Ghostbusters: Afterlife

Vampire Owl: You mean to say that they want the ghosts dead.

Vampire Bat: I am pretty sure that vampires are not included in the list of ghosts.

Vampire Owl: So, they wish to kill us in some other movie.

Vampire Bat: Still, not as much as they have murdered their own kind.

Vampire Owl: That was not enough for an extinction event though.

Vampire Bat: Humans will be extinct sooner or later.

Vampire Owl: Have you checked all possible extinction events?

Vampire Bat: Yes, humans are part of nine thousand out of ten thousand of them.

Vampire Owl: They do have a fair chance to go extinct then.

Vampire Bat: Yes, good for the world around them, right?

[Gets a chocolate cake and three cups of elaichi tea].

What is the movie about? :: It is shown that there is a hunt for a supernatural entity which leads to the death of the man who tried to trap the creature. This leads to his daughter Callie (Carrie Coon) inheriting the farm. As a single mother, she struggles to pay the rent for her apartment. Her children Trevor (Finn Wolfhard) and Phoebe (Mckenna Grace) are not that fond of the happenings around there. The three moves to the house with the farm which is passed on to them. The new town where they live seems to have earthquakes at all times despite having no seismic activity recorded – there is no volcano around, and not even some loud noise in this town where nothing much happens. Trevor is infatuated by Lucky Domingo (Celeste O’Connor) who works at a nearby diner, and seeing a vacancy there, joins the place for work. Meanwhile, Phoebe joins the class of Gary Grooberson (Paul Rudd), who is there just for the sake of it, and plays movies for the students.

So, what happens with the events here as we just keep looking? :: She also meets Podcast (Logan Kim), another student who is interested in science as much as she is. The three becomes infatuated with a device which Phoebe finds at home, and it turns out to be a ghost trap. Gary who has been a fan of the Ghostbusters for a long time, tampers with the trap with the help of his students, releasing one of the spirits that scares them and immediately flies into the nearby closed mine – the locals used to believe that the place was haunted too. Callie and Gary seem to instantly attracted to each other as the three comes to the inherited home in the middle of nowhere to find clues related to ghosts. Meanwhile, Trevor and Lucky on a trip with their friends also come across a spirit which they seem to dismiss as some random smoke coming out of the abandoned mine as part of some natural process. But a word seems to stay stuck with them.

Now, where would the ghosts lead further in this tale? :: Soon, Phoebe discovers a secret laboratory underneath the outhouse on the side of their house, and it seems that there was more to her grandfather than what met the eye of the villagers who called him the dirt farmer who farmed nothing other than dirt. He was doing some special work indeed. It turns out that the ghost of the grandfather is still there, and he hopes that his grandchildren will take over the Ghostbusters procedures. Phoebe seems to be able to enjoy that prospect very much. But will the very young new generation be good enough to come with a new level of ghostbusting while working against all odds? With a new terrifying evil ready to be unleashed, how good can a group of kids leading a team be? With the evil predating everything that they know, how good can modernity work against such evil grandeur of ancient times?

The defence of Ghostbusters: Afterlife :: The movie would be very interesting for those who grew up watching the original movies of the 1980s – seems like some doses of nostalgia being in store here and there. The setting at a town in the middle of nowhere with some nice locations which are even more remote – things one get better from there. The humour works well in here too. The action is big enough, and there is a lot happening in the final stages with the fights going on against the creatures from the other world. The special effects are pretty well done, even though not with every ghost – the final demonic arrival is a sight to be appreciated though, with the background effects also playing some fine roles. Mckenna Grace remains the soul of this movie, and the one child ghostbuster that you are going to remember for long, with moments to remember. Carrie Coon – Paul Rudd moments also bring some unexpected fun. Celeste O’Connor – Finn Wolfhard team is also an enjoyable one around here.

The claws of flaw :: Anything that is specifically intended for the old fans of the franchise which started in the 1980s won’t work for us, as the series didn’t have much of a fan base in this part of the world which was more into those spirits of Evil Dead, Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th and others. It was also a reason for the reboot making no impact around here. This one which take place more than thirty years after the 1980s works seem to do better, but doesn’t make an impact around here either. Well, with The Conjuring having brought its own methods of hunting spirits, this method would surely seem less effective – this still seems to be twilight times of The Conjuring franchise and that brings some chance for another sequel. There could have also been some deviation from what seems to be less suited moments around here. It could have also been less inclined to be suitable for children, as ghosts have evolved enough during these days. The beginning stages also take some time to get going, thus stretching the movie to something above two hours.

How it finishes :: Ghostbusters: Afterlife works well with its elements, and seem to know the strength to use to the advantage – the same is done in most parts, even though the film doesn’t go on to become the perfect return vehicle for such ghosts of many people’s nostalgia. Not to be confused with Resident Evil: Afterlife, this movie has enough hunting of ghosts to keep us interested. With another sequel, much more can be achieved by this particular franchise, which seems to have enough family-friendly ghosts in action. Well, this is one film with ghosts which can be watched with all kinds of people as audience. One one side, we have The Conjuring, Insidious, Ouija, The Curse of La Llorna, Sinister, The Nun, Annabelle and team, and on the other side we have this one which is not really for the scares, but has its own ghosts to keep the haunting going strong. Well, as much as we need those other films, this one is in requirement too – no doubt about that.

Release date: 19th November 2021
Running time: 124 minutes
Directed by: Jason Reitman
Starring: Carrie Coon, Finn Wolfhard, Mckenna Grace, Annie Potts, Ernie Hudson, Paul Rudd