ghostbusters, there is collateral damage. Phoebe and Podcast do manage to trap Muncher, but the trail of destruction lets the Sheriff (Bokeem Woodbine) catch up. Phoebe, Podcast, and Trevor are arrested and given their one phone call. Instead of her mother, she calls the Ghistbusters.

Despite the time and lack of ghosts, the number is still live. Ray answers, having taken the number for his occult shop. Phoebe explains what has happened, but Ray fills her in on what happened to the Ghostbusters. Egon packed up everything and left, not telling the others what was going on, leaving some bad blood with his former teammates.

Callie bails her kids out, her date with Gary interrupted. The gear remains with the Sheriff – even Summerville, OK, has problems with people running around with unlicensed nuclear accelerators. At home, Phoebe shows her mother the farm’s secrets, including the hidden basement, and reveals that she knows that she’s the granddaughter of a Ghostbuster. With all the details, the group realizes that Gozer is returning.

Gozer, as detailed in the original movie, requires two harbingers, the Gatekeeper and the Keymaster. With the spirits released, they new hosts. Gary is found at a Walmart getting groceries. The first sign of weirdness for him is the Stay Puft marshmallows turning into miniature versions of the mascot. As the marshmallow manifestations start their mischief, the Keymaster arrives, chasing down Gary. The Gatekeeper homes in on Callie, possessing her. The two hosts then provide the means for Gozer to return.

Phoebe has worked out what Igon was trying to do with the farm. The land near the farmhouse is covered with traps, powered briefly by the capacitors. All that needs to be done is to lure Gozen to the farm. With Lucky’s help, the group breaks into the Sheriff’s office to retrieve the confiscated gear. Trevor drives Ecto-1 to the abandoned mine to lure the ancient god out, with Phoebe handling the proton pack and Podcast driving the trap drone.

The chase back to the farmhouse is like the beginning of the film. And, like the beginning of the film, the same problem rears its ugly head – not enough for long enough. Gozer arrives, menacing the kids. However, unexpected help arrives as Stants, Venkmann, and Zedmore arrive with their own proton packs.

Ghostbusters: Afterlife has a lot going for it – strong cast, a strong script, and a sense of history. There’s no question of whose granddaughter Phoebe is. The script hints along the way of what is to occur. Helping is the soundtrack. As Phoebe discovers more about the farm and her grandfather, more of Elmer Bernstein’s “Ghostbusters”[https://youtu.be/EVYnUE04ZsA?si=L35vauOMSrhKREkx] theme is revealed.

The return of the original Ghostbusters at the climax doesn’t take away from the efforts of Phoebe and her friends. Phoebe is still the central character and it is her work that leads to the demise of Gozer. The return of Gozer is built up, with clues laid out along the way. The reason for being in the middle of nowhere is reasoned out.

The audience doesn’t need to know what happened in the original film, but those who have seen it will get the deeper nuances. Igon’s sudden move to Summerville, the loss of friendship with Ray, Gozer’s return, they work as backstory, but having seen the backstory, Afterlife adds more depth. But new audiences aren’t beign tossed into the deep end of the pool; there’s enough information shown to let them knowe what’s going on.

Ghostbusters: Afterlife works as a way to pass on the mantel to a new generation. The film builds on the foundation of the first two Ghostbusters movies, laying down the blueprint for potential sequels while still being a coming of age story. Ghostbusters: Afterlife fits in with the mythos, even pulling in ideas from the animated series. The movie works as a sequel and a reboot, adding to the depth of the original.